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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  • Lanzamiento de DRAGO2
    Press release
    The IAC sends to space its second instrument for Earth observation
    The infrared camera DRAGO-2, developed by the team at IACTEC-Space and integrated into the satellite carrier ION-scv007 Glorious Gratia of the Italian company D-Orbit is now in orbit around the Earth after its successful launch yesterday on board a Falcon 9 rocket of Space-X. The Transporter-6 mission of SpaceX lifted off without a hitch at 14: 56 UT from platform 40 of the Space Force Station at Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA). Yesterday afternoon students, families, the media and IACTEC personnel were in the viewing room which had been installed in the multi-use area of IACTEC in the
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  • HUC and IAC Collaboration
    Press release
    Hospital Universitario de Canarias and IAC make progress in the early detection of colon cancer with artificial intelligence
    The Anatomical Pathology service of the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias (HUC) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) are partners in the development of a computer application adapting artificial intelligence tools used in astronomy to digitised images of human tissue. The project, called “Patolog-IA”, aims to speed up the interpretation of test results and the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. It is expected that it will also be useful for personalised medicine oriented to other kinds of cancer. Colorectal cancer is one of the most aggressive types of cancer and the
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  • Exo-Earths in GJ 1002
    Press release
    ESPRESSO and CARMENES discover two potentially habitable exo-Earths around a star near the Sun
    An international scientific team led by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has discovered the presence of two planets with Earth-like masses in orbit around the star GJ 1002, a red dwarf not far from the Solar System. Both planets are in the habitability zone of the star “Nature seems bent on showing us that Earth-like planets are very common. With these two we now know 7 in planetary systems quite near to the Sun” explains Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, an IAC researcher, who is the first author of the study accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. The
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  • Southern Ring Nebula
    Press release
    James Webb Telescope reveals the possible origin of the mysterious shapes in the Southern Ring Nebula
    The first data show there were at least two, and possibly three, more unseen stars that crafted the oblong, curvy shapes of the Southern Ring Nebula. In addition, for the first time, combining infrared images from James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) with existing data from ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Gaia observatory, researchers were able to determine the precise mass of the central star before the nebula was formed. In this study, led by Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia), around 70 researchers have participated , among them scientists from the Instituto de Astrofísica de
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  • Webb's First Deep Field
    Press release
    The James Webb telescope produces an unparalleled view of the ghostly light in galaxy clusters
    A recent study, entirely done by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has produced the most complete analysis to date of the intracluster light, the diffuse and faint light emitted by stars in galaxy clusters which are not gravitationally bound to any galaxy. This result was based on data obtained by the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The research gives new clues about the formation processes of galaxy clusters, and the properties of dark matter. The article was published in the specialized journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters . In clusters of galaxies
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  • Jorge Martín Camalich (left) and Carlos Hernández Monteagudo (right), researchers at the IAC and the organisers of the present edition of the School, with Rafael Rebolo, Director of the IAC (middle).
    Press release
    XXXIII Canary Islands Winter School - Overlaps at the Frontiers of Astrophysics, Cosmology and Particle Physics
    From 21th November till 2nd December at the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos (San Cristóbal de La Laguna), and organised by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias The 33rd edition of the Winter School of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias will focus on the efforts of astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics to understand the mysteries of the dark universe. The XXXIII Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, which is taking place between November 21st and December 2nd, was inaugurated yesterday in the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, with a welcome address by Rafael Rebolo
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