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.

  • Figure caption: (a) (Teff, log g)-diagram of the delta Scuti, gamma Dor, and hybrid stars detected from the ground (parameters taken from the literature). (b): (Teff, log g)-diagram of the Kepler stars we classified as  delta Scuti, gamma Dor, and hybrid
    The Kepler spacecraft is monitoring the brightness of more than 150,000 stars  in the constellations Cygnus, Lyra,  and Draco. The photometric time series with micromagnitude precision are excellent for the study of stellar oscillations. The oscillations lead to small changes in brightness and are caused by waves trapped inside the stars. The field of asteroseismology uses information from the stellar oscillations to infer information from the stellar internal structure. The delta Scuti and gamma Doradus stars are two classes of oscillating stars of spectral type A and F that are slightly
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  • HST image of the Butterfly nebula obtained by the authors on 1997. Red is Halpha+[NII], green is [OIII].
    The Butterfly Nebula (Minkowski 2-9) is an outstanding example of a highly collimated outflow from an evolved star. The formation of these extreme nebular geometries -i.e. how the (quasi)spherical symmetry that characterizes all the evolution of a solar-like star is broken when its envelope is ejected-  is one of the most debated and controversial topics in the study of the late stages of stellar evolution. Minkowski 2-9 gives us clear hints of what it might going on. This hourglass-shaped nebula is extraordinary in several aspects, but its  outstanding characteristic is undoubtedly its
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  • Mario Joao Monteiro at the XXII Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics. Photo: Miguel Briganti, Servicio MultiMedia (IAC)
    Mario Joao Monteiro is a theorist of the highest order. An expert in solar and stellar modelling, his current scientific interests are centred on the seismic analysis of the internal structure and evolution of solar-type stars. He aims to determine the fundamental stellar parameters necessary for a better understanding of how stars evolve from the pre-main sequence to the most advanced evolutionary stages. Since 2006 he has been the Director of the Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP). He plays a distinguished part in the Kepler mission, in charge of the modelling of solar
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