New observations of the NGC 5240 system show for the first time that it comprises three merging galaxies,which explains the rapid evolution of galaxies in the universe and does not contradict its age. This study, led by German researchers from Göttingen and Potsdam, at the suggestion of the researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) Ana Monreal Ibero, has been carried out using a new technique on which the IAC is working, which combines the integral field spectrograph MUSE with adaptive optics on the VLT telescope from Chile. The irregular galaxy NGC 6240 with three black

Continuamente se buscan nuevos horizontes y fronteras que superar y se detectan nuevas señales, como las ondas gravitacionales producidas en fenómenos cósmicos masivos, también en el Big Bang. LIGO ( Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory ), proyecto en el que colaboran más de mil investigadores de 20 países diferentes, fue precisamente diseñado para detectar estas ondas. Al conseguirlo en 2016, como resultado de la fusión de dos agujeros negros, este observatorio confirmaba una de las predicciones de Einstein en su Teoría de la Relatividad General. Ahora, a esta colaboración

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of China and with the participation of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the Universidad de La Laguna, have observed a stellar black hole with a mass 70 times heavier than the Sun. The giant object, called LB-1, challenges the standard theory of stellar evolution. Its detection has been possible thanks to the exhaustive monitoring carried out during several months with the Gran Telescopio Canarias at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma). The result is published in the

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, (IAC) has participated, with a number of activities, in the XV Edition of the Science and Innovation Weeks organized bby the Canary Agency of Research, Innovation, and the Information Society (ACIISI) of the Government of the Canaries, in this way making a contribution to the popularization of science and technology in the society of the islands. The main theme of the event was the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements, because 2019 is the International Year of the Periodic Table which was proposed by Dimitri Mendeev just 150 years ago.El IAC ha

Mañana viernes, 22 de noviembre, a las 19 horas, en el Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, de Museos de Tenerife, tendrá lugar la charla divulgativa “Ondas gravitacionales. Los sonidos del Universo” a cargo del investigador la Universidad de las Islas Baleares Sascha Husa. La conferencia, organizada por el IAC en el marco de la XXXI Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, se realizará en castellano y la entrada será gratuita hasta completar aforo.

This ground-breaking achievement by MAGIC provides critical new insight for understanding the physical processes at work in the most powerful cosmic explosions. The results are published in two articles in the Nature Journal.