Research led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has used an innovative technique based on artificial intelligence to study how stars form in galaxies. By analysing 10 000 nearby galaxies, the team have discovered that most stars are born within their own galaxy. Galactic mergers, while important, are not the main source of new stars. Furthermore, the study reveals that more massive galaxies are more affected by these mergers. These results, published in Nature Astronomy, provide new clues about the complex history of galaxies and their evolution over time. Most galaxies do not

An international piece of research, led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has found clues to the nature of some of the brightest and hottest stars in our Universe, called blue supergiants. Although these stars are commonly observed, their origin has been an old puzzle that has been debated for several decades. By simulating novel stellar models and analysing a large data sample in the Large Magellanic Cloud, IAC researchers have found strong evidence that most blue supergiants may have formed from the merger of two stars bound in a binary system. The study is published in the