Un equipo internacional de astrónomos, liderado por Tariq Shahbaz, del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), y que incluye al también investigador del IAC Jorge Casares, ha descubierto lo que podría ser o bien la primera estrella de neutrones “masiva” o bien el primer agujero negro “de poca masa” observado. Este exótico descubrimiento podría ser el primer indicio de lo masivo que puede llegar a ser un objeto antes de curvarse sobre sí mismo en el espacio para convertirse en un agujero negro. La vida de las estrellas es similar a la nuestra – nacen, envejecen y, finalmente, mueren. La

Chemical abundances have been measured of PNe and HII regions in Sex A and Sex B, two galaxies located on the outskirts of the Local Group. These PNe are the farthest ones where such a direct abundance measurement has been obtained. PNe and HII regions in Sex B show unexpectedly similar abundances, suggesting a very low chemical enrichment. In Sex A there is only one PN known, and its anomalous chemistry is helping us to develop new models of stellar evolution in very low metallicity environments. Furthermore, new candidate PNe in NGC 6822 have been discovered, increasing the number of

A study comparing the oxygen abundance of stars with planets to stars without planets has been completed. By looking at various indicators of the O abundance, it was discovered that stars with planets generally present higher oxygen abundances. These studies are part of an IAC programme to determine whether significant differences exist between the chemical compositions of stars with and without planets (Ecuvillon, Israelian et al., 2006, A&A 445, 633).

Work by C. Gallart, M. Zoccali y A. Aparicio has been published in the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The article reviews current knowledge about star populations in nearby galaxies, which allow us to study the galaxies' history and evolution (Gallart, Zoccali and Aparicio, 2005, ARAA 43, 387). ARAA volumes are published yearly, by invitation, and have a wide circulation within the astronomy community.

An anomalous emission has been detected in the microwave region of the Perseus Molecular Cloud. This work extends the frequency range of the studies being carried out by the WMAP satellite and finds between 11 and 17 Ghz per emission, 10 times greater than can be explained by normal emission processes in the Milky Way. One possible and attractive explanation is the presence of fullerenes, the bipolar electric emission of which is compatible with the observations (Watson, Rebolo et al., 2005, ApJ 624, L28).

The galactic gradient of C has been determined for the first time using recombination lines in HII regions. Results from these lines are more reliable than those derived from the traditional collisional excitation lines, which are stronger but subject to variations of temperature in nebulae (Esteban et al., 2005, ApJ 618, 195). These results have made it possible to greatly limit the number of possible models for chemical evolution in the Milky Way.