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.

  • Poster Winter School 2025
    The Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics (IAC) is organizing the XXXVI Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics , which will be held in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife) from November 17 to 22, 2025. Under the title "Key Optical technologies for Astronomy", the school will focus on cutting-edge optical and algorithmic technologies that will define the future of Astrophysics. This edition, led by Professors Jeff Kuhn (University of Hawaii and IAC) and Rafael Rebolo (IAC), will involve approximately 35 advanced Master's students, doctoral candidates, and early-career postdoctoral
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  • euclid_ucd
    The Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) on board the Euclid space mission has obtained near-infrared (NIR) spectra of millions of objects, including hundreds of ultracool dwarfs (UCDs). Euclid observations retrieve images and slitless spectra simultaneously. This observing mode marks a new era in the discovery of new objects, such as L- and T-type dwarfs, which can be found from direct identification through the H2O and CH4 absorption bands. NISP spectral resolution (R ∼ 450) is enough to classify the objects by the spectral type using known standard templates. Q1 provided more
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  • MONOS
    The most massive stars in the universe are often born and evolve in binary and multiple systems — that is, in pairs or groups bound by their mutual gravity. Understanding how they interact with each other is key to explaining everything from their formation to the impact they have on the galaxies they inhabit. The MONOS project (Multiplicity Of Northern O-type Spectroscopic systems) aims to study these systems in the northern sky, combining spectroscopic observations (which analyze light split into its component colors to measure stellar velocities and physical properties) with photometry
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  • Didier Queloz during his lecture in the IAC Aula
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) welcomed the visit of Professor Didier Queloz, Nobel Laureate in Physics and co-discoverer of the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star. Professor Queloz's stay at the IAC has focused on instrumental development and technological collaboration. As part of his agenda, he also gave a lecture entitled ‘Exoplanets: the next frontier’ in the IAC Lecture Hall. The researcher visited the IAC to supervise the installation of a new high-stability spectrograph on the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma
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  • Vegetation moisture maps taken by space camera based on uncooled InGaAs technology
    The European Patent Office (EPO) has granted the IAC a patent on an invention developed within IACTEC-Space . This technology improves the quality of images obtained by high-performance cameras under the demanding conditions found in space. The effectiveness of this technology has already been tested on three space missions, applying it to the DRAGO (Demonstrator for Remote Analysis of Ground Observations) cameras, developed at the IAC for Earth observation from space. Carlos Colodro, electronics engineer at IACTEC-Space and the main person responsible for this development, comments that
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  • Deep optical image of the giant galaxy Malin 2
    Astronomers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), using the 2-meter robotic Two-meter Twin Telescope (TTT) at the Teide Observatory, have obtained the deepest optical images ever taken of Malin 2, one of the largest and faintest spiral galaxies in the Universe. These ultra-deep observations have revealed previously unseen structures, including several diffuse stellar emissions and a striking, elongated spiral-like feature, hinting at past interactions with other galaxies. The team has also identified a potential ultra-diffuse dwarf galaxy (UDG) about 400,000 light-years from
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