Last night, the 5,000 fibre-optic ‘eyes’ of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) reached a major milestone, having fully covered the area originally planned for its map of the universe. Thus, DESI’s five-year programme has concluded ahead of schedule and with far more data than expected, resulting in the largest high-resolution 3D map of the universe ever produced. This map will enable researchers to explore dark energy, which accounts for 70% of the universe and drives its accelerated expansion. By comparing how galaxies were distributed in the past with their current

El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) celebra en 2026 la octava edición consecutiva del proyecto Habla con Ellas: Mujeres en Astronomía, una iniciativa de divulgación científica y educación en astronomía que se desarrolla en el marco del Día Internacional de la Mujer y la Niña en la Ciencia (11 de febrero). Dirigido a la comunidad educativa, el proyecto tiene como objetivo visibilizar el papel de las mujeres en la astronomía y la astrofísica, crear referentes femeninos en ciencia y tecnología e inspirar vocaciones científicas, especialmente entre niñas y jóvenes interesadas en las

During October, the Adaptive Optics System team at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTCAO) of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), in collaboration with the technical team at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan), successfully completed the integration of the GRANCAIN instrument into the world's largest optical-infrared telescope. The installation was carried out at the GTCAO outlet on the telescope's Nasmyth B platform, a key step in initiating performance testing of the new adaptive optics system. This is the first scientific instrument to operate using the GTC's adaptive