In the standard cosmological model (𝜦CDM), galaxies are merely the visible "tips of the icebergs," residing within massive, invisible cocoons of dark matter known as haloes. While these haloes dictate the evolution and motion of galaxies, measuring their true size and mass has long been one of the most challenging tasks in astrophysics. A new study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics by Claudio Dalla Vecchia and Ignacio Trujillo from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) proposes a breakthrough: a physically motivated definition of a galaxy’s edge that acts as a precision "ruler"

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

Sub-Neptunes - planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune - are the most common type of planet in our Galaxy, yet they are entirely absent from our own Solar System. This absence makes them a major focus for astronomers seeking to understand planetary formation and evolution. We recently conducted an international study, as part of the THIRSTEE project, to characterize two such planets orbiting very similar small, cool stars known as M dwarfs: TOI-521 and TOI-912 . THIRSTEE is an observational-based program that aims to shed light on the sub-Neptune population by providing an