Multiwavelengthp observations of a GRB detected by INTEGRAL (GRB 030227) revealed a dim optical afterglow (OA) that would not have been detected by many previous searches due to its faintess (R~ 23). This OA was seen to decline following a power law decay with index α = -0.95 +/- 0.16. The spectral index β of the OA yields -1.32 +/- 0.15, with the

ELMER is a visible imager and spectrograph for the GTC. ELMER is currently in the final stage of testing (at the PO in La Laguna, Tenerife) previous to be shipped to the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in the island of La Palma, where the GTC telescope is being integrated. ELMER Optics has been exhaustively tested at different steps, from

We propose to observe the newly-discovered transiting planet TrES-1 during the time of secondary eclipse (when the planet passes behind the star). A successful measurement of this eclipse would constitute the first direct detection of emission from an extrasolar planet. The secondary eclipse will reveal two key quantities of the planet: its

Comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) was observed at ESO at the time of its closest approach to the Earth at the beginning of December 2001 (geocentric distance: 0.32 AU). The aim of the observations was characterization of the solid component of the coma. Observations have been acquired over a wide spectral range, from the visible to the thermal infrared

The detection of spatially extended line emission in multiply imaged QSOs offers a new possibility to study the properties (kinematics and structure) of the ionized gas in the host galaxies of high-redshift QSOs. We have studied the arc of extended emission detected in Q2237+0305, finding that it arises from the core of the C III] λ1909 emission

This paper shows the different design concepts and techniques employed in the structural and thermal analysis of EMIR (Espectrografo Multiobjeto Infrarrojo), nowadays under development at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.