News

This section includes scientific and technological news from the IAC and its Observatories, as well as press releases on scientific and technological results, astronomical events, educational projects, outreach activities and institutional events.

List view
  • Artist's impression of the ANDES instrument on the ELT. Credit: ESO
    Press release
    The agreement for the construction of the ANDES instrument on the ELT is signed
    The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has signed an agreement with an international consortium of institutions, including the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA) and the Centro de Astrobiología de Madrid (CSIC-INTA), for the design and construction of ANDES, the ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph. The instrument will be installed on ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). It will be used to search for signs of life in exoplanets and look for the very first stars, as well as to test variations of the fundamental constants of
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  • galaxies in the CALIFA
    Research news
    Baryonic properties of nearby galaxies across the stellar-to-total dynamical mass relation
    Despite the fundamental role that dark matter halos play in our theoretical understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, the interplay between galaxies and their host dark matter halos remains highly debated from an observational perspective. This lack of conclusive observational evidence ultimately arises from the inherent difficulty of reliably measuring dark matter (halo) properties. Based on detailed dynamical modeling of nearby galaxies, in this work we proposed a novel observational approach to quantify the potential effect that dark matter halos may have in modulating galaxy
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  • Antonia Varela Pérez
    Interview
    ANTONIA VARELA: “La Medalla de Canarias me permite poner el acento en lo que importa: seguir hablando del cielo, de igualdad y de comunicar la ciencia”
    Entrevista a Antonia Varela, investigadora del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; presidenta de la Fundación Starlight, directora del Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, presidenta de BPW Canarias y Medalla de Oro de Canarias 2024. Toñi Varela, como la conoce todo el mundo, contagia con su sonrisa. Es una persona optimista y firme en sus opiniones y en sus objetivos tanto científicos como sociales. En su dilatada carrera ha saltado todo tipo de obstáculos académicos y, también, algunos muros (más que techos) de cristal endurecidos con la condescendencia y los prejuicios. Este Día de Canarias
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  • El IAC felicita el Día de Canarias
    Photomontage
    El IAC celebra el Día de Canarias
    El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) se une a la celebración del Día de Canarias, que cada 30 de mayo conmemora la autonomía de esta Comunidad El IAC se enorgullece de formar parte y de contribuir al legado cultural y científico del Archipiélago al ser el mayor centro de investigación de Canarias, con sus tres sedes, sus 450 trabajadores y gestionar dos de los observatorios astrofísicos más importantes del mundo: el Observatorio del Teide, en Tenerife; y el Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, en La Palma. Hay que recordar que la primera cátedra de Astrofísica de España se creó
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  • A large white machine with two big doors (polishing machine for large surfaces) in a white room with high ceilings (IACTEC's south clean room).
    Photomontage
    The IAC moves towards becoming a global benchmark in the manufacture of optical elements
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), through its Optics Department and the Center for Advanced Optical Systems (CSOA), is taking a new step towards becoming one of the largest manufacturers of optical elements for large telescopes in the world. This is after the consolidation of a new infrastructure for optical production that will allow it, from now on, to take care of all the stages in the manufacture of mirrors for large telescopes, from the cutting of parts to polishing and coating, as well as the manufacture of other precision optical elements for astrophysical
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  • Artist’s concept of Gliese 12 b
    Press release
    Astronomers discover one of the closest potentially habitable exoplanets to Earth
    An international research, in which the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has played a leading role, has found a planet of intermediate size between Earth and Venus orbiting a cool red dwarf 40 light-years away. The new world, named Gliese 12 b, lies within the habitable zone of its star, making it a promising candidate for the James Webb Space Telescope to study its atmosphere. The discovery was made possible thanks to observations from NASA's TESS satellite and other facilities such as CARMENES, at Calar Alto Observatory (CAHA), and MuSCAT2, installed at the Carlos Sánchez
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