This is the third “mini-Moon” with lunar-like material identified as part of the Arjuna asteroid belt, where objects follow similar orbits around the Sun to that of the Earth-Moon system. IAC, February 6, 2025. – Near-Earth asteroid 2024 PT5 orbits around the Sun following a trajectory very similar to that of the Earth-Moon system, and during two months of 2024, it accompained our Earth on its journey. This asteroid has material on its surface that was originated in the Moon, as it has been proved by a research led by the Insituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Universidad

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located in Chile, today released its first images of the universe, known in astronomy as an instrument's “first light”. This event marks the beginning of a project that will revolutionise our understanding of the universe over the next decade. Jointly funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is participating, as part of a consortium of Spanish institutions, in its scientific exploitation and contributing observation time from the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is actively participating in the observation of object 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1 ATLAS), initially included as A11pl3Z in the confirmed list of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre (IAU/MPC). The object, which has been shown to be the third interstellar object detected in our solar system, was discovered by one of the telescopes in the ATLAS network for the detection and early warning of asteroids on an Earth-impact trajectory. The IAC is part of this network with its new telescope structure, ATLAS