News

This section includes scientific and technological news from the IAC and its Observatories, as well as press releases on scientific and technological results, astronomical events, educational projects, outreach activities and institutional events.

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  • Scheme of RS Ophiuchi. Matter from the red giant and captured by the white dwarf generates a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of the latter. The ejected material creates a shock wave where particles are accelerated that produce the gamma radiation. Credit G. Pérez-IAC
    Research news
    Proton acceleration in thermonuclear nova explosions revealed by gamma rays
    Classical novae are cataclysmic binary star systems in which the matter of a companion star is accreted on a white dwarf. Accumulation of hydrogen in a layer eventually causes a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of the white dwarf, brightening the white dwarf to ~100.000 solar luminosities and triggering ejection of the accumulated matter. Novae provide the extreme conditions required to accelerate particles, electrons or protons, to high energies. Here we present the detection of gamma rays by the MAGIC telescopes from the 2021 outburst of RS Ophiuchi, a recurrent nova with a red giant
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  • Atmósfera y estructura interna de Gliese 486 b
    Press release
    Gliese 486 b: a Rosetta stone for the study of exoplanets
    An international scientific team , with the participation of the Institutito de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has measured the mass and radius of an Earth-like exoplanet with unprecedented accuracy . The detailed analysis allows to make robust predictions on the structure and composition of its interior and atmosphere. The study is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Since the first exoplanet around a solar-like star , 51 Pegasi b, was discovered in 1995, the astronomical community has continued to find new exoplanets that are less and less massive, closer and closer, and
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  • Artist's impression of a system with two super-earths
    Press release
    Two new rocky planets in the solar neighborhood
    An international scientific collaboration, in which the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participates, has discovered two new super-Earths orbiting a bright red dwarf star only 33 light-years away. Both objects are among the closest-known rocky planets yet found outside our solar system . The results are presented today at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Pasadena (California, USA). Two new exoplanets, HD 260655 b and HD 260655 c, have been detected using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a space telescope designed to look for planets in orbit
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  • Orion Protoplanetary Disk
    Press release
    Possible evidence of planet formation found in the Orion Nebula
    International research led by scientists at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has shown the existence of solid sulphur compounds in HH514, a jet of gas coming from the centre of the Orion Nebula. The concentration of this chemical element could be related to the process of exoplanet formation. The researchers have used three of the most important optical telescopes in the world: the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The results are published in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal
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  • Eclipse de Luna y Vía Láctea sobre el PN del Teide
    Press release
    Una alianza macaronésica para reducir la contaminación lumínica
    "Por una noche con más vida", este es el lema del nuevo proyecto de conservación de la naturaleza, LIFE Natura@night, cuya presentación tendrá lugar el 9 de junio a las 11 horas en el museo Casa Colón de Las Palmas. "Cada residente en Madeira, Azores y Canarias paga unos 30 euros al año en electricidad desperdiciada, según las estimaciones. Así que el problema de la contaminación lumínica nos afecta a todos. Tiene un impacto financiero, pero también en nuestra salud y amenaza a las especies incluso en zonas protegidas, fuera de los entornos urbanos", afirma Cátia Gouveia, coordinadora
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  • Star cluster Westerlund 1,
    Press release
    The star cluster Westerlund 1: a nursery of giant stars within the shadows
    A scientific team led by the University of Alicante, with participation by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has produced a detailed study of the most massive young star cluster in the Milky Way. This cloud of stars contains different types of giant stars in diverse phases of evolution, and can be used as an excellent laboratory for the study of the formation and evolution of massive stars. Stars tend to form in clusters, containing from just a few to several thousand stars, which share the same age and composition, although they show evolutionary differences. Among the clusters
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