El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), a través de su departamento IACTEC-Espacio, celebra hoy la System Requirements Review (SRR) de la misión IACSAT-1, un hito clave que marca la finalización de la fase B1 del proyecto y consolida todos los requisitos técnicos, científicos y programáticos necesarios para avanzar hacia el diseño preliminar del satélite. IACSAT-1 es la primera misión liderada íntegramente por el IAC dedicada a la observación astronómica desde el espacio. Se trata de un proyecto desarrollado por IACTEC-Espacio, con un equipo científico dirigido por el Prof. Rafael

The ONCE is dedicating its lottery ticket for Sunday, June 29, to the 40th anniversary of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Five and a half million coupons will spread the word about this anniversary throughout Spain, featuring an image of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan), the world's largest optical-infrared telescope, located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma). Since it began scientific operations in 2009, the GTC has become a symbol of the scientific and technical consolidation of the IAC and the Canary Islands Observatories (OCAN), and its

An international team led by Cristina Ramos Almeida, a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe five dust-obscured quasars — and the results offer new insights into how galaxies and their central supermassive black holes may evolve. The study is published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics . The energy released by supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies is a fundamental ingredient in regulating the formation of new stars, and thus galaxy growth. This occurs during an active phase, usually

The image of the moment was featured by Vatican News as the headline of its news channel. Two young researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Stella Tsilia and Jun-Yan Zhang (Jerry), participated in the Vatican Observatory Summer School 2025, held from 1 to 27 June at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo (Italy). During the audience granted by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the course participants, Tsilia and Zhang presented the Pontiff with a sticker bearing the IAC logo as a token of gratitude and institutional recognition. The gesture was picked up by the

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has again shown its high quality in the field of international research. Two of its Research Professors, Carme Gallart and Enric Pallé, have been selected by the European Research Council (ERC) to receive ERC Advanced Grant s , the most prestigious and competitive grants of the Horizon Europe programme. This call for proposals is aimed at researchers who are leaders in their fields, with consolidated records and highly innovative proposals. Each grant can reach up to 2.5 million euros over five years, with additional funding for specific needs

An international team of researchers, including researchers from the IAC, have studied in detail a remarkable couple of dwarf galaxies “dancing with each other” inside an unpopulated area of the Universe. This uncommon pair of low-mass galaxies merging “in the middle of nowhere”, near the center of a cosmic void, offers a unique view of one-on-one interactions and of the evolution of galaxies located in very low density environments. Researchers from the Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY (CAVITY) project, led by the University of Granada, have discovered a rare and ongoing