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.

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  • ALISIO-1 images of Popocatepetl volcano in Puebla, Mexico
    Press release
    The ALISIO-1 satellite shows its efficiency in following the eruptions of the Mexican volcano Popocatépetl
    During commissioning the Canary satellite ALISIO-1 proves its efficiency by observing phenomena in over 100 regions of the world The first Canary satellite, led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), ALISIO-1, (an acronym for Advanced Land-Imaging Satellite for Infrared Observations) was launched into space on December 1st 2023 from the Vandenberg Airforce Base in California, and in only a few months has completed the commissioning phase, the verification on orbit that all its systems are working correctly. In this phase of verification the DRAGO-2 camera has been calibrated, and
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  • Noche Mundial Starlight
    Photomontage
    XVII aniversario de la Declaración Starlight en Defensa del Cielo Nocturno
    El 20 de abril se celebra la Noche Mundial en Defensa de la Luz de las Estrellas que conmemora la firma de la Declaración de La Palma La Noche Mundial en Defensa de la Luz de las Estrellas, también llamada Noche Mundial Starlight por ser la Fundación Starlight la promotora de esta iniciativa , coincide con la firma en 2007 de la “Declaración de La Palma en Defensa del Cielo Nocturno y el derecho a observar las Estrellas”, cuyo fin es el de considerar el cielo como un patrimonio cultural, científico y medioambiental. Desde entonces, la Fundación Starlight trabaja por extender los valores
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  • Irene González Hernández
    Photomontage
    An honorary prize from the American Astronomical Society remembers solar physicist Irene González Hernández
    The American Astronomical Society (AAS) and its Solar Physics Division (SPD) sponsors an Honorary Prize in memory of Irene González Hernández (La Orotava, Tenerife, Spain, 20 October 1969 - Tucson, AZ, 13 February 2014), a solar physicist who completed her doctoral thesis at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). This prize will be awarded annually to a scientist for a significant contribution to the study of the Sun in a person’s mid-career. The recipient will be invited to deliver a González Hernández Prize lecture at a meeting of the Division and/or the Society. The prize-winner
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  • Planetary Nebula M57
    Research news
    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon grains as a carrier of unidentified IR bands in planetary nebulae
    It is well known that fullerenes – big, complex, and highly resistant carbon molecules with potential applications in nanotechnology – are mostly seen in planetary nebulae (PNe); old dying stars with progenitor masses similar to our Sun. Fullerenes, like C60 and C70, have been detected in PNe whose infrared (IR) spectra are dominated by broad unidentified IR (UIR) plateau emissions. The identification of the chemical species (structure and composition) responsible for such UIR emission widely present in the Universe is a mystery in astrochemistry; although they are believed to be carbon-rich
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  • Unveiling of the plaque of the Francisco Sánchez Astrophysics Centre on La Palma,
    Press release
    The Centre for Astrophysics on La Palma is renamed “Francisco Sánchez” in honour of the founder of the IAC
    The Deputy Director of the IAC, Casiana Muñoz Tuñón praises the bravery and persistence shown by Francisco Sánchez which enabled the IAC to be recognized as one of the best centres in the world for research in astrophysics. The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) hosted this morning the ceremony to rename the Centre of Astrophysics on La Palma (CALP) as CALP Francisco Sánchez, in honour of the person who was the first Professor of astrophysics in Spain, and the founder of the IAC. Those taking part in the ceremony included the Founding Director of the IAC, Francisco Sánchez Martínez
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  • Planetary nebula M57
    Press release
    The mystery of the fullerenes in space explained
    A pioneering study from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) which combines laboratory chemistry with astrophysics, has shown for the first time that grains of dust formed by carbon and hydrogen in a highly disordered state, known as HAC, can take part in the formation of fullerenes, carbon molecules which are of key importance for the development of life in the universe, and with potential applications in nanotechnology. The results are published as a Letter to the Editor in the prestigious journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Fullerenes are carbon molecules which are very big
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