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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  • Photomontage
    The WEAVE spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope takes its first light data at the ORM
    The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) and the WEAVE instrument team present the first observations with this new instrument. This is a powerful latest generation multi-fibre spectrograph which, in synergy with the Gaia satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), will be used to obtain spectra of several million stars in the disc and the halo of our Galaxy, permitting in-depth “archaeology” of the Milky Way. In addition, other galaxies, both nearby and distant, will be studied, some of them detected by the LOFAR radio telescope, in order to get to know their evolution. WEAVE, on the
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  • HUC and IAC Collaboration
    Press release
    Hospital Universitario de Canarias and IAC make progress in the early detection of colon cancer with artificial intelligence
    The Anatomical Pathology service of the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias (HUC) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) are partners in the development of a computer application adapting artificial intelligence tools used in astronomy to digitised images of human tissue. The project, called “Patolog-IA”, aims to speed up the interpretation of test results and the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. It is expected that it will also be useful for personalised medicine oriented to other kinds of cancer. Colorectal cancer is one of the most aggressive types of cancer and the
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  • Exo-Earths in GJ 1002
    Press release
    ESPRESSO and CARMENES discover two potentially habitable exo-Earths around a star near the Sun
    An international scientific team led by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has discovered the presence of two planets with Earth-like masses in orbit around the star GJ 1002, a red dwarf not far from the Solar System. Both planets are in the habitability zone of the star “Nature seems bent on showing us that Earth-like planets are very common. With these two we now know 7 in planetary systems quite near to the Sun” explains Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, an IAC researcher, who is the first author of the study accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. The
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  • Southern Ring Nebula
    Press release
    James Webb Telescope reveals the possible origin of the mysterious shapes in the Southern Ring Nebula
    The first data show there were at least two, and possibly three, more unseen stars that crafted the oblong, curvy shapes of the Southern Ring Nebula. In addition, for the first time, combining infrared images from James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) with existing data from ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Gaia observatory, researchers were able to determine the precise mass of the central star before the nebula was formed. In this study, led by Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia), around 70 researchers have participated , among them scientists from the Instituto de Astrofísica de
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  • Geminid and volcano
    Press release
    Last wishes of the year: Geminids 2022
    During the nights of 13th and 14th of December we will enjoy the peak of the Geminid meteor shower. This event will be broadcast live from the Canary Islands Observatories via the sky-live.tv channel, with the collaboration with the Energy Efficiency Labs, and from Extremadura, thanks to Extremadura Buenas Noches project. For more than 10 years, Geminids have been the most intense meteor shower of the year, exceeding 100 meteors per hour (ZHR), followed by the Perseids and the Quadrantids. However, on the night of 13-14 December, the Moon will be 72% illuminated, making it difficult to see
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  • Signing of the FJS - IAC agreement
    Photomontage
    The Jesús Serra Foundation and the IAC reaffirm their commitment to collaborate in attracting prestigious international visiting scientists
    The Jesús Serra Foundation and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias have strengthened their relationship with a new agreement to formalize the collaboration between the two institutions in the Jesus Serra Foundation Visiting Researcher Programme . The aim of this programme is to attract highly prestigious international scientists to visit the IAC for stays of between one and three months. Representatives of the Foundation visited the IAC, the Teide Observatory (Tenerife ) and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma). On Monday November 28th Ignacio Gallardo-Bravo, the Director
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