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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  • Deep optical image of the giant galaxy Malin 2
    Press release
    IAC research reveals hidden structures and a turbulent past in one of the largest spiral galaxies in the Universe
    Astronomers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), using the 2-meter robotic Two-meter Twin Telescope (TTT) at the Teide Observatory, have obtained the deepest optical images ever taken of Malin 2, one of the largest and faintest spiral galaxies in the Universe. These ultra-deep observations have revealed previously unseen structures, including several diffuse stellar emissions and a striking, elongated spiral-like feature, hinting at past interactions with other galaxies. The team has also identified a potential ultra-diffuse dwarf galaxy (UDG) about 400,000 light-years from
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  • metrica_Halpha
    Research news
    A Hα metric for identifying dormant black holes in X-ray transients
    Dormant black holes in X-ray transients can be identified by the presence of broad Hα emission lines from quiescent accretion discs. Unfortunately, short-period cataclysmic variables can also produce broad Hα lines, especially when viewed at high inclinations, and are thus a major source of contamination. Here we compare the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and equivalent width (EW) of the Hα line in a sample of 20 quiescent black hole transients and 354 cataclysmic variables (305 from SDSS I to IV) with secure orbital periods (Porb) and find that: (1) FWHM and EW values decrease with Porb
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  • Laser launched from the Teide Observatory.
    Press release
    IAC technology is the key to the Spanish project which will ensure the secrecy of quantum communications by satellite
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias is designing and developing, as ordered by the Spanish company Thales Alenia Space , the adaptive optics which will be a parto f the ground station for the GARBO project, the first Spanish geostationary system for distributing quantum keys by satellite. This is a decisive step in the field of secure quantum communication on a large scale, and will strengthn the position of Spain, and of Europe at the Forefront of this technology. Within the framework of the project the IAC will lead the development of the adaptive optics systems, and will participate
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  • Robert P. Kirshner, Executive Director of the Thirty Metre Telescope International Observatory (TIO), during his talk at the IAC.
    Press release
    Robert P. Kirshner, Executive Director of the TMT International Observatory, visits the IAC and gives a colloquium on the Thirty Meter Telescope
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has received a visit from Robert P. Kirshner, Executive Director of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO) . During his stay at the IAC headquarters in La Laguna, he was welcomed by the center’s director, Valentín Martínez Pillet, and by the deputy director, Eva Villaver Sobrino, along with other members of the research institute. During his visit, he was able to learn firsthand about the institution’s scientific and technological capabilities and gave a colloquium titled The Thirty Meter Telescope and Science of the Future
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  • tesscarmenes
    Research news
    Discovery of a transiting hot water-world candidate orbiting Ross 176 with TESS and CARMENES
    The TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has discovered many exoplanet candidates that need to be confirmed and characterized from the ground. One of them orbits Ross 176, a K-type dwarf star, where we have identified a promising hot “water-world” candidate. Using spectroscopic observations with the CARMENES instrument, we confirmed the planetary nature of the signal detected by TESS and estimated the planet’s mass. To improve the analysis, we applied an advanced statistical method called Gaussian Process, which allowed us to separate the star’s own variability (quite strong
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  • An artist's impression of Japan’s Hayabusa2 space mission touching down on the surface of the asteroid 1998 KY26.
    Press release
    Gran Telescopio Canarias observations confirm that Hayabusa2's asteroid target is smaller and faster than expected
    Astronomers have used telescopes around the world, includingthe Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, to study the asteroid 1998 KY26, revealing it to be almost three times smaller and spinning much faster than previously thought. The asteroid is the 2031 target for Japan’s Hayabusa2 extended mission. The new observations offer key information for the mission’s operations at the asteroid. “We found that the reality of the object is completely different from what it was previously described as,” says astronomer Toni Santana-Ros, a
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