Scientists from the MAGIC collaboration, using a system of two 17m diameter imaging air Cherenkov telescopes located on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, have detected very high energy gamma-rays from a recurrent nova in the Milky Way. This event is the first one that has been detected at such energies and may provide new insight into this class of eruptions, and the potential role they play for producing the mysterious highly energetic cosmic rays that permeate the Milky Way. The researchers present the results of their observations and insights they gained into this type of stellar

A research team at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has observed an unusual type of emission in a sample of local galaxies which could indicate the presence of accretion discs around intermediate mass black holes (IMBH). The discovery would multiply by five the numer of known IMBH and opens a new way to detect and study this mysterious class of astronomica objects. Although only a few are known, via indirect evidence, the IMBH are a key to understand the formation of supermassive black holes and the galaxies which harbour them. The IMBH is a type of black hole whose mass is