LIRIS, the IR imaging camera and spectrograph built by the IAC, is giving life to new projects. During 2006 advances were made in the search for and analysis of...
Seismic constraints on rotation of Sun-like star and mass of exoplanet.
Rotation is thought to drive cyclic magnetic activity in the Sun and Sun-like stars. Stellar dynamos, however, are poorly understood owing to the scarcity of...
Simultaneous optical and near-infrared linear spectropolarimetry of the earthshine.
Aims. We aim to extend our current observational understanding of the integrated planet Earth spectropolarimetry from the optical to the near-infrared...
Small Magnetic Loops Connecting the Quiet Surface and the Hot Outer Atmosphere of the Sun.
The quiet Sun (the 99%, or more, of the solar surface not covered by sunspots or active regions) is receiving increased attention in recent years; its role on...
Solving the enigma of the brightest planetary nebulae
Planetary nebulae (PNe) are the ejecta of evolved low-intermediate mass stars present in all stellar systems. Perhaps the easiest thing to do when studying PNe...
Solving the paradox of the enigmatic solar sodium D1 line polarization
In 1998 the journal Nature published a seminal letter concluding that the mysterious polarization (a particular property of light) that had been recently...
Spectroscopic follow-up of L- and T-type proper-motion member candidates in the Pleiades.
We report on the near-infrared low-resolution spectroscopy and red optical (Z-band) photometry of seven proper-motion, very low-mass substellar member...
There are many oscillatory phenomena in the Sun which show up from the deepest interior layers to the outermost layers of its atmosphere. The study of these...
Spiral-shaped winds in old stars reveal presence of a partner
Towards the end of their lives some 95% of stars evolve into red giants which lose their mass via a “stellar wind”. Eventually they end up as planetary nebulae...