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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  • The stellar source for phosphorus, element so important for life, is still unknown. Credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM (IAC).
    Research news
    The phosphorus that came from the stars
    All chemical elements in the Universe (except for H and most of the He) have been made in stellar interiors. But among those elements, the ones that allowed to build life such as we find on Earth are of particular interest (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur and phosphorus). However, the stellar origin of phosphorus (P) is still unknown as none of the current models of Galactic chemical evolution can explain all the phosphorus we observe in the Galaxy and notably in our Solar System, highlighting a still lacking phosphorus source. In this work we report the discovery of stars very rich in
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  • Scheme which represents the origin of phosphorus on Earth, with respect to possible stellar sources of phosphorus in our Galaxy. Credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM (IAC).
    Press release
    Stars rich in phosphorus: seeds of life in the universe
    The journal Nature Communications today is publishing the discovery of a new type of stars, very rich in phosphorus, which could help to explain the origin of this chemical element in our Galaxy. This achievement has been made by astronomers of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and researchers in computer science from the Centre for Research in Information and Communication Technology (CITIC) at the University of La Coruña (Galicia).
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  • Image illustrating the comparison between an active spiral galaxy (orange box) and its non-active twin (blue box). Credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM (IAC).
    Press release
    Differences between the discs of active and non-active galaxies detected for the first time
    A study led by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), making comparison between the discs of several pairs of spiral galaxies, active and non-active, concludes that in the discs of the former the rotational motion of the stars is of greater importance. This study, just accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters, is the first evidence for large scale dynamical differences between active and non-active galaxies in the local universe. The astronomers participating are from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna
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  • Artistic recreation of GJ887 and its planets. Credit: University of Göttingen.
    Press release
    A system of superearths has been detected around the brightest red dwarf in the sky
    The exoplanets closest to us offer the best opportunities to make a detailed study of their physical properties, including the search for life outside the Solar System. In research led by the University of Göttingen (Germany), in which the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the University of La Laguna (ULL) are participants, has detected a system of superearths in orbit round the nearby star Gliese 887 (GJ 887), the brightest red dwarf in the sky. The results are published today in the journal Science. Superearths are planets with a larger mass than the Earth, but substancially less
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  • Artistic impression of AU Mic b. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA).
    Press release
    A planet in the process of formation found round the nearby young star AU Mic
    An international team of scientists, with the participation of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has discovered a planet of the size of Neptune orbiting in rather more than a week around AU Microscopii, a young star a little over of 30 light years away, and surrounded by a disc of debris left over from its formation. The data were obtained with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Spitzer Space Telescope (now retired from service). The Discovery is published today in Nature magazine. The finding in this system, abbreviated as AU Mic, will be a unique
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  • Relative stability measurement of two laser frequency combs (LFCs). LFC1 (18 GHz mode spacing) is in channel A and LFC2 (25 GHz mode spacing) in channel B. a, Series of 100 spectrograph calibrations with one exposure every 61 s, 102 min in total. b, Results obtained with binned exposures of increasing size. The filled circles represent the standard deviation in A-B. The error bars quantify the uncertainty of the standard deviation estimated from the size of the statistical sample.
    Research news
    A crucial test for astronomical spectrograph calibration with frequency combs
    Laser frequency combs (LFCs) are well on their way to becoming the next-generation calibration sources for precision astronomical spectroscopy. This development is considered key in the hunt for low-mass rocky exoplanets around solar-type stars whose discovery with the radial-velocity method requires cm/s Doppler precision. In order to prove such precise calibration with an LFC, it must be compared to another calibrator of at least the same precision. Being the best available spectrograph calibrator, this means comparing it to a second - fully independent - LFC. Here, we report on a test in
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