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.

  • Left: time evolution of a weak circular polarization patch. The black and white background represents the magnetic flux density computed in the weak field approximation, saturated to +- 20 Mx cm-2. Blue lines represent iso-magnetic flux densities of -130,
    As we enhance the spatial resolution and sensitivity of spectro-polarimetric measurements, it becomes increasingly evident that highly dynamic magnetic fields permeate the whole quiet Sun. These weak magnetic flux concentrations emerge somewhat preferentially in granules, where plasma motions are more favorable for the magnetic fields to rise across the solar atmosphere. Surprisingly (due to their weak nature), organized structures in the form of Omega-shaped loops survive convective motions and reach higher layers, at least the lower chromosphere (Martínez González & Bellot Rubio 2009
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  • Footnote: Projected mid-section trajectory of the sunbeam that reaches the lunar disk targeted by the telescope at 21:36UT on 16 August 2008. Overplotted, the SO2 cloud (a usual volcanic cloud tracer) on 15, 16 and 17 August (red, green and blue, respecti
    The Moon's changeable aspect during a lunar eclipse is largely attributable to variations in the refracted unscattered sunlight absorbed by the terrestrial atmosphere that occur as the satellite crosses the Earth's shadow. The contribution to the Moon's aspect from sunlight scattered at the Earth's terminator is generally deemed minor. However, our analysis of a published spectrum of the 16 August 2008 lunar eclipse shows that diffuse sunlight is a major component of the measured spectrum at wavelengths shorter than 600 nm. The conclusion is supported by two distinct features, namely the
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  • We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of the members of three previously cataloged compact group (CG) candidatesat redshifts $z>0.3$. These confirm spectroscopic  redshifts compatiblewith being gravitationally bound structures  at redshifts 0.3112, 0.3848and 0.3643 respectively, and then they are the most distant  CGs known with  spectroscopic confirmation for all their members.  The morphological and spectroscopic properties of all their galaxies  indicate early types dominated by an old population of stars, with little star formation or nuclear activity. Most of the
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  • Representation of emitted light from Kepler-10b during its different phases, according to the Lava-ocean model. The reflected light has a similar geometry, but a spectral content close to that of the stellar light
    The Kepler mission has made an important observation, the first detection of photons from a terrestrial planet by observing its phase curve (Kepler-10b). This opens a new field in exoplanet science: the possibility to get information about the atmosphere and surface of rocky planets, objects of prime interest. In this letter, we apply the Lava-ocean model to interpret the observed phase curve. The model, a planet with no atmosphere and a surface partially made of molten rocks, has been proposed for planets of the class of CoRoT-7b, i.e. rocky planets very close to their star (at few stellar
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  • In this work we present the first complete CO J=3-2 map of M 81, observed as part of the Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey. M 81 is a nearby spiral galaxy (3.64 Mpc) known for hosting a high level of star formation. Previous studies, mainly in the J=1-0 line, have found little CO. The CO measured in a galaxy allows, through an empirical conversion factor, to know its content of molecular hydrogen. We have detected nine regions of important emission in the CO J=3-2 line, located at different regions of the spiral arm and confirmed that the global CO emission is low. Using a new Halpha map
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