An international team, including a researcher from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has obtained an incredible image of the planetary nebula NGC 1514 using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), revealing the nebula's spectacular dusty rings in unprecedented detail. NGC 1514 was one of the first nebulae to be studied by astronomer William Herschel, who noted that when viewed through his telescope (the biggest in the World at the time) the nebula looked like a fuzzy cloud somewhat similar in appearance to one of his other discoveries: the planet Neptune. The new images acquired

En 2025, el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) celebra el cuarenta aniversario de su inauguración oficial en 1985, consolidándose como uno de los principales centros de investigación de Astrofísica a nivel internacional.

A study conducted with the new WEAVE , installed on the Telescopio William Herschel (WHT) at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma), and in whose construction the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participated, has revealed clear signs of shock interaction in the Type II supernova SN 2023ixf. Almost a year after the explosion, the data obtained with WEAVE reveal complex emission features that provide new clues about the processes shaping the final stages of massive star evolution. SN 2023ixf, located in the nearby galaxy M101, is the closest Type II supernova

A study published today in Nature Astronomy , in which a researcher from the IAC has participated, outlines the discovery of an extremely rare type of binary system composed of two high mass white dwarfs. The two stars are so close together that they will eventually collide resulting in a supernova explosion which, due to its proximity to the Earth, will appear ten times brighter than the Moon. Type 1a supernovae are a class of cosmic explosion often used as "standard candles" to measure the expansion of the Universe. They occur when a white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar mass - the limit