The EU-funded EDUCADO project (Exploring the Deep Universe by Computational Analysis of Data from Observations) at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is organising a two-night astronomical observation school providing hands-on research training for early-stage researchers in astronomy and computer science. The program will convene 15 doctoral candidates from across Europe for an immersive, interdisciplinary learning experience. Attendees will engage in night time astronomical observations utilizing state-of-the-art telescopic instrumentation, guided data analysis workshops, and

Gravity has shaped our cosmos. Its attractive influence turned tiny differences in the amount of matter present in the early universe into the sprawling strands of galaxies we see today. A new study using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has traced how this cosmic structure grew over the past 11 billion years, providing the most precise test to date of gravity at very large scales. DESI is an international collaboration of more than 900 researchers, included the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), from over 70 institutions around the world and is managed by

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