An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the IAC, have performed a unique cosmic test - measuring the mass of an ancient star using two entirely different methods, finding agreement to within just 1.4%. This result marks a milestone in our ability to determine the ages of old stars and use them as living fossils to study the Milky Way’s distant past. The team analysed the red giant in the binary system KIC 10001167 using two independent approaches: firstly, by measuring the brightness and radial velocity variations due to the orbital motion of the binary, and secondly

In the Museo de la Ciencia del Cosmos Boris Gänsicke will unravel the puzzle of how planetary systems will end

A study published today in Nature Astronomy , in which a researcher from the IAC has participated, outlines the discovery of an extremely rare type of binary system composed of two high mass white dwarfs. The two stars are so close together that they will eventually collide resulting in a supernova explosion which, due to its proximity to the Earth, will appear ten times brighter than the Moon. Type 1a supernovae are a class of cosmic explosion often used as "standard candles" to measure the expansion of the Universe. They occur when a white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar mass - the limit