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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  • Orion Protoplanetary Disk
    Press release
    Possible evidence of planet formation found in the Orion Nebula
    International research led by scientists at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has shown the existence of solid sulphur compounds in HH514, a jet of gas coming from the centre of the Orion Nebula. The concentration of this chemical element could be related to the process of exoplanet formation. The researchers have used three of the most important optical telescopes in the world: the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The results are published in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal
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  • Visit of the "Amigos del IAC" at the OT
    Photomontage
    "Amigos del IAC" visitan el Observatorio del Teide
    El sábado 4 de junio tuvo lugar la primera visita organizada por este programa, que tiene como objetivo fomentar la participación de la ciudadanía en la actividad del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), dando a conocer su investigación y desarrollo tecnológico. 25 miembros del programa "Amigos del IAC" fueron seleccionados del total de inscritos en la actividad para visitar las instalaciones del Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife) de la mano del equipo que gestiona el programa "Amigos del IAC". Durante su visita, accedieron al interior de varias instalaciones astronómicas y
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  • Eclipse de Luna y Vía Láctea sobre el PN del Teide
    Press release
    Una alianza macaronésica para reducir la contaminación lumínica
    "Por una noche con más vida", este es el lema del nuevo proyecto de conservación de la naturaleza, LIFE Natura@night, cuya presentación tendrá lugar el 9 de junio a las 11 horas en el museo Casa Colón de Las Palmas. "Cada residente en Madeira, Azores y Canarias paga unos 30 euros al año en electricidad desperdiciada, según las estimaciones. Así que el problema de la contaminación lumínica nos afecta a todos. Tiene un impacto financiero, pero también en nuestra salud y amenaza a las especies incluso en zonas protegidas, fuera de los entornos urbanos", afirma Cátia Gouveia, coordinadora
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  • Beatriz Villarroel
    Press release
    Beatriz Villarroel is awarded the L’Oréal-Unesco Prize for Women in Science
    Every year the L’Oréal Foundation and Unesco recognize five importan women scientists from the five continents. This year, for its 25th edition, the International Prize for Rising Talents has been awarded, in Europe, to Beatriz Villarroel, a researcher at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA, a joint institute of the University of Stockholm and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology) and at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) for the project Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) which tries to identify astronomical objects which
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  • Photomontage
    The six-monthly meeting of the International Scientific Committee of the IAC observatories met in La Palma
    It took place on May 24th and 25th in the meeting room of the Parador in Breña Baja A large group of representatives of the various institutions which take part in the International Scientific Committee met face to face on the Island of La Palma last Tuesday and Wednesday, 24th and 25tnh of May, and they were joined remotely by further participants on-line. In this meeting of the CCI (International Scientific Committee Spanish initials), they discussed, among other matters, the most recent scientific achievements at the Canary Observatories, as well as the status of new projects. In addition
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  • Star cluster Westerlund 1,
    Press release
    The star cluster Westerlund 1: a nursery of giant stars within the shadows
    A scientific team led by the University of Alicante, with participation by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has produced a detailed study of the most massive young star cluster in the Milky Way. This cloud of stars contains different types of giant stars in diverse phases of evolution, and can be used as an excellent laboratory for the study of the formation and evolution of massive stars. Stars tend to form in clusters, containing from just a few to several thousand stars, which share the same age and composition, although they show evolutionary differences. Among the clusters
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