Context. The TOI-178 system consists of a nearby, late-K-dwarf with six transiting planets in the super-Earth to mini-Neptune regime, with radii ranging from to 2.9 R $\Earth$ and orbital periods between 1.9 and 20.7 days. All the planets, but the innermost one, form a chain of Laplace resonances. The fine-tuning and fragility of such orbital

Phase Diversity (PD) is a technique widely used to measure and compensate for Non-Common Path Aberrations (NCPA) in optical systems. Beyond its traditional applications, PD has found further uses in solar astrophysics, where it enhances image quality by processing multiple images to correct residual aberrations. In this work, we introduce a

Large-format infrared detectors are at the heart of major ground and space-based astronomical instruments, and the HgCdTe HxRG is the most widely used. The Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) of the ESA's Euclid mission launched in July 2023 hosts 16 H2RG detectors in the focal plane. Their performance relies heavily on the effect of

A new generation of optical intensity interferometers are emerging in recent years taking advantage of the existing infrastructure of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). The MAGIC SII (Stellar Intensity Interferometer) in La Palma, Spain, has been operating since its first successful measurements in 2019 and its current design allows

This contribution highlights the successes of the Liverpool Telescope (LT) outreach programs and present the future of our engagement plans with the LT's partner, the New Robotic Telescope (NRT). Since 2004, the LT has dedicated a considerable amount of observing time to educational and astronomy outreach programs aimed at students, teachers and

The Instrumentation Division of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is involved since several years in upgrading its capacities to design and manufacture optical components. To this end, we have created a new laboratory (Centre for Advanced Optical Systems, CSOA) which will be capable to design, fabricate and qualify large optical