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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  • Spectra obtained with ESPRESSO, corresponding to three different transitions in an absorbing system at z=1.15 towards the quasar HE0515-4414, compared with previous spectra on the same object obtained with the UVES and HARPS spectrographs, at lower spectral resolution.
    Research news
    Testing fundamental physics with ESPRESSO
    Many of the most basic and important physical phenomena are determined by a set of “fundamental constants”, whose values are experimentally known to high accuracy. A key aspect is to know whether they are “universal constants”, i.e., whether they have always had the same value across the Universe and throughout its history . Here we made use of data from the ESPRESSO spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in order to determine the value of the fine structure constant 8 thousand million years ago (when the Universe was just 40% its current age) by measuring spectral transitions in a
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  • telescopios MAGIC
    Press release
    MAGIC Telescope System detects energetic nuclear blast from vampire star
    Scientists from the MAGIC collaboration, using a system of two 17m diameter imaging air Cherenkov telescopes located on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, have detected very high energy gamma-rays from a recurrent nova in the Milky Way. This event is the first one that has been detected at such energies and may provide new insight into this class of eruptions, and the potential role they play for producing the mysterious highly energetic cosmic rays that permeate the Milky Way. The researchers present the results of their observations and insights they gained into this type of stellar
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  • Visita de Carlos Torres
    Photomontage
    BBVA Foundation's president, Carlos Torres Vila, visits the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
    The president of the BBVA Foundation, Carlos Torres Vila, visited the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Garafía, La Palma) to learn about the work being done by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). The most recent collaboration between the two institutions has been a research project led by astronomer Johan Knapen Koelstra and funded by the BBVA Foundation as part of its Programa de Ayudas a Equipos de Investigación en el área de Big Data. The president of the Foundation visited the GTC and the Cherenkov telescopes (MAGIC and LST), where he received explanations on the progress
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  • Validación Principio de Equivalencia - Cúmulo de estrellas
    IAC scientists obtain one of the most general validations of Einstein’s Principle of Equivalence
    The study shows the potential of major astronomical observatories to test the laws of physics and to show their universal character. The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal The General Theory of Relativity is one of the basic pillars of modern physics. One of the bases which support Einstein`s theory is the Principle of Equivalence. Using this principle one can infer that light which escapes from a region with a strong gravitational field loses energy as it travels, so that its wavelength shifts to the red. This phenomenon is known as the gravitational redshift, and measuring
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  • Rafael Rebolo - Signature of the agreement with AEMET
    Photomontage
    The IAC and the AEMET sign a collaboration agreement
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the National Meteorological Agency (AEMET) have stengthened their commitment to collaborate by adpoting measures which allow them to share installations, services, and data from their observatories. The agreement also contains clauses oriented to the ecological transition, energy use optimizaiton, the reduction of light pollution and assurance of the environmental quality of Izaña. The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the National Meteorological Agency (AEMET) which depends on the Ministry for Ecological Transition and
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  • The left panel shows the young stellar population (YSP) distribution overlaid with contours showing the advancing side (blue) and receding side (red) of the outflow. The right panel shows the same but with contours of W80 (i.e. the width of the 5007 [OIII] line).
    Research news
    Evidence of the impact of quasar driven outflows on recent star formation
    We present the results of our spatially resolved investigation into the interplay between the ages of the stellar populations and the kinematics of the warm ionised outflows in the well-studied type II quasar Markarian 34. Utilising integral field spectroscopic (IFS) data, we determine the spatial distribution of the young stellar population (YSP; age < 100 Myr) using spectral synthesis modelling. We also employ the 5007 [OIII] emission line as a tracer of the warm ionised gas kinematics. We demonstrate a spatial correlation between the outer edges of the advancing side of the outflow and an
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