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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  • The National Hub of Excellence in Quantum Communications holds its general meeting at IACTEC
    The National Hub of Excellence in Quantum Communications held its general meeting on 10 and 11 February at the IACTEC building, located in the Tenerife Science and Technology Park. The event brought together representatives from Spain’s leading public institutions in the field of quantum technologies, consolidating the coordinated efforts undertaken within this strategic initiative. On Tuesday, 10 February, the programme addressed the Hub’s strategic vision within the national and European context, highlighting its alignment with Spain’s Quantum Technologies Strategy (2025–2030) and with
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  • Eclipse caused by a super-Jupiter or brown dwarf with massive rings
    Press release
    A giant ring system around a substellar object causes a rare nine-month eclipse of its host star
    An international scientific team, involving the University of La Laguna (ULL) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has identified the cause of an unusually long dimming of a distant star . The phenomenon is explained by the passage of a substellar object with a giant ring system, similar to a ‘cosmic saucer’, in front of the host star. The star, named ASASSN-24fw, is located in the Monoceros constellation at about 3,000 light-years away from Earth. The star faded steadily for more than nine months between late 2024 and mid-2025 to about 97% dark before returning to its normal
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  • Habla con Ellas: Mujeres en Astronomía – Edición 2026
    Press release
    “Habla con Ellas: Mujeres en Astronomía”: ocho ediciones conectando ciencia y educación
    El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) celebra en 2026 la octava edición consecutiva del proyecto Habla con Ellas: Mujeres en Astronomía, una iniciativa de divulgación científica y educación en astronomía que se desarrolla en el marco del Día Internacional de la Mujer y la Niña en la Ciencia (11 de febrero). Dirigido a la comunidad educativa, el proyecto tiene como objetivo visibilizar el papel de las mujeres en la astronomía y la astrofísica, crear referentes femeninos en ciencia y tecnología e inspirar vocaciones científicas, especialmente entre niñas y jóvenes interesadas en las
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  • Día Internacional de las Mujeres y las Niñas en la Ciencia
    Press release
    El IAC refuerza su compromiso con la igualdad en ciencia con actividades educativas y divulgativas por el 11F
    El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) se suma a la conmemoración del Día Internacional de las Mujeres y las Niñas en la Ciencia con un amplio programa de actividades orientadas a visibilizar el papel de las mujeres en la astronomía y fomentar el interés por la ciencia y la tecnología entre las nuevas generaciones. Entre las acciones más destacadas se encuentra la Editatona 11F, organizada junto a Wikimedia España. La iniciativa se articula en dos jornadas complementarias: un wikitaller práctico de introducción a la edición en Wikipedia, en el que las personas participantes aprenden
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  • SFH of thick and thin disks
    Research news
    Chronology of our Galaxy from Gaia colour-magnitude diagram fitting (ChronoGal): II. Unveiling the formation and evolution of the kinematically selected Thick and Thin Discs
    Research on the formation, origin, and evolution of the dichotomy between the thin and thick disk components of the Milky Way has been a major topic of study, as it is key to understanding how our Galaxy formed. However, this is not an easy task, since populations defined by their morphology or kinematics show a mixture of chemically distinct stellar populations. Age therefore becomes a fundamental parameter for understanding the evolution of the Galactic disk. Our goal is to derive the age and metallicity distributions of the thin and thick disks defined kinematically, in order to reveal
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  • Edit-a-thon 11F
    Press release
    The IAC and Wikimedia Spain promote an edit-a-thon to raise the profile of women in astronomy on Wikipedia
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and Wikimedia Spain are organising, on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a Wikipedia editing workshop and an edit-a-thon of biographies of female astronomers and astrophysicists, an initiative that seeks to highlight the talent of women in the field of astronomy and astrophysics and contribute to reducing existing content gaps in the free encyclopaedia. The proposal is divided into two complementary days, designed to facilitate participation by anyone, regardless of their level of prior knowledge about editing
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