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.

  • SALSA Galaxy Mosaic
    International research, with the participation of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), reveals that perturbations in the magnetic fields of galaxies may be related to star formation. The study has mapped the magnetic fields of about fifteen galaxies in the vicinity of the Milky Way. The data were obtained with the HAWC+ instrument on board SOFIA, an airborne infrared telescope on a Boeing 747 that was operational until September 2022. The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal. For decades, astronomers have studied the forces that govern the interior of galaxies -
    Advertised on
  • Kitt Peak & Mayall Telescope
    The first batch of data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is now available for researchers to mine. Taken during the experiment’s “survey validation” phase, the data include distant galaxies and quasars as well as Milky Way stars. The universe is big, and it’s getting bigger. To study dark energy, the mysterious force behind the accelerating expansion of our universe, scientists are using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to map more than 40 million galaxies, quasars, and stars. Today, the collaboration, which includes the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)
    Advertised on
  • Poster AEACI 2023
    The "Astronomy Education Adventure in the Canary Islands 2023" will take place in Tenerife from 17 to 21 July and will mainly focus on research on the Solar System and extrasolar planets, highlighting the work carried out at the IAC and the Observatories of the Canary Islands. The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), together with other scientific and educational institutions, is organising the ninth edition of the "Astronomy Education Adventure in the Canary Islands" (AEACI). Under the title "Other Worlds", the latest discoveries and advances in research on extrasolar planets, the
    Advertised on
  • Teide Observatory
    After a break of 4 years, on June 23rd and 24th the Teide Observatory will be celebrating its Open Days. This activity is free; its aim is to bring some knowledge of astronomy to the general public, including those people who happen to be visiting the island on those two days. To make a visit it is essential to register using a special form before June 16th. In this year’s edition the activity will be guided, and 9 points of interest will be visited, one every 20 minutes, so that the complete visit should take 3 hours, from 10:00 to 13:00 for the morning session, and from 16:00 to 19:00 for
    Advertised on
  • Redes SI
    The IAC has implemented this protection feature using a service provided by RedIRIS, called DNS Firewall. Through this service, all queries that pass through our DNS servers will pass through the enabled filters, which will guarantee safer access and avoid possible threats. Most legitimate and non-legitimate communication begins with a DNS query that obtains the IP address of an online resource or service. The primary purpose of a DNS firewall is to monitor DNS traffic to provide protection for: Block user access to malicious websites. Prevent phishing attacks. Block communications from
    Advertised on
  • WASP-18b
    Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international scientific team, in which the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participates, has identified water vapour in the atmosphere of WASP-18 b, a massive extrasolar planet, a so-called hot Jupiter, with a temperature of around 2.700 °C. The result is published in the journal Nature. Exoplanet WASP-18 b is about 400 light-years from Earth, is 10 times more massive than Jupiter and has an orbital period of less than a day. Its extreme proximity to its star, its relative closeness to Earth, and its large mass
    Advertised on