Un equipo internacional liderado por astrofísicos españoles ha descubierto que el origen de algunos de los elementos radioactivos encontrados en los meteoritos más primitivos, cuyo origen data de la época de formación del Sistema Solar, pudo proceder de una estrella de seis masas solares atravesando la última fase de su vida a su paso por la vecindad solar. La incógnita del origen de los componentes radioactivos hallados en los meteoritos más primitivos, aquellos que se remontan a la formación de nuestro Sistema Solar, parece tener una nueva respuesta. Un grupo internacional de astrofísicos

We tested the theoretical prediction that the straightest dust lanes in bars are found in strongly barred galaxies, or more specifically, that the degree of curvature of the dust lanes is inversely proportional to the strength of the bar. The test used archival images of barred galaxies for which Qb (which has been called the bar strength parameter) was known. Our results confirm the theoretical prediction but show a large spread that cannot be accounted for by the measurement errors. We simulated 238 galaxies with different bar and bulge parameters in order to investigate the origin of the

Lithium-poor “twin” stars to the Sun targetted. Stars similar to the Sun that have a low lithium content are strong candidates for hosting planets according to a study led by researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Lithium, one of the lightest elements known and easily detected through spectral analysis; provides a new trail to follow in the search for planetary systems like ours own   The results, published in the journal Nature, were obtained from a sample of about 500 stars. Examination of the data showed that the low proportion of lithium in Sun-like stars is

We have identified for the first time extragalactic rubidium-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in low metallicity environments such as the Magellacnic Clouds. AGB stars are the late stages in the evolution of low- and intermediate mass (1-8 solar mass) stars, when they develop thermal instabilities in the He-burning shell and suffer extreme mass loss. Thus, AGB stars are a principal contributor to the enrichment of the interstellar medium and so to the chemical evolution of galaxies, being fantastic laboratories to test the theory of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis. The more

The ideas on the formation history of disk galaxy bulges can beconfronted with direct observations of high redshift bulge precursors. Of vital importance is the search for strong episodes of star formation in the nuclei of the galaxies. Those episodes can result from secular processes that drive material from the outer regions inward, related to the phenomenon of the pseudobulges in the local Universe. Alternatively, they can be a consequence of rejuvenation procesess of old and red classical bulges formed at high redshifts. It is possible to distinguish between both types of bulges using a

Talleres, conferencias, observaciones y la inauguración de uno de los mayores telescopios del mundo son algunas de las actividades que tiene preparado el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias con motivo del Año Internacional de la Astronomía.