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.

  • Spectrum of the planetary nebula in the Sextans A galaxy obtained by the Very Large Telescope (VLT).
    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
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  • Relative frequency of the abundance of O compared to H in the study samples, using a variety of indicators.
    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).
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  • Hace ya más de dos vueltas alrededor del Sol que caosyciencia empezó su andadura en la comunicación científica. Por fortuna, algunos habitantes de la Tierra continúan pensando que vale la pena seguir recibiendo gratuitamente este pequeño mundo habitado por artículos, animaciones, imágenes y vídeos, en el cual se explica un poco de todo, con un cierto favoritismo reconocido por la Astrofísica, no en vano es una iniciativa del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). En este período insignificante en la escala del Universo, el rozamiento de caosyciencia con su entorno ha demostrado que no
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  • El martes, 23 de noviembre, SS.AA.RR., los Príncipes de Asturias, Don Felipe y Doña Letizia, realizaron una visita privada al Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), en La Laguna (Tenerife). La razón de esta visita era conocer personalmente la marcha de la construcción del Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) así como a los investigadores más jóvenes del IAC y a los participantes de XVI Canary Islands Winter School (Escuela de Invierno de Astrofísica de las Islas Canarias). Esta Escuela, organizada por el IAC e inaugurada el pasado lunes en el Puerto de la Cruz, está dedicada a los “Planetas
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