Hurricane winds in Titan's high atmosphere

First results from the ExoMars misión: absence of methane on Mars and variations in water vapor due to dust storms

The TGO orbiter of the ExoMars mission (ESA-Roscosmos) began in April 2018 its scientific mission from an orbit about four hundred kilometers above the surface of Mars. This distance allowed to study without risk a dust storm that covered the planet after a few months and to see how the increase of dust affected the water vapor in the atmosphere, essential data to understand the history of water on Mars. The journal Nature publishes these results today, as well as measures of trace gases that point to a lack of methane on Mars.

The Governing Council of Junta de Andalucía authorizes its Administration to endorse the Hispano-German Astronomical Center (CAHA)

On April 9th, 2019, the Governing Council of the regional government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía) authorized its Administration, through the Ministry of Economy, Knowledge, Companies and University, to enter the Economic Interest Group of the Calar Alto Observatory (CAHA) in Almería. This decision is the last required step before the signature of the corresponding agreement.

Astronomers Capture First Image of a Black Hole

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration — was designed to capture images of a black hole. Today, in coordinated press conferences across the globe, EHT researchers reveal that they have succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.

A jet detected from the merging of two neutron stars

An international team of astronomers, with the participation of researchers from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), has demonstrated the existence of a jet of matter emerging from the merging of two neutron stars, moving at speeds close to that of light. Scientists have used radiotelescopes located on five continents for the detection. The results are published in the scientific journal Science.

First formal meeting between the Minister Pedro Duque and the alliance of Severo Ochoa centres and María de Maeztu units, SOMMa

On past Monday, February the 11th, took place a formal meeting at the highest level between representatives of the ministry and the Severo Ochoa – María de Maeztu alliance (SOMMa). The gathering, that took place in the context of the visit of the Minister to the ALBA synchrotron, certified the first formal meeting between the alliance and the Minister Mr Pedro Duque.

Observations of a rare hypernova complete the picture of the death of the most massive stars

The end of a star’s life can occur in a tranquil manner in the case of low mass stars, such as the Sun. This is not the case, however, for very massive stars, which suffer such extreme explosive events that they can outshine the brightness of the whole galaxy that hosts them. An international group of astronomers has published a detailed study of the death of a high-mass star that produced a gamma-ray burst (GRB) and a hypernova, in which they have detected a new component in this type of events.