The IAC hosts the international conference “China–Spain Astronomical Collaboration on High-Resolution Spectroscopy 2025”

China–Spain Astronomical Collaboration on High-Resolution Spectroscopy 2025
Group photo outside IACTec during the first day of the China–Spain Astronomical Collaboration on High-Resolution Spectroscopy 2025 conference.
Advertised on
References
Conference's website - China-Spain astronomical collaboration on high-resolutio…

Researchers from around the world are taking part in the China–Spain Astronomical Collaboration on High-Resolution Spectroscopy 2025, an event organised by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) in collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology (NIAOT), and the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) team. The aim of the conference is to strengthen and consolidate scientific cooperation between China and Spain in the field of high-resolution spectroscopy, one of the key areas for studying stars, galaxies and exoplanets.


The meeting, held from 24 to 28 November 2025, brings together more than a hundred specialists from Spanish and Chinese institutions, including the IAC, NAOC, Tsinghua University, IAA-CSIC, and CAB-INTA, among others.
 

CHORUS: A new instrument linking China and Spain

One of the main topics of the conference is the development of the Canary Hybrid Optical high-Resolution Ultra-stable Spectrograph (CHORUS), a new ultra-stable spectrograph currently being developed by NAOC and NIAOT, which will be installed on the GTC at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma). CHORUS will enable groundbreaking progress in areas such as: the search for Earth-like exoplanets using extremely precise radial velocity measurements, the study of ancient stars and the first chemical elements in the Universe, and the detailed characterisation of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.

The conference includes scientific sessions dedicated to instrumental developments at GTC, the current status of the CHORUS project, and its future impact on the international astronomical community.

A week of science: exoplanets, galaxies, instrumentation and space missions

During the opening session, following the welcome address by Eva Villaver and the organisational presentation by Jonay I. González Hernández (IAC), thematic sessions were held focusing on high-resolution spectroscopy with GTC, the search for Earth-like planets, and studies of the first stars and galactic archaeology.

Over the following days, the programme covers major scientific areas such as exoplanets, stars, galaxies and the Local Group, space missions, and instrumentation. On Wednesday, participants will visit Teide National Park and the Teide Observatory — an activity traditionally offered at IAC-organised conferences to showcase the scientific and natural environments that host the Canary Islands’ astronomical projects.
 

International Scientific Committee

The conference’s scientific committee is co-chaired by Jonay I. González Hernández (IAC) and Haining Li (NAOC), and includes researchers from leading institutions in both countries, among them Carlos Allende Prieto (IAC), Maria Rosa Zapatero Osorio (CAB-INTA), Sharon Xuesong Wang (Tsinghua University), Giuseppina Battaglia (IAC) and Savita Mathur (IAC).

Related news
Workshop "China-Spain collaboration on astronomical high-resolution spectroscopy"
Photomontage
A workshop in La Palma consolidates scientific collaboration in astronomy between Spain and China
From 25 to 28 July, the workshop " China-Spain collaboration on astronomical high-resolution spectroscopy" will be held in Fuencaliente (La Palma). Its aim is to consolidate scientific collaboration between China and Spain in astronomy, especially in the context of the technological development of the CHORUS instrument and its applications in different fields of astrophysical research. CHORUS (Canary Hybrid Optical high-Resolution Ultra-stable Spectrograph) is a high spectral resolution ultra-stable spectrograph for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) being developed by the
Advertised on
Carlos Allende, investigador del IAC; Romano Corradi, director del GTC, En-ge Wang, vicepresidente de la CAS; y Gang Zhao, subdirector general del NAOC, en la sala de control del GTC. Crédito: Daniel López/IAC.
Press release
El vicepresidente de la Academia de Ciencias de China y una delegación del NAOC visitan el IAC y los Observatorios de Canarias
El vicepresidente de la Academia de Ciencias de China (CAS), En-Ge Wang, y una delegación científica del NAOC (National Astronomical Observatories de la CAS), encabezada por su director, Gang Zhao, visitaron el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) y los Observatorios del Teide, en Izaña (Tenerife), y del Roque de los Muchachos, en Garafía (La Palma). Esta visita ha contribuido a impulsar, tal y como recogía uno de los puntos del memorandum firmado entre el IAC y el NAOC en mayo de 2016, la colaboración en el desarrollo de instrumentación científica para el Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC
Advertised on
News type
Press release
Scope
Congresses
IACTEC
Technology
Observing tools
Communications media
GTC
CHORUS
MICIU_Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

It may interest you

  • Vegetation moisture maps taken by space camera based on uncooled InGaAs technology
    Press release
    The IAC patents a key technology for improving the quality of space images
    The European Patent Office (EPO) has granted the IAC a patent on an invention developed within IACTEC-Space . This technology improves the quality of images obtained by high-performance cameras under the demanding conditions found in space. The effectiveness of this technology has already been tested on three space missions, applying it to the DRAGO (Demonstrator for Remote Analysis of Ground Observations) cameras, developed at the IAC for Earth observation from space. Carlos Colodro, electronics engineer at IACTEC-Space and the main person responsible for this development, comments that
    Advertised on
  • Poster of the Open Days at the IAC and IACTEC Headquarters for Open Government Week 2025
    Press release
    The IAC opens its doors to the public on the occasion of Open Government Week
    The headquarters of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and its technological headquarters, IACTEC, open their doors to the public at their Open Days as part of Open Government Week 2025. This initiative, promoted by the Open Government Partnership worldwide, seeks to bring public administrations closer to citizens and promote the values of transparency, integrity, participation and accountability. The event at the IAC headquarters will take place on Monday 19 May, while the IACTEC will open its doors on Tuesday 20 May. Both days will be held in person, with two visiting hours
    Advertised on
  • ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, H. Dannerbauer
    Press release
    The IAC finds surprises in Spiderweb protocluster field
    A team of researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), collaborating with other international institutions, has managed to find new galaxies in the Spiderweb protocluster. This was possible thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, which is a project of the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Europe (ESA) and Canada (CSA). Exploring the populations of galaxies, and discovering their physical properties in large scale structures helps astronomers to understand galaxy formation and how their assembly is determined by their environment. The “ Spiderweb” protocluster
    Advertised on