The optical instrument used to measure and characterize sky quality at the IAC observatories is the DIMM (differential image motion measurements). The optical system and its mode of operation are relatively simple. It consists, basically, placing two equal apertures at the entrance of a telescope, in one of them an optical wedge is located. In this

Using spectroscopic radial velocities with the Apache Point Observatory Galaxy Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) instrument and Gaia distance estimates, we demonstrate that Kepler-503b, currently considered a validated Kepler planet, is in fact a brown-dwarf/low-mass star in a nearly circular 7.2-day orbit around a subgiant star. Using a mass estimate

During its four years of photometric observations, the Kepler space telescope detected thousands of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates. One of Kepler's greatest heritages has been the confirmation and characterization of hundreds of multi-planet systems via transit timing variations (TTVs). However, there are many interesting candidate systems

Context. Cosmic rays and magnetic fields play an important role for the formation and dynamics of gaseous halos of galaxies. Aims: Low-frequency radio continuum observations of edge-on galaxies are ideal to study cosmic-ray electrons (CREs) in halos via radio synchrotron emission and to measure magnetic field strengths. Spectral information can be

Themis is a 90 cm solar telescope which undergoes a rejuvenation of its scientific instruments. In particular, it is about to be equipped with an adaptive optics (AO) system with a bandwidth of at least 1 kHz and featuring a 97 actuator deformable mirror and 10×10 Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Nowadays, the computational power required by such a

This contribution is focused on the innovative aspects of the design of the Laser Guide Star (LGS) Facility for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) Adaptive Optics (GTCAO) System [6]. After a trade-off process considering different alternatives, a preliminary opto-mechanical design was defined, based on a "TOPTICA SodiumStar" laser to be launched on