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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  • Dark matter
    Research news
    An accurate measure of the size of dark matter haloes using the size of galaxies
    Using the EAGLE cosmological simulations, this study demonstrates that a physically motivated galaxy size metric (R1)—defined by the outer limit of in situ star formation—provides a high-precision link to dark matter halo properties. The simulated galaxies accurately reproduce the observed stellar mass-size relation with a remarkably low scatter of 0.06 dex. By establishing a tight correlation between R1 and the halo radius (R200), the authors show that halo size and mass can be inferred from a galaxy's physical "edge" with less than 50% uncertainty. This method is six times more accurate
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  • ARKS gallery of faint debris disks
    Press release
    The IAC and the ULL participate in an unprecedented study with ALMA that reveals the Teenage Years of New Worlds
    An international team, with participation from the University of La Laguna (ULL) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), have, for the first time, captured a detailed snapshot of planetary systems in an era long shrouded in mystery. The study, called ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS) , is based on a series of 10 articles published simultaneously in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and was carried out using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) . Thanks to this work, the sharpest images ever of 24 debris disks, the dusty belts left
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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • dm_fig1
    Research news
    The slow expansion of dark matter halos from cusp to core naturally produces extended stellar core-like distributions
    Only a handful of observations truly constrain the nature of dark matter, which is why dozens of different physical models are still viable. Several of the most popular alternatives predict that dark matter halos slowly “thermalize” over time, gradually changing shape and expanding until they form a central region of nearly constant density -- a core. This transformation would not occur if the dark matter particles were completely collision-less, as assumed in the standard model. Therefore, the presence or absence of such a core provides a powerful way to distinguish between the standard
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