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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  • MONOS
    Research news
    MONOS: Multiplicity Of Northern O-type Spectroscopic systems: III. New orbits and Gaia–TESS analysis for ten SB2E systems
    The most massive stars in the universe are often born and evolve in binary and multiple systems — that is, in pairs or groups bound by their mutual gravity. Understanding how they interact with each other is key to explaining everything from their formation to the impact they have on the galaxies they inhabit. The MONOS project (Multiplicity Of Northern O-type Spectroscopic systems) aims to study these systems in the northern sky, combining spectroscopic observations (which analyze light split into its component colors to measure stellar velocities and physical properties) with photometry
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  • La Cadena SER en Canarias premia la carrera de la investigadora Cristina Ramos
    Press release
    La cadena SER premia la carrera de la investigadora del IAC Cristina Ramos Almeida
    Cristina Ramos Almeida, investigadora del Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias (IAC) y coautora de más de un centenar de artículos sobre galaxias y agujeros negros, ha sido una de las homenajeadas en la primera edición de los premios "Mujeres tenían que SER" de Radio Club Tenerife, Cadena SER. El evento, celebrado en la noche del miércoles 29 de octubre, en la sala Adán Martín del edificio de Presidencia del Gobierno en Santa Cruz de Tenerife, ha teñido el espacio de reconocimiento al talento femenino en diversos ámbitos. La distinción resalta la crucial contribución de Ramos Almeida a la
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  • The EST team and the review panel during the live sessions of the Preliminary Design Review held at IACTEC (Tenerife) on October 21st–22nd, 2025.
    The European Solar Telescope (EST) passes successfully the preliminary design review of its buildings and Civil Works.
    The European Solar Telescope (EST) project has reached a decisive stage, with the completion of the PDR (Preliminary Design Review) of the Buildings and Civil Works, which was given a very positive evaluation by the panel of experts. This marks the start of the detailed design and construction phase of the infrastructure which will house the largest solar telescope in Europe. The review, which began on September 2nd, concluded with in-person meetings on October 21st and 22nd at the IACTEC facilities in Tenerife. During these sessions, experts in different fields discussed the main aspects of
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  • Didier Queloz during his lecture in the IAC Aula
    Press release
    Nobel laureate Didier Queloz visits the IAC and outlines the ‘next frontier’ in the search for exoplanets
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) welcomed the visit of Professor Didier Queloz, Nobel Laureate in Physics and co-discoverer of the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star. Professor Queloz's stay at the IAC has focused on instrumental development and technological collaboration. As part of his agenda, he also gave a lecture entitled ‘Exoplanets: the next frontier’ in the IAC Lecture Hall. The researcher visited the IAC to supervise the installation of a new high-stability spectrograph on the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma
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  • John Beckman Emeritus Research Professor of the IAC
    Photomontage
    John Beckman Emeritus Research Professor of the IAC is awarded the Prize for Research of the La Orotava Festival of Science
    John Beckman, Emeritus Research Professor of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has been awarded the Prize for Research of the third edition of the Prizes at the La Orotava Science Fair. This award takes note of the broad and productive career of Beckman in the field of astrophysics, and his key work in the promotion of scientific knowledge from the Canary Islands. After studying Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Oxford , Beckman moved to a postdoctoral position at Berkeley (U. California), worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech , and
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  • The founding director of the IAC, Francisco Sánchez (1936-2025)
    Press release
    Francisco Sánchez, founding director of the IAC, passes away
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) announces the death of its founding director, Professor Francisco Sánchez Martínez, whose determination led to the creation of one of Europe's leading research centres and two of the world's finest astrophysical observatories: the Teide Observatory in Tenerife and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma. He passed away today in Madrid, where he had been living for the last few years, at the age of 89. The director of the IAC, Valentín Martínez Pillet, emphasises that "Professor Sánchez's legacy is incalculable. He was a man who paved
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