News

This section includes scientific and technological news from the IAC and its Observatories, as well as press releases on scientific and technological results, astronomical events, educational projects, outreach activities and institutional events.

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  • Southern Ring Nebula
    Press release
    James Webb Telescope reveals the possible origin of the mysterious shapes in the Southern Ring Nebula
    The first data show there were at least two, and possibly three, more unseen stars that crafted the oblong, curvy shapes of the Southern Ring Nebula. In addition, for the first time, combining infrared images from James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) with existing data from ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Gaia observatory, researchers were able to determine the precise mass of the central star before the nebula was formed. In this study, led by Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia), around 70 researchers have participated , among them scientists from the Instituto de Astrofísica de
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  • Geminid and volcano
    Press release
    Last wishes of the year: Geminids 2022
    During the nights of 13th and 14th of December we will enjoy the peak of the Geminid meteor shower. This event will be broadcast live from the Canary Islands Observatories via the sky-live.tv channel, with the collaboration with the Energy Efficiency Labs, and from Extremadura, thanks to Extremadura Buenas Noches project. For more than 10 years, Geminids have been the most intense meteor shower of the year, exceeding 100 meteors per hour (ZHR), followed by the Perseids and the Quadrantids. However, on the night of 13-14 December, the Moon will be 72% illuminated, making it difficult to see
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  • Signing of the FJS - IAC agreement
    Photomontage
    The Jesús Serra Foundation and the IAC reaffirm their commitment to collaborate in attracting prestigious international visiting scientists
    The Jesús Serra Foundation and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias have strengthened their relationship with a new agreement to formalize the collaboration between the two institutions in the Jesus Serra Foundation Visiting Researcher Programme . The aim of this programme is to attract highly prestigious international scientists to visit the IAC for stays of between one and three months. Representatives of the Foundation visited the IAC, the Teide Observatory (Tenerife ) and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma). On Monday November 28th Ignacio Gallardo-Bravo, the Director
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  • Webb's First Deep Field
    Press release
    The James Webb telescope produces an unparalleled view of the ghostly light in galaxy clusters
    A recent study, entirely done by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has produced the most complete analysis to date of the intracluster light, the diffuse and faint light emitted by stars in galaxy clusters which are not gravitationally bound to any galaxy. This result was based on data obtained by the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The research gives new clues about the formation processes of galaxy clusters, and the properties of dark matter. The article was published in the specialized journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters . In clusters of galaxies
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  • La Palma Supercomputer
    Photomontage
    The IAC initiates the Preliminary Market Inquiry for a new telecommunications project in the framework of the Recovery Plan
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has published a Preliminary Market Inquiry, asking for information in order to develop the proejct “Redundancy in the Terrestrial Optical Network of RedIRIS”, which was awarded in a resolution approved by the Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure (SETELCO) in August 2022. The project will be funded within the NextGenerationEU fund, under the heading “ Digital Connectivity,impulsing cybersecuritty and 5G deployment in the Plan for Recovery, Transformation, and Resilinece (PRTR) of the Spanish Government. The
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  • Malcolm Longair
    Photomontage
    The challenges of Astrophysics and Cosmology
    This Friday 2nd December at 17.30 will take place the public lecture “Challenges of Astrophysics and Cosmology”, which will tackle the role of technology in the comprehension of exoplanets, stellar formation and dark holes, among others, and the new questions that arise with the advancement of knowledge. The rendezvous is at the lecture theatre of the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, La Laguna (Tenerife). Malcolm Longair (Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge) will give this public lecture on the occasion of the XXXIII Canary Islands Winter School - Overlaps at the Frontiers of
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