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.

List view
  • Artist’s illustration of the V1298 Tau planetary system / Astrobiology Center, NINS.
    Press release
    Astronomers find missing link to Galaxy's most common planets
    One of the biggest recent surprises in astronomy is the discovery that most stars like the Sun harbor a planet between the size of Earth and Neptune within the orbit of Mercury — sizes and orbits absent from our solar system. These ‘ super-Earths' and ` sub-Neptunes’ are the galaxy's most common planets, but their formation has been shrouded in mystery. Now, an international team of astronomers has found a crucial missing link. By weighing four newborn planets in the V1298 Tau system, they've captured a rare snapshot of worlds in the process of transforming into the galaxy's most common
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  • Un momento de la campaña de toma de datos en el Observatorio del Teide / IAC
    Telecomunicaciones publica los datos del espectro radioeléctrico para proteger la calidad del cielo en los Observatorios de Canarias
    La Jefatura Provincial de Inspección de Telecomunicaciones de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, perteneciente al Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública, ha dado a conocer los recientes datos obtenidos del espectro radioeléctrico en los Observatorios de Canarias, del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), en un esfuerzo conjunto para proteger la calidad del cielo en las instalaciones científicas de los observatorios. Estos datos han sido recopilados en los dos observatorios, el Observatorio del Teide y el Observatorio del Roque del Roque de Los Muchachos, ubicados en
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  • Image of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), captured on 23 October from the Teide Observatory / Daniel López and Alfred Rosenberg (IAC)
    Press release
    A solar eclipse and the arrival of a comet will mark the 2026 astronomical calendar
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), through its Communication and Scientific Culture Unit (UC3) and in collaboration with the Museum of Science and the Cosmos (MCC), part of Tenerife Museums, publishes the astronomical events for the year 2026 in its traditional calendar. The year 2026 will be marked by a total solar eclipse on 12 August, which will not be visible from the Canary Islands, but will be 70 per cent partial. In addition, 2026 will see the arrival of new comets, meteor showers and other interesting astronomical events. The IAC's 2026 Calendar is illustrated with a
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  • Un momento de la grabación del programa Soñando Estrellas / IAC
    El programa Soñando Estrellas viaja a la cronología de la Vía Láctea y explora el auge del astroturismo en Canarias
    Esta semana, "Soñando Estrellas", el espacio radiofónico del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) que se emite en La Radio Canaria invita a descifrar los secretos de nuestra propia galaxia y a descubrir cómo el cielo se ha convertido en un motor económico para las islas en el capítulo 08. El programa, conducido por la periodista científica Verónica Martín, se emite este viernes 26 de diciembre a las 22:30 horas, ofreciendo una nueva entrega que combina ciencia de vanguardia con el talento joven de la Astrofísica. En este episodio 08, el programa cuenta con la participación de Carme
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  • Comparison between an observed galaxy (right) and a simulated galaxy (left) showing similarities in mass and size.
    Press release
    IAC researchers develop accurate method to measure dark matter haloes using galaxy sizes
    A new study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics unveils a powerful way to determine the size of dark matter haloes—the massive, invisible structures that host galaxies—by simply measuring how large galaxies appear in deep astronomical images. Researchers Ignacio Trujillo and Claudio Dalla Vecchia, from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), demonstrate that galaxy size can serve as a precise proxy for halo size, offering measurements up to six times more accurate than previous methods. Using the cutting-edge EAGLE cosmological simulations
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  • Giant galaxy M87 combining observations in visible light
    Press release
    Grantecan helps reveal how the black hole in the supergiant galaxy M87 shapes its mysterious filaments
    An international team of astronomers has captured the most detailed and completed view yet of the mysterious filaments surrounding the giant galaxy M87. Using new observations from the Gran Telescopio Canarias and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the study reveals how these long, thread-like structures move, evolve, and interact with their galactic environment and the activity of the central supermassive black hole. These findings have just been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. M87: a giant galaxy and its mysterious threads M87, located about 55 million
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