Using the Surface Brightness Fluctuation technique (SBF), IAC researchers have succeeded in detecting galaxies beyond Hubble's photometric detection limit. These new detections are fundamental for obtaining accurate information about the number of weak galaxies. This number is vital for Cosmology and for the theory of galaxy formation and evolution.

Tests have been carried out for the first time on the hypothesis that the structure of interstellar dust around galactic bars is determined by the velocity field of the gas. The dust is found in regions delineated by high gas speed gradients, something which had been proposed but not observed. The gradients themselves seem to be related to intense star-forming regions.

The linear polarization produced by scattering processes in the spectral lines of the IR triplet of Ca II can be observed near the edge of the solar disk. The cause of this polarization was considered a true enigma until the year 2003, in which IAC researchers could carry out sophisticated calculations based on the quantum theory of the spectral line polarization. In this way, they could demonstrate that the physical origin of the enigmatic polarization is the presence of "atomic polarization" in the lower levels of such spectral lines, which produces dichroism (i.e., selective absorption of

Los investigadores ya han hecho su primer descubrimiento con este instrumento: un candidato a planeta extrasolar de la masa de Saturno

Los políticos comprobarán la efectividad de la Ley del Cielo en Canarias, aprobada en 1988, que minimiza la contaminación lumínica

La charla será ofrecida por el Prof. Joseph Silk,de la Universidad de Oxford