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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  • Poster for the talk “Cosmology: the nightmare of contemporary Physics?”, featuring an image of Julio Navarro against a background of galaxies and event information: Friday 10 July, 17:00, Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos.
    Press release
    Cosmologist Julio Navarro to give a public talk on the major challenges of modern Physics
    The renowned researcher, invited by the IAC as part of the Fundación Occident Visiting Researchers programme, will analyse the unresolved questions that still surround the origin and evolution of the Universe. On 10 July, at 17:00, the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos will host the public lecture “Cosmology: the nightmare of contemporary Physics?”, delivered by the distinguished astronomer and cosmologist Julio Navarro, Professor at the University of Victoria, in Canada. The event forms part of his stay at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) within the Fundación Occident Visiting
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  • Research news
    Photonic integrated circuits for astronomy: A formal description of an integrated photonics-based wavefront sensor (IP-WFS)
    Solar wavefront sensing has been a challenge for astrophysical instrumentalists, due to the low contrast between the Sun and the sky background compared to night-time observations, which limits the performance of adaptive optics systems. Wavefront correction in solar physics requires the analysis of extended images; meanwhile, at night the displacement of a punctual object is analysed. This technique limits the spatial resolution, and therefore the accuracy in the wavefront reconstruction. To solve this problem, a new method of direct wavefront sensing without the need for image formation
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  • Valentín Martínez Pillet, Director of the IAC, speaks during the opening of the course on astrophysics and the space sector held at IACTEC.
    The IAC and the ULL promote a summer course on astrophysics and the space sector in collaboration with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    The free-registration initiative brings together specialists from research centres, universities, institutions and companies at IACTEC on 2 and 3 July to address the role of astrophysics as a scientific, technological and economic driver. The IACTEC building, located in the Las Mantecas Technology Park in La Laguna, is hosting from today until tomorrow, 3 July, the course "Astrophysics as a science and driver of economic development". The initiative forms part of the Summer Courses of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in San Lorenzo de El Escorial and, for the first time, is being
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  • IAC Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias EAS2026
    The IAC presents its latest scientific advances at Europe’s leading astronomy meeting
    Scientific staff from the Institute will present around thirty scientific contributions, including eight invited talks, at the annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS) The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is taking part this week in the annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS 2026), the largest European conference dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics, which is being held from 29 June to 3 July at the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland. The event brings together thousands of specialists, approximately 1,400 participants
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  • Eduardo L. Martín Guerrero de Escalante en el exterior de la sede central del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)
    The IAC obtains an ERC grant to apply artificial intelligence to the study of substellar objects
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has obtained its first ERC Proof of Concept Grant, a European Research Council (ERC) grant aimed at promoting the transfer of results derived from excellent research projects. The funding has been awarded to the SubstellarLLM project, led by Eduardo L. Martín Guerrero de Escalante, IAC researcher and principal investigator of the ERC Advanced Grant SUBSTELLAR. ERC Proof of Concept Grants aim to maximise the value of ERC-funded research by supporting activities that help verify the innovation, commercialisation or societal impact potential of
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  • Artist’s impression of the interaction between the star (GJ 436) and the exoplanet (GJ 436 b)
    Press release
    A study reveals the strongest evidence to date of a magnetic field on an exoplanet
    The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is taking part in an international study, published in the journal "Science", which provides the first conclusive evidence of a planet’s influence on the behaviour of its star. The results have made it possible to detect and estimate the strength of the magnetic field of the exoplanet GJ 436 b, opening up a new avenue for studying the habitability of planets outside the Solar System. Magnetic fields play a fundamental role in the habitability of planets. On Earth, the magnetic field acts as a shield against the solar wind and contributes to the
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