Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

The ING Extends its Warm Wishes for the Holiday Season and the Year Ahead

director@ing.iac.es (Ruben Sanchez) — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT

The ING Extends its Warm Wishes for the Holiday Season and the Year Ahead.

Job Vacancy: ICT Technician

juanjo@ing.iac.es (Juanjo Herrera) — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:00:00 GMT

We announce a new external recruitment process for the ICT Technician position. Deadline for applications is October 16th 2025 12:00 (WEST).

Job Vacancy: Staff Observer

juanjo@ing.iac.es (Juanjo Herrera) — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Ref: LSR03-25.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2026A

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 09:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2026A.

The First Double White Dwarf Binary Destined to Explode as a Type Ia Supernova

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:00:00 GMT

Published in Nature Astronomy, a team of international astronomers has discovered the highest total mass double white dwarf binary to date, located a mere 160 light years away from the Sun. Coming in at approximately 1.56 solar masses, the source is the first double white dwarf destined to undergo unstable mass transfer and explode as a type Ia supernova.

WEAVE Reveals Shock Interaction Powering the Nebular Phase of SN 2023ixf

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 7 Apr 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Royal Holloway University of London leads a new breakthrough in the study of supernovae, with astronomers uncovering clear signatures of late-time shock interaction in the nearby Type II supernova SN 2023ixf, marking the first identification of such interaction in this event. The research, led by Dr Amit Kumar, utilised the newly commissioned WEAVE spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) to obtain a spectrum nearly one year after the explosion. The resulting spectrum reveals intricate emission features that offer new insights into the complex processes shaping the final stages of massive star evolution.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2025B

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2025B.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

studentmanager@ing.iac.es (Lilian Dominguez) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2025/26. The deadline for applications is 16th March 2025, 24:00 WET. Details of the programme can be found on https://www.ing.iac.es//astronomy/science/studentship.html

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 18:00:00 GMT

WHT Time Allocations 2025A Released

weave_open_time_support@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:00 GMT

WHT time allocations for semester 2025A are available online: http://c.ing.iac.es/schedules/?alloc

A Planetary Nebula that Destroyed its Planetary System

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT

An international group of astronomers has observationally demonstrated the profound effect that a star evolving through the planetary nebula phase can have on planetary bodies in orbit around it.

New Director of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes Announced

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Dr Ruben Sanchez-Janssen has been announced as the new Director of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 09:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group wish you happy holidays and all the best for the new year. El personal del Grupo Isaac Newton les desea felices fiestas, y nuestros mejores deseos.

First Scientific Results from WEAVE

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:00:00 GMT

Using the set of first-light observations from the new William Herschel Telescope Enhanced Area Velocity Explorer (WEAVE) wide-field spectrograph, a team of more than 50 astronomers, led by Dr Marina Arnaudova at the University of Hertfordshire, has presented the first WEAVE scientific results on Stephan's Quintet.

The PAU Survey Data Release: a New Catalogue of Distant Galaxies with Unprecedented Distance Precision

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT

The Physics of the Accelerating Universe Survey (PAUS) collaboration, led by the Spanish Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), has announced the release of the PAUS survey data, a groundbreaking catalogue of cosmic distances derived from data obtained using the PAUcam camera on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). This release will help astronomers to better understand how cosmic structures form, particularly under the influence of dark matter and dark energy.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2025A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2025A.

WHT Time Allocations 2024B Released

weave_open_time_support@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 3 Aug 2024 12:00 GMT

WHT time allocations for semester 2024B are available online: http://c.ing.iac.es/schedules/?alloc

Job Vacancy: ING Director

juanjo@ing.iac.es (Juanjo Herrera) — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Director of Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes La Palma, Canary Islands Full-time position Ref: LSR03-24 Closing date for applications: 23:29h (WEST) on the 18th August 2024

A Long-term Monitoring Campaign of the Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 17 May 2024 17:00:00 GMT

The passage of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov in December 2019 offered a unique opportunity to acquire comprehensive data on an object originating from another planetary system, that left behind material in interplanetary space as it approached the Sun. Astronomers using a number of telescopes around the world, including the telescopes of the Isaac Newton Group (ING), monitored its behaviour spectroscopically and photometrically.

WEAVE Phase 2 - Semester 24A

weave_open_time_support@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 1 Apr 2024 13:00:00 GMT

The process of preparing OBs, or phase 2, is an essential part of the OT and ITP programs with WEAVE.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2024B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2024B.

Job Vacancy: Head of Operations

juanjo@ing.iac.es (Juanjo Herrera) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Head of Operations. LSR01-24.

Job Vacancy: Automatic Systems, Measurement and Control Engineer/Technician

juanjo@ing.iac.es (Juanjo Herrera) — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Automatic systems, measurement and control Engineer/Technician. LSR02-24.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for five places on the ING studentship programme 2024/25. The deadline for applications is Friday 15th March 2024, 24:00 WET. Details of the programme can be found on https://www.ing.iac.es//astronomy/science/studentship.html

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 18 December 2023 18:00:00 GMT

The International Scientific Committee (CCI) of the Roque de los Muchachos (ORM, La Palma) and Teide (OT, Tenerife) observatories invites applications for International Time Programmes (ITP) on telescopes installed at these Observatories. Deadline is midnight, 29th February 2024.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 09:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group wish you happy holidays and all the best for the new year. El personal del Grupo Isaac Newton les desea felices fiestas, y nuestros mejores deseos.

A Giant Thin Stellar Stream in the Coma Galaxy Cluster

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have discovered an extremely large and faint stream of stars in the Coma galaxy cluster. This is the largest stellar stream detected to date and the first of its kind found in a galaxy cluster. This discovery, published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, has been possible thanks to observations made using the William Herschel Telescope (WHT).

Inauguration of WEAVE

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:00:00 GMT

The WEAVE spectrograph, a powerful, next-generation multi-fibre spectrograph installed on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma, Canary Islands), was inaugurated on October 30th, 2023.

WEAVE Phase 2 - Semester 23B

weave_open_time_support@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 6 Oct 2023 13:00:00 GMT

The process of preparing OBs, or phase 2, is an essential part of the OT and ITP programs with WEAVE.

Asteroid 2023 DZ2, Discovered Using the INT and Headed for Earth, Will Not Impact

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 10:00:00 GMT

Asteroid 2023 DZ2, discovered using the Isaac Newton Telescope, will not collide with Earth, even though their orbits intersect. The results of a detailed analysis reveal the orbit of 2023 DZ2 is synchronised with that of Jupiter, reducing the probability of a collision in the coming decades.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2024A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 19:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2024A.

INT Schedule and Time Allocations 2023B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 8 Aug 2023 19:00:00 GMT

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Job Vacancy

juanjo@ing.iac.es (Juanjo Herrera) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Observing Support Assistant. Closing date: 2nd August 2023.

The Specific Angular Momentum of Early-Type Galaxies Unveiled by the Extended Planetary Nebula Spectrograph Survey

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 4 Jul 2023 22:00:00 GMT

Astronomers using data from the extended Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (ePN.S) early-type galaxy survey find that galaxies that are efficient in forming stars, like discs, are also efficient in retaining angular momentum. In early-type galaxies (ETGs), it is not so: there is a strong dependence as a function of total stellar mass, with the most massive galaxies being least efficient in forming stars and in retaining the angular momentum.

The Shortest-Period Binary Star System Known in the Galaxy is Resisting Inspiral

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:00:00 GMT

A study led by James Munday (PhD student at the University of Warwick and support astronomer in the ING Studentship Programme 2022/2023) has recently been published that exploits optical photometry of HM Cancri, spanning more than 20 years. This long time-baseline has led to the determination of an incredibly precise orbital decay constraint for the system by timing the phasing of an optical modulation, which would not have been possible without the Isaac Newton Telescope, and the William Herschel Telescope. Uniquely of any binary star system, not only could the orbital decay of HM Cancri be measured at high precision, but the authors also discovered that HM Cancri's inspiral is slowing down - not speeding up.

WEAVE Inauguration - 30 October 2023

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 2 May 2023 09:00:00 GMT

An inauguration event. WEAVE - A New Generation Multi-Object Spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope. 30 October 2023, Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. Bringing together the WEAVE community to celebrate the start of the scientific exploitation of WEAVE

Astronomers Solve the 60-Year Mystery of How Quasars Are Ignited

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 20:00:00 GMT

Scientists have unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of quasars the brightest, most powerful objects in the Universe - by establishing that they are ignited by mergers between galaxies. First discovered 60 years ago, quasars can shine as brightly as a trillion stars packed into a volume the size of our Solar System.

First On-Sky Demonstration of Tomographic Scintillation Correction

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 6 Mar 2023 10:00:00 GMT

Scintillation noise can be the dominant noise source for photometric measurements of bright targets when observing with ground-based telescopes; no matter how large the telescope aperture, the effect enforces a photometric precision limit. It is unique to the conditions of the exact time of exposure, and is unpredictable a priori. If one could compensate for the scintillation noise, ground-based telescopes would effectively reach the same precision limit as telescopes in space. However, this is a significant challenge because scintillation is produced by high altitude turbulence and therefore the range of angles over which it is correlated is very small. Hence, it cannot be corrected with standard differential photometry.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 20:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for five places on the ING studentship programme 2023/24. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 15th March 2023, 24:00 WET. Details of the programme can be found on: https://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/science/studentship.html

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2023B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 13:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2023B.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 29 December 2022 18:00:00 GMT

INT Schedule and Time Allocations 2023A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:00:00 GMT

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 09:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group wish you happy holidays and all the best for the new year. El personal del Grupo Isaac Newton les desea felices fiestas, y nuestros mejores deseos para el a�o nuevo.

WEAVE First Light

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 09:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) and the WEAVE instrument team present first-light observations with the WEAVE spectrograph. WEAVE is a powerful, next-generation multi-fibre spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma, Canary Islands), now being commissioned on-sky and already generating high-quality data.

Possible Discovery of a Supernova Remnant Around the Calvera Pulsar

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 9 Dec 2022 17:00:00 GMT

While analysing data from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS, a radio survey at 150 MHz), a team of astronomers discovered a ring of diffuse emission around the Calvera pulsar. The ring is large, at approximately one degree, and sits in a region otherwise empty of large-scale radio emission.

Tribute to Tom Marsh from the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 2 Dec 2022 12:00:00 GMT

Tom has been a pre-eminent contributor to the ongoing research taking place at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING). He was a prolific user of the William Herschel and Isaac Newton telescopes, starting with IDS, and then, of course, with ISIS. His primary research field was compact binary objects, but since he had such broad interests and expertise across astronomy, his work covered nearly all areas of research conducted at the ING.

The ING Congratulates the Nobel Prize in Physics 2022

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 4 Oct 2022 16:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wishes to congratulate Anton Zeilinger (Austria), Alain Aspect (France), and John F. Clauser (USA) who have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2022.

Start of LIFU-Mode Commissioning of WEAVE

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:00:00 GMT

After a few initial problems, the image quality in the focal plane is now excellent, the spectrograph is well-focused and the other subsystems are working well enough to begin commissioning the LIFU mode of observations. That commissioning begins this week, and will be followed by science verification of the LIFU mode, and then, once the other sub-systems are ready, commissioning of the mIFU and MOS modes.

New Source of Lithium Production Found in the Universe

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:00:00 GMT

A team of international astronomers, led by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, has discovered a surprising high lithium abundance in the atmosphere of the companion star of the millisecond binary pulsar PSR J1023+0038.

ASTROFEST La Palma 2022 - Roundtable on Women in Astronomy

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 13:00:00 GMT

This Monday September 26th, 20:00, at the Museo Insular de Santa Cruz de La Palma, within the framework of Astrofest La Palma 2022 Scientific Vocations, there will be a roundtable on Women in Astronomy, where our colleague Cecilia Farina is a panelist.

WEAVE News

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:00:00 GMT

Latest WEAVE news.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2023A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 16:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2023A.

INT Schedule and Time Allocations 2022B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 17:00:00 GMT

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Leiden University Observing Trips to the INT

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 12 July 2022 19:00:00 GMT

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A Binary Star in the Heart of the Planetary Nebula Ou5

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 28 June 2022 20:00:00 GMT

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WEAVE Instrument, Mounted on the Prime Focus of the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 26 May 2022 08:00:00 GMT

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New Detection Method for Quasars in the Early Universe

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 6 Apr 2022 13:00:00 GMT

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Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 14:00:00 GMT

Applications for the 2022/23 studentship programme are welcome until 25th March 2022. This programme offers five ING studentship positions (Sep 2022 - Sep 2023).

Back to Normal Visitor-Mode Observations at the INT

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 13:00:00 GMT

With the progressive relaxation of Covid-related travel restrictions, and the end of the volcanic eruption on La Palma in December 2021, ING is happy to announce that, starting 1 February 2022, we have resumed normal visitor-mode operations at the INT.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2022B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 13:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2022B.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 21 January 2022 16:00:00 GMT

First Detection of a Supernova Explosion Originating From a Wolf-Rayet Star

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:00:00 GMT

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Tracing The Giant Stellar Stream Around the Sombrero Galaxy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 11:00:00 GMT

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The Largest Collection of Free-Floating Planets Discovered to Date

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 16:00:00 GMT

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INT Schedule and Time Allocations 2022A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 17:00:00 GMT

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The Staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes Wish You All The Best For 2022

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 09:00:00 GMT

The Staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you all the best for 2022

RTVE's "The Last Frontier" Television Series Reports from the ING

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:00:00 GMT

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White Dwarfs Become Magnetic As They Get Older

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT

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INT Closed - Volcanic Ashes Reach the Observatory

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:00:00 GMT

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Volcanic Eruption in La Palma

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 11:00:00 GMT

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Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2022A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 09:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2022A.

WEAVE Gets Primed For On-Sky Commissioning

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 10:00:00 GMT

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INT Schedule and Time Allocations 2021B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 2 Jul 2021 20:00:00 GMT

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Spanish Television Films "The Last Frontier" at the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 14:00:00 GMT

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Discovery of a Massive Open Cluster Hiding in Full Sight

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 09:00:00 GMT

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Observing Opportunity with the WHT - Prime Focus Imaging

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 25 May 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Following the Announcement of Opportunity ING issued on 21 March 2021, for WHT service-mode prime-focus imaging observations during April and May, we now extend this opportunity, and invite further applications for observations.

Observing Opportunity with the WHT - Prime Focus Imaging

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 09:00:00 GMT

During the integration of WEAVE at the WHT, an opportunity has arisen to offer service-mode imaging with a camera (the QHY) mounted behind the new WEAVE prime-focus corrector, during April and May 2021.

Visit of Hugh Elliott, Her Majesty's Ambassador to Spain

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 15:00:00 GMT

On 14 March 2021 Her Majesty's Ambassador to Spain, Mr Hugh Elliott and his wife Mrs To�i Elliott, visited the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory (ORM). They toured the Isaac Newton (INT) and the William Herschel Telescopes (WHT), and the Gran Telescopio Canarias, and heard about the latest instrumental developments and the international partnerships underpinning them. They also saw the domes of some of the UK's university-led telescopes at the ORM, including the Liverpool telescope, and SuperWASP and GOTO from Warwick University.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 10:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for six places on the ING studentship programme 2021/22. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 31st March 2021, 24:00 WET. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2021B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 16 Feb 2021 09:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2021B.

Chat with a Female Astronomer

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 10 February 2021 16:00:00 GMT

On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the fourth edition of "Chat with an Astronomer", organised by the Woman and Astronomy Commission of the Spanish Astronomical Society, will take place from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm (universal time) on February 18. Cecilia Farina (Isaac Newton Telescope Group of Telescopes) will be one of the 75 astrophysicists who will be available to chat about her research, her experience as woman scientists, her research career or astronomy in general.

Staff-Observer Position Advertised at ING

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Thu, 04 February 2021 09:00:00 GMT

ING is advertising a full-time permanent staff-observer position, application deadline 22 February.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 28 January 2021 20:00:00 GMT

The Staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you all the best for 2021

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 14:00:00 GMT

The Staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you all the best for 2021

Visible Matter Dominates Gravity in the Inner Parts of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 09:00:00 GMT

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Two Additional Places on the INT Studentship Scheme 2020-21

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 19:00:00 GMT

ING is expanding its studentship programme and is advertising two extra places for the 2020/2021 call, to cover the period from now until the end of September 2021. This will be an exciting year for the ING students. Opportunities for INT observations are being expanded as the INT is increasingly operated in service mode, in response to travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the students will be able to take part in the commissioning of the WEAVE instrument (see http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/instruments/weave/weaveinst.html) on the WHT, planned to begin in January 2021. Interested students are encouraged to consult the page http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/science/studentship.html for more information about the studentship programme, and for instructions about how to apply. Queries should be directed to the student managers, Lilian Dominguez (ldp@ing.iac.es) and Ovidiu Vaduvescu (ovidiuv@ing.iac.es). The closing date for applications is 25 October 2020.

Green Light Unveils the Presence of an Old and Metal-Poor Halo in a Giant Elliptical Galaxy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 14:00:00 GMT

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Survey Identifies Non-catalogued Faint Geosynchronous Debris that Threatens Operational Satellites

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 06 Oct 2020 15:00:00 GMT

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Installation of WEAVE's Prime Focus Optics and Spectrograph

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 09:00:00 GMT

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Procedures for Visiting Astronomers and Contractors

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 09:00:00 GMT

Covid-19 Procedures for Visiting Astronomers and Contractors.

Forest Fire in the North of La Palma

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 19:00:00 GMT

On the afternoon of Friday August 21 a forest fire started in Garaf�a, in the north of La Palma, at an elevation of approximately 700 meters above sea level, some 6 km north of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM). Thanks to this effective response, the fire was declared under control by the evening of Monday 24th, and science observations at ORM are due to resume on the night of August 25.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2021A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 17:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2021A.

The Isaac Newton Telescope Galactic Plane Surveys

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/igaps_s.png

In Memory of Rebeca Galera (1988-2020)

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 13:00:00 GMT

In Memory of Rebeca Galera (1988-2020). With great sadness, we report that Rebeca Galera, support astronomer at the Isaac Newton Group (ING), died on June 11 on La Palma after a sudden illness.

WHT 20A Awards and Telescope Time in the WEAVE Years

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 12:00:00 GMT

A paper is available describing ING's plans for how surveys and open time share the WHT time in the surveys era. We regret to inform successful proposers that completion of their programmes in 20A is not planned. Only in the event of serious setbacks with WEAVE integration we would consider carrying out such 20A scientific programmes, in service mode, during July and possibly August.

Coronavirus: News Update from the ING

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Sun, 10 May 2020 21:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to let you know that INT observations resumed on Wednesday 6 May 2020. Maintaining the protection and wellbeing of the staff as a first priority, all observations are carried out in service mode by ING students, who have gladly volunteered to take on the observing. We are not accepting visiting observers. Observations have a number of restrictions, such as no instrument changes; schedules have been reworked to maximise the scientific use of the telescope in the present constraints.

Discovery of a Young Blazar Produced by the Merger of Two Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 09:30:00 GMT

A blazar is a particular type of active galactic nucleus (AGN) with a central supermassive black hole which emits a jet, a flux of highly energetic particles and radiation moving almost at the velocity of light, and which is aligned along the observer's line-of-sight. An international team of researchers has observed the birth of one of these objects for the first time by combining observations from several telescopes, among them the William Herschel Telescope (WHT).

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes Joins the Fight Against the Coronavirus COVID-19 on La Palma

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 09:30:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) joins the fight against the coronavirus COVID-19 on the island of La Palma with the delivery of masks, full-body overalls and boot covers to the health personnel of the Geriatric Hospital Nuestra Se�ora de Los Dolores de Santa Cruz de La Palma, dependent on the Cabildo Insular de La Palma.

ING Operations on Hold Due to Coronavirus

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 14:00:00 GMT

Folllowing the declaration of a state of emergency ('Estado de Alarma') by the Spanish Government on Saturday 14th March, ING has stepped up measures to protect its staff and visitors. With immediate effect and until further notice, staff are working from home, with minimal visits to the telescopes (for essential maintenance) and to the sea-level offices. There will be no day-time or night-time activity at the WHT or INT, i.e. no visiting observers and no observing, until further notice. ING staff will travel outside La Palma only when strictly necessary.

Public Visits to ING Telescopes Cancelled

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:00:00 GMT

ING announces that, starting Friday 13 March 2020, general-interest visits to the ING telescopes are being cancelled until further notice.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 6 Mar 2020 10:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2020/21. The deadline for applications is 6th April 2020. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Two Stars Merged to Form Massive White Dwarf

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 2 March 2020 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/colliding_white_dwarfs_2_s.png

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2020B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 13:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2020B.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON H2020 Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 12 February 2020 14:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 1 March 2020.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 12 February 2020 15:00:00 GMT

Progress on the New WHT Prime Focus Rotator and Corrector Systems for WEAVE

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 3 Feb 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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INT Schedule and Time Allocations 2020A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 8 Jan 2020 12:00:00 GMT

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All the Best for 2020!

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 21 Dec 2019 14:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you all the best for 2020.

WHT Schedule and Time Allocations 13 Jan-16 Feb Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 14:00:00 GMT

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Announcement of Opportunity for WHT Observing Time in Semester 2020A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 7 Nov 2019 09:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for WHT Observing Time in Semester 2020A.

Near-Earth Asteroids Spectroscopic Survey at the Isaac Newton Telescope

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/fig2_popescu_ss.png

Delivery of the New WHT Prime Focus Rotator for WEAVE

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 8 Oct 2019 11:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/logo_weave_s.png

Mark Thomson, Executive Chairman of STFC, Visits ING

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 4 Oct 2019 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/mark11ss.jpg

Astronomers Detect Gas Molecules in Comet from Another Star

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 23:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/Borisov_gas_ss.jpg

ING Participates in the Macaronesia´s Researchers´ Night

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 21:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/MacaroNight_s.jpg

Announcement of Opportunity for WEAVE Science Verification Projects

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 10:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for WEAVE Science Verification Projects.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2020A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 12:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2020A.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON H2020 Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 13 August 2019 14:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 25 August 2019.

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2019B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 12:00:00 GMT

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Announcement of Opportunity for WHT Observing Time in Semester 2019B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 29 May 2019 17:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for WHT Observing Time in Semester 2019B.

Discovery of Many New Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in Galaxy Clusters

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 1 Mar 2019 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/Fig2kiwics_ss.png

A Ground-based Near-ultraviolet Secondary Eclipse Observation of the Hottest Exoplanet

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 3 Jan 2019 14:00:00 GMT

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The Extended Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (ePN.S) Early-type Galaxy Survey

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 7 Dec 2018 11:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/pnslogo.png

Searching for the Weakest Detectable Magnetic Fields in White Dwarfs

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 13:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/stefano2ss.png

Quantum Entanglement Confirmed with Light from Distant Quasars

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 13:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/2_CosmicBell_Download_ss.png

Time Resolved Spectroscopy of Dust and Gas from Extrasolar Planetesimals

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 2 Nov 2018 13:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/mh_fig5ss.png

First Results from Lucky Spectroscopy, an Equivalent Technique to Lucky Imaging

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/aa32885-18-fig2ss.png

A Feasibility Study on the Photometric Detection of Quiescent Black Hole X-ray Binaries

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 11:00:00 GMT

2200 km/s. Monte Carlo simulations have shown that a cut-off at FWHM > 2200 km/s would allow selection of half of the BHXBs while rejecting other (dominant) populations of Halpha sources. ]]> http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/casares1ss.jpg

An Alternative Technique for Detecting Forming Exoplanets Around Young Stars

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/LkCa15_1ss.png

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 20:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2019/20. The deadline for applications is 31st March 2019. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2019B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2019B.

All the Best for 2019!

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 14:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you all the best for 2019.

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2019A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 12:00:00 GMT

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Approaching the Galactic Metallicity Floor with the Discovery of an Ultra-Metal-Poor Star

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 8 Oct 2018 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/ump5news.jpg

Three Dynamically Distinct Stellar Populations in the Halo of M49

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 1 Oct 2018 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/pns1sss.png

Almost 500 Explosions Found in Galaxy Cores

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 07:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/lc1_ss.png

Evidence for Hot Clumpy Accretion Flow in a Transitional Millisecond Pulsar

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/fig1_tariq_ss.png

Quantum Entanglement Confirmed with Light from Distant Quasars

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/2_CosmicBell_Download_ss.jpg

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2019A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 15:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2019A.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON H2020 Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 16 August 2018 14:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 2 September 2018.

Extraordinary Call For WHT Service Proposals

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 20:00:00 GMT

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New Telescope Control System at the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 10:00:00 GMT

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ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2018B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 25 Jun 2018 20:00:00 GMT

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Discovery of a Massive Pulsar

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 28 May 2018 10:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/sist_bin_est_neut_j2215_02_600_ss.jpg

A New Method for Galaxy Density Wave Analysis

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 10:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/apjaaa965f1_hr_sss.jpg

Exhibit 'Light Years' in Barcelona

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 16:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/eugenia_balcells_catalogo_web_01_s.jpg

A Key Element to Life is Lacking in the Crab Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 12:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/EWASSposter-Crab-annotatedspectrum_ss.png

A 3D Map of the Infant Universe

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 6 Apr 2018 12:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/SC4K_lookbacktime_DS_ss.jpg

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 20:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2018/19. The deadline for applications is 31st March 2018. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2018B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 15:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2018B.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON H2020 Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 15 February 2018 14:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 28 February 2018.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 15:00:00 GMT

HS2231+2441: A Star Killed Prematurely By Its Companion

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/hwvir_s.jpg

Spectroscopy and Thermal Modelling of the First Interstellar Object 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/oumuamua_ss.png

The Staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes Wish You All The Best for 2018

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 14:00:00 GMT

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ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2018A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 20:00:00 GMT

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HiPERCAM Successfully Commissioned on the William Herschel Telescope

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 2 Nov 2017 15:00:00 GMT

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WHT Helps to Measure the Size of a Stellar-Mass Black Hole Jet

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/fastflickering_s.png

The Fastest-Spinning Known Millisecond Pulsar in the Galactic Field

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 09:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/apjlaa8400f3_hr_ss.png

Transmission Spectroscopy of Hot Jupiters Reveals Contrasting Atmospheres

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 13:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/kirk1ss.png

The Puzzle of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/UDG_figure_1_ss.jpg

Quantum Entanglement Confirmed with Light from Distant Quasars

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/2_CosmicBell_Download_ss.jpg

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2018A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 21:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2018A.

Art from The La Palma Telescopes: The Exhibit Light Years Opens in Panama

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/Anos-Luz-Panama-pp.jpeg

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2017B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:00:00 GMT

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A Large Fraction of Rapidly-Growing Supermassive Black Holes Evade Census

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 16:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/apjlaa7268f1_hr_ss.jpg

Superbubbles in the Interstellar Medium of the Antennae Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 08 May 2017 10:00:00 GMT

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Stars Regularly Ripped Apart by Black Holes in Colliding Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/TDE1b_ss.jpg

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2017/18. The deadline for applications is 31st March 2017. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Signing of the Agreement for the Scientific Exploitation of the William Herschel and Isaac Newton Telescopes

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 10:00:00 GMT

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Newly Discovered Planets Could Have Water on Their Surfaces

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 14:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/trappist1ss.png

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2017B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 23:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2017B.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON H2020 Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 16 February 2017 21:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 28 February 2017.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 21:00:00 GMT

New Light on Dark Matter Halos

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/jalf.png

An Intrinsically Very Luminous Lensed High-Redshift Galaxy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 6 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/fig_ing_borrador_ss.png

Turbulence Velocity Profile Characterization with Stereo-SCIDAR

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 6 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

]]> http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/stereo1sss.png

Lyman-alpha Giant Halos Around Early Milky Way Type Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/CALYMHA_INT_ss.png

A Deficit of Dark Matter in Elliptical Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 28 Dec 2016 15:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/Fig1_ss.jpg

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2017A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 17:00:00 GMT

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All the Best for 2017

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 21:00:00 GMT

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Call for Proposals to the OPTICON H2020 Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 09 September 2016 11:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 25 September 2016.

CANARY's Sodium Laser Guide Star Successfully Commissioned

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 17:00:00 GMT

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Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2017A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 18:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2017A.

AF2-WYFFOS Available in 2017A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 4 Aug 2016 22:00:00 GMT

ING would like to make its users aware that AF2-WYFFOS, the WHT's multi-fibre MOS, will continue to be offered through semester 2017A.

Successful Removal and Replacement of the WHT's Flip Ring

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/top_ring_s.png

A Radio Pulsing White Dwarf Binary Star

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 11:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/arsco-artist_ss.jpg

An Extremely Weak Magnetic Field in a White Dwarf

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 12:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/wdmagne_s.png

AOLI Delivers Its First Adaptive-Optics Images

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 10:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/loopss.png

Three Supernova Shells Around a Young Star Cluster

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 11:00:00 GMT

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/prensa1105_2121_hi_s.png

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2016B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 12:00:00 GMT

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Stephen Hawking Visits La Palma

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 09:00:00 GMT

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"William Herschel, Astronomer and Musician"

outreach@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 14:00:00 GMT

La Palma Music Festival gathers some of the best classical musicians from around the world. This year the Festival will pay tribute to William Herschel (1738-1822), the musician who became one of the most famous astronomers of his time. The Festival Orchestra directed by Thomas Mandl will perform William Herschel's Symphony No.8 at Teatro Circo de Marte in Santa Cruz de La Palma on Tuesday 8th June. This is the first time that an orchestra will play a work by Herschel on La Palma. Coinciding with this event, and almost 30 years after the first light of the William Heschel Telescope, the ING Director Marc Balcells will give a talk entitled "William Herschel, astr�nomo y m�sico" at 20:30 on the 6th of June at Espacio Cultural Rafael Daranas, Fundaci�n CajaCanarias, Santa Cruz de La Palma. Free admission.

Lucky Imaging of the Multiple T Tauri System LkHα 262/LkHα 263

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 31 May 2016 11:00:00 GMT

Astronomers report high-spatial resolution, i' band imaging of the multiple T Tauri system LkHa 262/LkHa 263 obtained during the first commissioning period of the Adaptive Optics Lucky Imager (AOLI) at the William Herschel Telescope on September 24th and 25th, 2013. AOLI is a state-of-the-art instrument which combines two well-proven techniques for extremely high spatial resolution with ground-based telescopes: Lucky Imaging (LI) and Adaptive Optics (AO). Although the instrument was not yet complete, and was not operated in Adaptive-Optics mode, these observations demonstrate the high capabilities of the LI mode, yielding a FWHM for the best PSF of only 0.15 arcsec.

First Results from the PAU Camera (PAUCam)

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 23 May 2016 11:00:00 GMT

Commissioning of PAUCam, the imager for the Physics of the Accelerating Universe survey, is complete, and routine science exploitation is under way (for first-light images, see earlier news item). PAUCam is a visiting instrument instrument at the WHT, and is available for use by astronomers from the ING community.

Fast and Furious Black Hole Observed with the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 20:00:00 GMT

In a paper published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers report catching V404 Cygni black hole while it was shimmering and emitting red flashes, some of which were shorter than a timespan of only 1/40th of a second.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 20:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2016/17. The deadline for applications is 1st March 2016. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

WEAVE Handling Trolley Arrives at the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 10:00:00 GMT

On 18 January 2016, the first completed component for the WEAVE project (http://www.ing.iac.es/weave/), the handling trolley, arrived at the WHT.

"Una nueva vida para los telescopios Herschel y Newton"

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 09:00:00 GMT

> http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/clippings/El-director-del-Grupo-de-Telescopios-Isaac-Newton.jpg

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2016B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 18:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2016B.

ING Telescopes Provide Unique Observations in Support of the ESA Rosetta Mission

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 20:00:00 GMT

The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission is currently exploring comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The Rosetta mission is a hugely ambitious endeavour - the first spacecraft to orbit a comet and follow it on its journey towards the Sun, accompanied by its lander, Philae, which made the first ever landing on a comet in November 2014. Observatories across the planet are supporting this mission, and the ING is playing an important part in this - especially in providing unique observations this year as the comet passed its closest point to the Sun and highest level of activity.

Common Accretion across Young Stellar Objects, White Dwarfs, Black Holes and Supermassive Black Holes

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 16:00:00 GMT

An international team of astronomers have discovered a previously unknown link between the way young stars, white dwarfs and black holes grow feeding from their surroundings. Accretion seems to be a universal process operating in a similar way despite the different size, age, temperature and gravity of the accreted object.

WHT Observes Pluto in Support of NASA's New Horizons Mission

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 11:00:00 GMT

The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) has participated in 2014 and 2015 in a worldwide campaign to spectroscopically follow up Pluto from the ground in support of the encounter of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft with Pluto.

First Light on PAU Camera

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 16:00:00 GMT

The camera for the PAU (Physics of the Accelerating Universe) project succesfully saw first light at the prime focus of the William Herschel Telescope on the night June 3rd. PAUCam is an advanced imager comprising a mosaic of 18 state-of-the-art, fully-depleted, red-sensitive Hamamatsu CCDs, and a field of view with a diameter of about one degree (or about 14 times the sky area covered by the WHT's current prime-focus imager), of which 40 arcminutes are unvignetted. PAUCam was designed and built by a consortium of Spanish institutions (IFAE, ICE-CSIC/IEEC and PIC from Barcelona; CIEMAT and IFT-UAM/CSIC from Madrid).

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 15 Feb 2015 10:00:00 GMT

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 2 March 2016.

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2016A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:00:00 GMT

> http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/ing_ico.png

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 14:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you all the best for 2016.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2016A

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 18:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2016A.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 16:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 31 August 2015.

Fresh Evidence for How Water Reached Earth Found in Asteroid Debris

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 7 May 2015 09:00:00 GMT

Water delivery via asteroids or comets is likely taking place in many other planetary systems, just as it happened on Earth, according to new evidence found that numerous planetary bodies, including asteroids and comets, contain large amounts of water.

Binarity in Planetary Nebulae Gives Clues to Understand the Abundance Discrepancy Problem

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 5 May 2015 09:00:00 GMT

Spectroscopic observations with the William Herschel Telescope of three planetary nebulae have shed new light on the abundance discrepancy problem. Astronomers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias have shown that the largest abundance discrepancies (as high as 300 in certain positions in the nebula) are reached in planetary nebulae that have a close binary central star.

Mergers of Galaxy Clusters Can Trigger Star Formation

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 4 May 2015 16:00:00 GMT

Galaxies are often found in clusters, which contain many red and dead members that stopped forming stars in the distant past. Over billions of years, galaxy clusters build up structure in the universe - merging with adjacent clusters. When this happens, there is a huge release of energy as the clusters collide. The resulting shock wave travels through the cluster like a tsunami, but until now there was no evidence that the galaxies themselves were affected very much.

First Near Earth Asteroids Discovered from La Palma

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:00:00 GMT

In 2014 the Isaac Newton Telescope became the first telescope in La Palma to discover and secure five Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) as part of the EURONEAR project and as a result of the allocation of several override programmes awarded by the time allocation committees.

"Con el William Herschel y el Satélite Gaia Trazaremos un Mapa de la Vía Láctea del Siglo XXI"

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 09:00:00 GMT

"Con el William Herschel y el Satélite Gaia Trazaremos un Mapa de la Vía Láctea del Siglo XXI", an interview with the ING Director published in local online newspaper LaPalmaAhora.com.

Direct Evidence for an Evolving Dust Cloud from an Exoplanet

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 10:00:00 GMT

Astronomers observed star KIC 12557548 on five nights in July 2013, using ULTRACAM on the William Herschel Telescope, to search for the colour dependence of the transit depth by KIC 12557548 b exoplanet. A clear transit signal was detected only on the first night. During the remaining four nights, the planet was in a quiescent period, with little or no dust cloud obscuring the star. As expected, the astronomers managed to observe differences in transit depths between three different bands on first night, with an increase in depth toward shorter wavelengths. This effect is consistent with extinction from the putative dust cloud surrounding the planet. Remaining nights allowed to constrain the size of the planet to less than 5.4 radii of Mercury.

Studentship Programme at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 20:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2015/16. The deadline for applications is: Tuesday 1st May 2015. The programme provides a unique opportunity for up to four PhD, MSc or undergraduate astronomy students to get hands-on experience of work at an international observatory. Successful applicants will spend one year on La Palma, supporting imaging and spectroscopy runs at the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) 2.5m and working on projects supervised by the ING staff. The studentship programme is open to anyone, but we particularly welcome applicants from our three partner countries: the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Presentation of the Conference "Multi-Object Spectroscopy in the Next Decade"

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 13:00:00 GMT

> http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/MOSPoster_s.jpg

First Observational Proof of Existence of a Double-Degenerate, Super-Chandrasekhar System

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 12:00:00 GMT

An international group of astronomers has found the first pair of white dwarfs with a total combined mass unequivocally above the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses. The orbital period of the system is 4.2 hours, which means that the stars are close enough to spiral in due to the emission of gravitational waves and eventually merge in about 700 million years. This finding, which has been published in Nature, provides observational support to the double-degenerate path of formation of type Ia supernovae, so far a theoretical possibility under ongoing debate.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2015B

director@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 20:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2015B.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 09:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme is now open. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 1 March and no requests for late submissions will be accepted.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 10:00:00 GMT

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2015A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 10:00:00 GMT

> http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/ing_ico.png

One of Most Accurate Measurements of the Size of a Trans-Neptunian Object from a Stellar Occultation

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 15:00:00 GMT

Stellar occultations by minor bodies have been widely used to measure their sizes and constrain their shapes. One such event was observed at the William Herschel Telescope during the first hours of the night April 26, 2012 using ULTRACAM, a very fast camera able to obtain short exposures with very short overheads. They were able to measure a total eclipse duration of 20.87 seconds which translates into a chord of 415�1 km, one of the most accurate measurements obtained so far.

Astronomers Release Most Detailed Catalogue Ever Made of the Visible Milky Way

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:00:00 GMT

The production of the catalogue, IPHAS DR2 (the second release from the survey programme The INT Photometric H-alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane� or IPHAS), is an example of modern astronomy's exploitation of 'big data' � it contains information on the 219 million detected objects, each of which is summarised in 99 attributes. With this catalogue release, the team are offering the world community free access to measurements taken through two broad band filters capturing light at the red end of the visible spectrum, and in a narrowband capturing the brightest hydrogen emission line, H-alpha. The inclusion of H-alpha also enables exquisite imaging of the nebulae (glowing clouds of gas) found in greatest number within the disk of the Milky Way. The stellar density map illustrated here is derived from the longest (reddest) wavelength band in which the darkening effect of the dust is moderated in a way that brings out more of its structural detail, compared to maps built at shorter (bluer) wavelengths.

Conference on "Multi-Object Spectroscopy in the Next Decade"

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 20:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes is pleased to announce an international conference Multi-Object Spectroscopy in the Next Decade: Big Questions, Large Surveys and Wide Fields, to be held in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands from 2nd to 6th March 2015.

Call for Letters of Intent to Provide Instrumentation or Improvements to the INT

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 20:00:00 GMT

The Board of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes solicits Letters of Intent to provide new or improved instrumentation for the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope, and/or upgrades to the telescope infrastructure. Deadline 30 September 2014.

Instrumentation at the ING Telescopes

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 20:00:00 GMT

Most users of the ING telescopes are well aware that our plans for the continued operation of the WHT and INT in the next decade call for the execution of massive spectroscopic surveys with WEAVE, a multi-fibre spectrograph now in construction for the WHT prime focus. Until the arrival of WEAVE, planned for late-2017, ING will continue to offer a broad range of instrumentation at the WHT and on the INT.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2015A

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 20:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2015A.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 14:00:00 GMT

The OPTICON common TAC call for EU supported access to telescopes in semester 2015A has been opened. The announcement is here: http://www.astro-opticon.org/fp7-2/tna/opticon_call_new.html

Random Bits, True and Unbiased, from Atmospheric Turbulence

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 08:00:00 GMT

Random numbers represent a fundamental ingredient for secure communications and numerical simulation as well as to games and in general to Information Science. Physical processes with intrinsic unpredictability may be exploited to generate genuine random numbers. The optical propagation in strong atmospheric turbulence is here taken to this purpose, by observing a laser beam after a 143 km free-space path, between the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope on La Palma and the ESA Optical Ground Station at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife.

Conference on "Multi-Object Spectroscopy in the Next Decade". First Announcement.

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 20:00:00 GMT

3D Map Shows Dusty Structure of the Milky Way

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 20:00:00 GMT

A team of international astronomers has created a detailed three-dimensional map of the dusty structure of the Milky Way as seen from Earth�s northern hemisphere. This extinction map derives from the newly released catalogue of the Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric H-alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS), the first digital survey to cover the entire northern Milky Way.

ING Schedules and Time Allocations 2014B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 10:00:00 GMT

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Discovery of Near Earth Asteroid 2014 LU14 with the Isaac Newton Telescope

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 21:00:00 GMT

2014 LU14 is the first ever Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) discovered using the Isaac Newton Telescope and from La Palma. This discovery is also the first reported by the EURONEAR network, a large collaboration founded by ING astronomer Ovidiu Vaduvescu which involves researchers and telescopes mostly based in European countries.

Spectro-Astrometry of V1515 Cygni with Adaptive Optics

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:00:00 GMT

Using the integral field spectrograph OASIS, at the William Herschel Telescope, combined with the adaptive optics module NAOMI, astronomers obtained optical observations of the FU Ori star V1515 Cyg with an angular resolution of 0.7 arcseconds (Gaussian core FWHM). From the analysis of the data they find evidence for the existence of a surrounding disk in V1515, being this one of the few spatial inferences of a disk observed in an FU Ori object.

Discovery of Circularly Polarised Light in a GRB Afterglow

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 12 May 2014 19:00:00 GMT

A large international team led by Klaas Wiersema from the University of Leicester has discovered circularly polarised optical emission in the afterglow of GRB 121024A. The study, published in Nature, used data mainly from FORS2 on the VLT, but also ACAM on the WHT. The ACAM data allowed the team to correctly identify a break in the light curve that confirmed the long standing prediction that an abrupt change of 90 degrees in the GRB linear polarisation happens when the Lorentz factor of the outwards jet decreases below a critical value.

ING Studentship Programme: Applications Welcome

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:00:00 GMT

We welcome applications for four places on the ING studentship programme 2014/15. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 1st April 2014.

The Music of the Galaxies

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 16:00:00 GMT

Using Fabry-Perot optical interferometers, including GHaFaS on the William Herschel Telescope, and observing a sample of over a hundred nearby galaxies, astronomers have discovered that there are more density waves than predicted by theory, and that there are relations between them forming a complex pattern of resonances, which orchestrate the "Music of the Galaxies".

Instrument Rationalisation at ING - Community Input Sought

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:00:00 GMT

In order to focus the observatory's resources on the WEAVE project, ING is planning a rationalisation of its instrument suite, which will likely imply a progressive reduction in the number of common-user instruments/modes offered at the WHT and INT, starting in semester 2015A.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2014B

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 16:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2014B.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 16:00:00 GMT

The OPTICON common TAC call for EU supported access to telescopes in semester 2014B has been opened. The announcement is here: http://www.astro-opticon.org/fp7-2/tna/opticon_call_new.html

RATS-Kepler � A Deep High-Cadence Survey of the Kepler Field

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:00:00 GMT

Before the launch of Kepler, an extensive programme to identify bright G/K dwarfs with minimial stellar activity was carried out by various groups internationally. Although a small number of photometric variability surveys were carried out pre-launch they were either not especially deep, did not have wide sky coverage or did not have a cadence shorter than a few minutes. To fill this gap a team of astronomers started a photometric variability survey (RATS-Kepler) in the summer of 2011 using the Wide Field Camera (WFC) on the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT). RATS-Kepler is complementary to the Kepler-INT-Survey.

Extra INT Call for Semester 2014A

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 15:00:00 GMT

Extra INT call for semester 2014A. After reviewing the proposals for the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) it turned out that several nights are still available for Dutch astronomers. The time allocation committee has decided to offer a second chance for the Dutch astronomers to apply for these nights. Deadline � 27 January 2014, 11.59 CET.

ING Schedules and Time Allocations Semester 2014A Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 10:00:00 GMT

ING schedules and time allocations for semester 2014A already available online.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group wish you happy holidays and all the best for the new year.

The Isaac Newton Telescope Contributes to Near Earth Asteroid Research

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 18:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Telescope Contributes to Near Earth Asteroid Research. Two recently published papers on Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) demonstrate the increasing role of the Isaac Newton Telescope in precovering, recovering and discovering NEAs. A team of 23 young astronomers, working at ING or elsewhere, and amateur astronomers, led by ING astronomer Ovidiu Vaduvescu, mined several imaging archives, observed and analysed the data, and eventually became the authors of the papers.

WHT and GTC Follow Up Main Belt Comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS)

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 5 Sep 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Some of the 11 known active asteroids originate in the main asteroid belt and thus are known as main belt comets (MBCs), one of the last discovered being P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS). Thanks to the possibility of target-of-opportunity observations at the WHT and GTC, a team of Spanish astronomers followed up its evolution and revealed the origin of its cometary activity.

ING Hosts the 11th NEON Observing School, 2013

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 10:00:00 GMT

ING hosts the 11th NEON Observing School from July 14 to July 27, 2013. NEON stands for the Network of European Observatories in the North. The NEON Observing Schools are supported by OPTICON.

The Rapid Assembly of an Elliptical Galaxy at a Redshift of 2.3

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 28 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

A rare encounter between two gas-rich galaxies indicates a solution to the problem of how giant elliptical galaxies developed so quickly in the early universe and why they stopped producing stars soon after.

Discovery of the First Isolated Compact Elliptical (cE) Galaxy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have used the ACAM instrument on the William Herschel Telescope in the discovery of a unique, isolated, compact elliptical galaxy.

A Dust-Obscured Massive Maximum-Starburst Galaxy in the Early Universe

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Astronomers of the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) project announce today in the journal Nature the discovery of an unsually massive, maximum-starburst galaxy at a redshift of 6.34, or when the Universe was only 880 million years old. Because current theories of galaxy fomation and evolution predict smaller galaxies with slower rates of star production in the early Universe, the detection of such a galaxy is challenging.

Accretion on a Very Rapidly Spinning White Dwarf Observed Using an L3CCD

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:00:00 GMT

Recent William Herschel Telescope observations have revealed a new view of the accretion process in V455 And, an intermediate polar with a very rapidly spinning white dwarf. This white dwarf, which is a star that is only as large as the Earth but about half as massive as the Sun, spins around its axis in just over one minute, and is the third fastest-spinning white dwarf known. .

Professor Vikram Dhillon is Awarded the 2013 RAS Jackson-Gwilt Medal for the Development and Operation of ULTRACAM

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 09:00:00 GMT

ULTRACAM is an ultra-fast, triple-beam CCD camera designed to study astrophysics on the fastest timescales. The instrument was built by a consortium involving the Universities of Sheffield (Vik Dhillon), Warwick (Tom Marsh) and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh. It saw first light on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on La Palma in 2002. The large quantity of observing time awarded to ULTRACAM (totalling one year of nights over the last decade) on some of the world's largest telescopes is testament to the competitiveness of the science performed with the instrument.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2014A

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 11:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2014A.

ING Schedules and Time Allocations Semester 2013B Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:00:00 GMT

ING schedules and time allocations for semester 2013B already available online.

The 2013 Call of the ING Studentship Programme Now Open

ldp@ing.iac.es (Lilian Dominguez) — Fri, 1 Mar 2013 19:00:00 GMT

The 2013 call of the ING Studentship Programme is open until the 7th of April.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2013B

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2013B.

ING Science Strategy 2013 - 2022 Released

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

A consensus has emerged amongst the partner countries that the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) will play a crucial role in the partners' national astronomy programmes over the next decade. At the ING, we have worked closely with our user communities from the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, and with our funding agencies (STFC, NWO and IAC), to agree on the scientific priorities and how to deliver t\ hem.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:00:00 GMT

The OPTICON common TAC call for EU supported access to telescopes in semester 2013B has been opened. It will close at exactly 23:59 UT on 28th February 2013. The announcement is here: http://www.astro-opticon.org/fp7/tna/opticon_call_new.html

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 7 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Probing Nuclear Activity Versus Star Formation Using Near-Infrared Multi-Object Spectroscopy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 4 Feb 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The role of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the formation and evolution of galaxies is still not well established. Some authors claim that AGN are key in quenching star formation in their host galaxies through so-called AGN feedback, which has been invoked to explain the well-established correlations between supermassive-black-hole (SMBH) mass and host-galaxy properties. In order to understand the importance of AGN feedback in the star-formation histories of galaxies, it is necessary to study how the star formation rate (SFR) in active galaxies evolves with redshift.

SAURON Team Gets the 2013 Group Achievement Award of the Royal Astronomical Society

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:00:00 GMT

On Friday 11 January 2013 the Royal Astronomical Society (UK) awarded the 2013 RAS Group award to the SAURON team. SAURON is an integral field spectrograph with a 33 x 44 arcseconds field of view at the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. Although it can be used for other astrophysical investigations, the particular science focus of the team that set up the SAURON project was understanding the evolution of elliptical galaxies, via detailed observations of samples of nearby examples of these objects.

Imaging Polarimetry of Circumstellar Environments with ExPo

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 17:00:00 GMT

A team of Dutch astronomers designed and built the innovative imaging polarimeter ExPo (the Extreme Polarimeter), which is a regular visitor instrument at the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). ExPo makes use of polarised light to study the faint, dust-rich environments around young and evolved stars.

A Hypergiant Star (Partially) Traversing the Yellow Evolutionary Void

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 14:00:00 GMT

After thirty years of investigation, a team of scientists from six European countries reports that the hypergiant star HR 8752 is partially traversing the Yellow Evolutionary Void, an area in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram empty of hypergiant stars with surface temperatures between 5000 and 12000 degrees kelvin. Some of the observations were carried out using the Utrecht Echelle Spectrograph (UES, now retired) on the William Herschel Telescope.

First Evidence of the Relation Between Jets in Planetary Nebulae and Mass Transfer and Accretion in Close Binaries

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:00:00 GMT

The formation of asymmetric structures such as rings and jets in planetary nebulae (PNe) has been a matter of debate for a long time. The most popular hypothesis is that these features are produced in interacting binaries. Using data obtained with ACAM imager and spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope, for the first time astronomers have been able to reliably relate jet ejections to mass transfer and accretion in a close binary in a planetary nebula.

A 3D View of the Remnant of Nova Persei 1901

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:00:00 GMT

GK Per (Nova Persei 1901) nova remnant is the result of a remarkable nearby nova exploded in 1901 which reached the brightness of the star Vega at its maximum. It was the first object around which, superluminal light echoes where observed. The actual ejecta of the outburst became visible 15 years later in 1916. Ever since, the ejecta has been monitored in several wavelengths in narrow- and broad-band filters. This study shows that the nova ejecta is a thick knotty shell in which knots expand with a significant range of velocities. A movie shows the evolution of the remnant from 1953 to 2011 using data mainly from the INT/WFC and INT/IDS.

The Cold Veil of the Milky Way Stellar Halo

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Astronomers at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge (UK) have reported the discovery of a "cold veil" of halo stars in the very outskirts of the Milky Way. They obtained the radial velocities of a sample of distant halo stars located from 80 to 150 kiloparsecs from the center of our Galaxy using the ISIS spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), among others. The two most distant stars in this sample are Carbon stars observed with WHT/ISIS, and to date, they are the most distant field Galactic halo stars with radial-velocity measurements.

Quantum Teleportation Experiment Sets a New Record

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Physicists at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences have successfully transmitted quantum states between La Palma (from the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope) and Tenerife, over a record distance of 143 km. This experiment provides the basis for a worldwide information network, in which quantum mechanical effects enable the exchange of messages with greater security, and allow certain calculations to be performed more efficiently than with conventional technologies. In such a future 'quantum internet', quantum teleportation will be a key protocol for the transmission of information between quantum computers.

Light Years Exhibition

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Light Years exhibition is a journey into the memory of the universe. A memory that begins in the stars and is gathered inside the elemental particles that make up matter. It is a hymn to the complexity of the light that creates life in its path. It is an opportunity to remember that everything in existence was once nothing but star dust. The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes has collaborated in this exhibition.

The Transiting Earth

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:00:00 GMT

From spectra collected during the August 2008 lunar eclipse, astronomers have been able to investigate the in-transit signature of the Earth-Sun system as would be observed from outside the solar system. They found that the refraction of sunlight as it passes through a planetary atmosphere similar to the Earth's contributes prominently to the in-transit transmission spectrum. This research has important implications for future attempts to characterise the atmospheres of Earth-like extrasolar planets, especially those in similar long-period orbits.

ING User Input Sought for the STFC Programmatic Review

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:00:00 GMT

As part of its Programmatic Review, the UK funding agency STFC seeks input from facility users on science and facility priorities, including the ING.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2013A

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2013A.

The Nature of the Driving Source of the HH30 Jet/Counterjet System

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:00:00 GMT

The Herbig-Haro object 30 (HH30) is located in the L1551 dark cloud, at a distance of about 140 parsec, in the Taurus star-forming region. HH30 is considered a prototypical jet-disk system driven by a young stellar object (YSO). The impressive jet/counterjet structure extends several arcminutes in both directions from the exciting source, and shows an undulating morphology in the narrow-band [SII] images. Astronomers using ACAM at the William Herschel Telescope have been able to obtain a deep image of the HH30 field and have found an interesting explanation for the jet/counterjet system.

The Kepler-INT Survey

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:00:00 GMT

The Kepler-INT Survey is a deep 5-filter optical survey of the Kepler field, made with the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. The observing strategy and data reduction method are identical with those used in the IPHAS and UVEX galactic plane surveys and involves scientists from all ING partner communities.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:00:00 GMT

The OPTICON common TAC call for EU supported access to telescopes in semester 2013A has been opened. It will close at exactly 1200 UT on 2nd September 2012. The announcement is here: http://www.astro-opticon.org/fp7/tna/opticon_call_new.html

Job Opportunity: Optical Engineer

juan@ing.iac.es (Juan Martinez) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Please note that a job advert has been posted: Optical Engineer, ref.: LSR02_12. Closing date 30/09/12.

Workshop: "La Palma and Calar Alto Observatories, Science in the Next Decade", contributions available

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Contributions from workshop: "La Palma and Calar Alto Observatories, Science in the Next Decade" (Madrid, 22-23 March 2012) already available.

Masgomas-1: A Very Massive Stellar Cluster

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

A group of astronomers from the IAC and CEFCA have reported the discovery of a massive stellar cluster in the Milky Way. The discovery is part of the MASGOMAS project (MAssive Stars in Galactic Obscured MAssive clusterS), a systematic search for massive galactic stellar clusters. The massive nature of the cluster has been confirmed using LIRIS imaging, and long-slit and multi-object spectroscopy, on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT).

The World's Greatest Telescopes

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

The William Herschel Telescope takes pride of place on the front cover of Astronomy magazine's special summer 2012 issue. This issue is a picture-packed guided tour of the world's major observatories, highlighting the beauty of the locations as much as the scientific achievements. It includes an article about the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, written by ING staff Chris Benn, Javier éndez and Marc Balcells.

NGC 2359 Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

This is an image of NGC 2359, better known as the Thor's Helmet nebula, obtained using the Wide-Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. NGC 2359 is actually more like an interstellar bubble, blown as a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center sweeps through a surrounding molecular cloud. The central star is an extremely hot giant Wolf-Rayet star thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution.

Astronomy Field Trip by University of Sheffield Students

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 GMT

A group of 8 Sheffield MPhys students visited La Palma for one week to undertake their third-year astronomy project using pt5m, the Durham-Sheffield 0.5m robotic telescope on the roof of the WHT. The trip, which was led by Professor Vik Dhillon, was a great success and will hopefully now be an annual fixture in the Sheffield Astrophysics MPhys degree programme.

Under the Dark Halo Old Galaxies Have Many More Stars

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Astronomers from the Atlas3D team, using the SAURON integral-field spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope, have found that some of the oldest galaxies in the Universe have three times as much stellar mass, and as many more stars, than all current models of galaxy evolution predict. This result means that the models, which assumed for decades that the light we observe from a galaxy can be used to infer its stellar mass, will have to be revised. A report of the research is published in Nature on 26 April 2012.

IC 1396 Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:00:00 GMT

IC 1396 in the constellation Cepheus imaged in the red light from hydrogen atoms. This image was obtained as part of the INT/WFC Photometric Hydrogen-Alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS). Credit: Geert Barentsen & Jorick Vink (Armagh Observatory) & the IPHAS Collaboration.

Riding the Wake of a Merging Galaxy Cluster

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Observations using the OASIS integral field spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope have revealed a long, thin plume of ionised gas stretching out from the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) of Abell 2146 (z=0.243) (Canning et al. 2012). Extended optical emission-line nebulae are not uncommon in the cores of clusters, but the discovery of this particular structure is unexpected, as the host cluster is in the throes of a major merger event.

The 2012 Call of the ING Studentship Programme Now Open

ldp@ing.iac.es (Lilian Dominguez) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

The 2012 call of the ING Studentship Programme is now open. Deadline is the 6th of April.

Workshop: La Palma and Calar Alto Observatories, Science in the Next Decade

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Upcoming workshop: "La Palma and Calar Alto Observatories, Science in the Next Decade" (Madrid, 22-23 March 2012). We announce a two-day workshop organised by ING together with our colleagues at the Calar Alto Observatory. Registration deadline: 5 March (with presentation), 15 March (without).

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2012B

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2012B.

Input from UK Users Sought for STFC Science Board Review

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

ING's plans for the coming decade were presented to STFC Science Board in November 2011. In order to reach a decision by April 2012, Science Board set up a sub-group to examine our proposal (and that presented for JCMT and UKIRT). STFC's announcement is at http://www.stfc.ac.uk/About+STFC/38392.aspx . The deadline for submission of your inputs is 22 February 2012.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme is now open with a deadline of 12:00 UT on 29 February 2012.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Call for Service Proposals with WHT/ULTRACAM

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

The ING is pleased to announce a special call for service proposals to use the ULTRACAM instrument. Up to five bright nights are available at the beginning of February 2012. ULTRACAM is a high-speed, three channel CCD camera ideally suited for fast photometry. Please see the details of the announcement, including a description of ULTRACAM and the proposal submission procedure, at http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/ULTRACAM.pdf. The deadline for receipt of proposals is midnight on Friday 20th January, Canarian/UK time.

Best Wishes From La Palma!

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:00:00 GMT

The staff of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

JKT Announcement of Opportunity

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of the United Kingdom announces its intention to make the Jakobus Kapteyn Telescope (JKT) available free of charge to a suitable party who is interested in taking control of the scientific exploitation of the telescope.

The ING Telescopes Contribute to the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 4 Oct 2011 21:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) contributed data to the research which led to the award of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics to Professor Saul Perlmutter of UC-Berkeley. Using wide-field imaging techniques implemented on the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in the early nineties, and subsequent imaging and spectroscopy using the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), among others, the Supernova Cosmology Project team led by Perlmutter discovered that the expansion of the Universe, long-believed to be decelerating due to the effects of gravitational attraction, was in fact accelerating, that is, galaxies are receding from one another faster now than they were billions of years ago. This result provided the foundation for the current, widely-accepted model of the Universe, in which the dynamics are dominated by what is called dark energy.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme is now open with a deadline of 12:00 UT on 31 August 2011.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2012A

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2012A.

The ATLAS^3D Project: Replacing the Handle of Hubble�s Tuning Fork

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Since Edwin Hubble introduced his famous tuning fork diagram more than 70 years ago, spiral galaxies and early-type galaxies have been regarded as being two distinct families. A known issue of Hubble�s classification, however, is that it mostly relies on optical images, from which it is nearly impossible to recognize thin face-on disks of stars from much rounder edge-on spheroids. For this reason the fraction of disks-like systems hidden in the early-type category has been a matter of debate for decades. Using SAURON integral-field spectrograph at the William Herschel Telescope, astronomers of the ATLAS^3D collaboration were able to derive maps of the stellar motions for 260 galaxies. For the first time, it was found that the overwhelming majority of the early-type galaxies in the nearby Universe does not consist of roundish spheroidal objects, but instead has disks and mostly resembles spiral galaxies with the gas and dust removed. Only a tiny fraction of the early-type galaxies � the �slow rotators� � are genuine spheroids.

Discovery of a New Class of Supernovae

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 9 Jun 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have identified a new type of supernova or exploding star which is ten times brighter than any other type of stellar explosion.

UK Parliamentary Inquiry into Astronomy - Report Now Available

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 1 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT

The report of the UK parliamentary Science and Technology Committee inquiry into astronomy and particle-physics research in the UK is now publicly available.

Wide-Field Multi-Object Spectrograph WEAVE Proposed for WHT Prime Focus

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Sun, 29 May 2011 18:00:00 GMT

ING is establishing a European consortium to develop a spectrograph, WEAVE, for the prime focus of the William Herschel Telescope. WEAVE will be able to take spectra of up to 1000 objects simultaneously, within a 2-deg field of view. First light is envisioned in 2016.

ING Joins Efforts with GTC to Discover a Galactic Black Hole

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:00:00 GMT

XTE J1859+226 is a transient X-ray binary discovered in 1999 by the X-ray satellite RXTE. This type of binary system stays in quiescence for most of its life; however, from time-to-time the system can show an outburst at all wavelengths which can subsequently be detected by X-ray satellites. By combining the data taken using the INT and the WHT in 2000 with the photometry taken in 2008 with NOT, WHT and spectra from GTC, a lower limit to the mass of the black hole was set to 5.42 solar masses.

Galaxy Zoo Supernovae and the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Galaxy Zoo Supernovae (GZS) is a proof-of-concept project which uses members of the public to identify supernova candidates from the latest generation of wide-field imaging transient surveys. GZS was first tested on two specific occasions supporting Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) spectroscopic follow-up observations at the William Herschel Telescope, in 2009 August and October. 16 of 20 candidates were observed by the WHT; 15 were confirmed as SNe, with one cataclysmic variable. Since 2010 April, GZS has been running full-time on PTF candidates and by 2010 July 15 had classified around 13,900 SN candidates at the rate of several hundred candidates per observing night. SGZ team members continue to use the WHT to confirm and follow up the SN candidates being discovered.

Call for INT Support and Studentship Applications

rk@ing.iac.es (Raine Karjalainen) — Mon, 7 Mar 2011 12:00:00 GMT

The INT Support and Research Studentship programme offers astronomy and astrophysics Ph.D. students the unique opportunity to spend one year at the ING as support astronomers at the INT. The students are expected to continue with their Ph.D. theses while working at ING. Students will get astronomy related project work from ING. In addition, they can get involved in further research with ING staff astronomers. Ph.D. students working in any field of observational astronomy are welcome. Deadline for applications is April 7th, 2011.

Final Journey for ING's Former Taxi Driver, Lionel

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:00:00 GMT

We regret to announce that Lionel passed away last Friday, 18th March. For more than 20 years, Lionel was the usual taxi driver for visitors to ING's telescopes, and many astronomers around the world will remember him with affection. We will all miss him.

The Cigar Galaxy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Image of the Cigar Galaxy or M82 obtained using ACAM on the William Herschel Telescope. Credit: Pablo Rodríguez-Gil (IAC) and Pablo Bonet (IAC).

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2011B

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2011B.

UK Parliamentary Inquiry into Astronomy

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:00:00 GMT

The UK parliamentary Science and Technology Committee has launched an inquiry into astronomy and particle-physics research in the UK. The parliamentary committee invites comments, by February 16th.

Call for Proposals to be supported via the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:00:00 GMT

The call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme is now open with a deadline of 12:00 UT on 28 February 2011.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:00:00 GMT

The Cat's Eye Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Image acquired using the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope of the Cat's Eye Nebula, or NGC 6543. Credit: D. López and R. Barrena (IAC).

CANARY: First On-Sky Demonstration of Multi-Object Adaptive Optics

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:00:00 GMT

A Franco-British team has demonstrated for the first time on-sky the feasibility of so-called Multi-Object Adaptive Optics (MOAO). MOAO provides the high spatial resolution delivered by current adaptive-optics systems, but over a much larger field of view, allowing many objects to be observed simultaneously. The demonstration was made with the purpose-built CANARY instrument installed at the Nasmyth focus of the William Herschel Telescope on La Palma. Analysis of the first results obtained in September 2010 shows that CANARY delivered the expected performance the first time it was used - a spectacular success.

The Veil Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:00:00 GMT

This image is part of the Eastern Veil Nebula, or NGC 6992, and it was obtained using the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. It is a three-colour composite made from data collected using filters to isolate the light emitted by hydrogen alpha (H-alpha), doubly ionised oxygen (OIII) and ionised sulfur (SII) atoms, and coded in the image as red, green and blue respectively. Credit: D. López (IAC).

PLC Technology Reduces Observing Overheads

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:00:00 GMT

New control systems are being implemented for all the instruments on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope. The new systems are based on PLC (programmable logic controllers) and Ethernet technology, and are faster, and much easier to maintain, than the old 4MS/RS232 systems originally implemented at the telescope over 20 years ago. The re-engineering is all being carried out in-house at ING.

The Crescent Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:00:00 GMT

This image of the Crescent Nebula or NGC 6888 was obtained using the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. It is a three-colour composite made from data collected using filters to isolate the light emitted by hydrogen alpha (H-alpha) and doubly ionised oxygen (OIII) atoms.

Electron-multiplying CCDs at ING

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Conventional CCD detectors have two major disadvantages: they are slow to read out and they suffer from read noise. These problems combine to make high-speed spectroscopy of faint targets the most demanding of astronomical observations. It is possible to overcome these weaknesses by using electron-multiplying CCDs (EMCCDs). EMCCDs are conventional frame-transfer CCDs, but with an extended serial register containing high-voltage electrodes. The recently released ING technical note no. 132 summarises the research and the implementation of EMCCDs at ING.

Comet P/2010 A2, an Activated Asteroid from the Main Asteroid Belt

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Comet-like object P/2010 A2 was discovered by the LINEAR survey on January 6, 2010. Service observations carried out using ACAM on the William Herschel Telescope on January 21, 2010, show an asteroidal nucleus detached from the dust tail. Owing to its orbital parameters and its cometary appearance, the object is classified as a main-belt comet, in other words, an activated asteroid from the main asteroid belt. Comet P/2010 A2's orbit is the nearest to the Sun known so far, for this kind of object (semi-major axis of 2.29 AU).

Super-Complex Organic Molecules Found in Interstellar Space

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:00 GMT

A team of scientists from the Instituto Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of Texas using the WHT and HET has succeeded in identifying one of the most complex organic molecules yet found in the material between the stars, the so-called interstellar medium. The discovery of anthracene could help resolve a decades-old astrophysical mystery concerning the production of organic molecules in space.

The Ring Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 GMT

This image of the Ring Nebula or Messier 57 was obtained using the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. It is a three-colour composite made from data collected using filters to isolate the light emitted by hydrogen alpha (H-alpha), doubly ionised oxygen (OIII) and ionised sulfur (SII) atoms.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2011A

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:00:00 GMT

ING Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2011A.

ING Astronomer Awarded Public Outreach Prize

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

ING support astronomer Miguel Santander has been awarded a public outreach prize for his story "Ella siempre lo supo".

ING Support and Studentship Programme

prguez@ing.iac.es (Pablo Rodriguez) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes offers astronomy PhD students the opportunity to work for one year (starting September) as support astronomers at the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos observatory on La Palma, while continuing work on their PhDs.

Call for Proposals for Observing Time in 2010B

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2010B: August 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011.

Call for Proposals to the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme in 2010B

balcells@ing.iac.es (Juan Martinez) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Within the OPTICON contract under FP7, its Trans-National Access programme will move towards even greater integration and coordination of the participating telescopes. As part of this move, the funding for the programme will be pooled, and the proposals for OPTICON time at all the telescopes will be reviewed together by a single international Time Allocation Committee (TAC) to ensure network-wide competition and uniform review criteria.

Workshop on "Science with the WHT 2010-2020" (London, 22-23 March)

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Bringing together astronomers from the ING communities to discuss scientific applications and instrument development plans for the WHT in the coming decade.

ING Strategic Vision for the Coming Decade

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Our strategic vision of the WHT for the next decade is that of a telescope that operates a range of instruments offered for classical observing on a large fraction of the year, while we increase the time devoted to surveys with key instruments with strategic importance to our communities - instruments where a 4m telescope delivers more science than larger telescopes.

Call for Proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme on the Canary Islands

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:00:00 GMT

ING's Position Statement on STFC's 16 December Press Release

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) are pleased to note that the announcement made by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) on December 16th, 2009, clarifies the continued role of STFC as owner and manager of the ING until the expiration of the International Agreements for the Canarian Observatories. These agreements are for renewal in 2012.

The Pinwheel Galaxy

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 GMT

This fantastic image of the Pinwheel Galaxy was obtained using the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. It�s a three-colour composite made from data collected through the filters Sloan g�, r�+H? and i�. Credit: R. Barrena and D. López (IAC).

Un Sorteo Estelar

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:00:00 GMT

The institutions present at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (IAC) help to collect funds to help those affected by recent fire in the South of La Palma. The prize will be an observing night on the JKT, using the finder and the naked eye.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2010A

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2010A: February 1, 2010 - July 31, 2010

First Light for ACAM - the WHT's New Imager / Spectrograph

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

A versatile new high-throughput imager and spectrograph, ACAM, was successfully commissioned on the William Herschel Telescope in June 2009, and is now available for use by the astronomical community.

New Director for Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Dr Marc Balcells, a tenured researcher at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, has been appointed Director of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes. He will begin his new role with effect from 15 July 2009.

Earth's Transmission Spectrum from Lunar Eclipse Observations

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:00:00 GMT

As we get closer to finding analogues of Earth, an important consideration for the characterization of extrasolar planetary atmospheres is what the transmission spectrum of our planet looks like. Recently a team of astronomers, using LIRIS on the William Herschel Telescope and ALFOSC on the Nordic Optical Telescope simultaneously, have been able to obtain for the first time the optical and near-infrared transmission spectrum of the Earth during a lunar eclipse.

First Spectroscopic Observations Using an Electron-Multiplying CCD

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Astronomers at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) have recently used, for the first ever time, an electron-multiplying detector for astronomical spectroscopic observations, allowing a high-time resolution analysis of the orbital motion of a short orbital period cataclysmic variable.

European Telescope Strategy Review

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:00:00 GMT

The ASTRONET Science Vision and Infrastructures Roadmaps concluded that there is an urgent need to define a strategy for 2-4m telescopes at the European Level.Vital community input is now sought via a web based tool created for the purpose. The main consultation period begins now and continues until the end of July.

Near-Universe Advisory Panel Consultation Process

don@ing.iac.es (Don Abrams) — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT

The Near Universe Advisory Panel (NUAP) is one of five advisory panels to the STFC's Science Committee for Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear Physics. NUAP is inviting the community to take part in a web-based consultation to help it develop a roadmap with the current and future research opportunities.

Support and Research Studentship Programme

prguez@ing.iac.es (Pablo Rodriguez) — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT

The INT Support and Research Studentship programme offers astronomy and astrophysics Ph.D. students the unique opportunity to spend one year at the ING as support astronomers at the INT. The students can continue with their Ph.D. theses while working at ING. In addition, they can get involved in further research with ING staff astronomers. Ph.D. students working in any field of observational astronomy are welcome.

First Ever Spectrum of an Asteroid Which Hit the Earth

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Having less than 24 hours in which to act, astronomers using the William Herschel Telescope have been able to obtain the only spectrum of an asteroid which hit the Earth, establishing the first direct link between an asteroid and a meteorite.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2009B

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2009B: August 1, 2009 - January 31, 2010.

Call for International Observing Time on the Canary Islands

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The International Scientific Committee (CCI) of the Roque de los Muchachos (ORM, La Palma) and Teide (OT, Tenerife) observatories invites applications for International Time Programmes (ITP) in semesters 2009B and 2010A on telescopes installed at these Observatories.

PlanetPol's Discovery Could Impact on Future Climate Models

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have made an unexpected find using PlanetPol on the William Herschel Telescope, that has the potential to affect future climate models. University of Hertfordshire astronomers were making observations of the stars in search of new planets, when their measurements became affected by a layer of dust. Scientists normally assume that aerosols, including mineral dust, have random orientation in the atmosphere, but the team members say the polarizing affect the dust was having on the light could only be the result of dust particles being vertically aligned.

First Ground-based Near-infrared Direct Detection of an Extrasolar Planet

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

The WHT makes the first ever ground-based near-infrared detection of an extrasolar planet. TrES-3b, as it is called, is just a little larger than Jupiter, yet orbits around its parent star much closer than Mercury does, making it a "hot jupiter". As the planet disappears behind the star, the light coming from the whole system decreases because of the absence of the planet's light, allowing astronomers precise measurements of the light emitted by the planet. This way of detecting direct light coming from an extrasolar planet is also referred as the secondary eclipse method.

A Ghost-Like Image

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Some individual objects from the Galaxy Zoo project have gained a lot of attention from the public; the most famous of these is the ghost-like Voorwerp (the Dutch word for "object"), which was discovered by Dutch schoolteacher Hanny van Arkle. Observations with the William Herschel, among others, led astronomers to the conclusion that this object consists of a cloud of highly ionized gas.

ASTRONET Infrastructure Roadmap Released

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

The ASTRONET Infrastructure Roadmap: A Strategic Plan for European Reseachy, has just been released.

Detection of Naphtalene Cation in the Interestellar Medium

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:00:00 GMT

A team of astronomers has reported the first evidence for the presence of naphthalene cation in a region of the interestellar medium. This identification adds support to the hypothesis that this type of molecules could play an important role in the formation of prebiotic molecules present in the protoplanetary material.

IYA2009 and the ING

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 will be a global celebration of astronomy and ING will be there.

Christmas E-Card Competition

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

This first STFC e-Christmas card competition is open to school children within the 11-16 age group across the UK. The winners will be awarded with a trip to La Palma and a visit to the ING telescopes.

The Universe Shines Twice as Bright

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Using the Millenium Galaxy Catalogue, compiled with data obtained with the Isaac Newton Telescope, astronomers have calculated that the Universe is actually twice as bright as previously thought. In the latest Astrophysical Journal Letters (10th May), the astronomers describe how dust is obscuring approximately half of the light that the Universe is currently generating.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2009A

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2009A: February 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009.

ING Will Host the 7th NEON Observing School, 2008

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT

The ING will host the 7th NEON Observing School from June 23 to July 05, 2008. NEON stands for the Network of European Observatories in the North and the NEON Observing Schools are supported by OPTICON and the European Astronomical Society (EAS). The aim of the NEON summer schools is to provide the opportunity for young researchers to gain practical experience in observational techniques, data reduction and analysis and the use of virtual observatory tools.

An Astro-Comb for the WHT with a Precision of 1 cms-1

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:00:00 GMT

An 'astro-comb' is an optically filtered comb of evenly spaced frequency references, all derived from a single frequency source — a pulsed laser. Half a Noble Prize in Physics was awarded for the idea in 2005 and the first application to astronomy came in 2007. Now a team from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts are the first to realize the concept in a way suitable for astronomical practice, in what could be a breakthrough in the precision of astronomical spectroscopy. An astro-comb will be deployed by the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative for the William Herschel telescope to search for exoplanets in 2009 or 2010.

Evidence for an Extrasolar Planet Around CM Drac from Binary Stellar Eclipse Timing

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Evidence for the detection of a third body orbiting around the eclipsing binary CM Draconis has been obtained using binary stellar eclipse timing method for the first time. Although binary or multiple stars are very frequent in our Galaxy, to date no unambiguously circumbinary planets had been detected.

A Wide Companion Near the Deuterium Mass Limit

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:00:00 GMT

A team of Spanish astronomers has identified a stellar companion near the deuterium-burning mass limit located at a very wide distance, or 670 astronomical units, from the brown dwarf UScoCTIO 108 in the very young Upper Scorpius association. Although other substellar pairs with similar mass ratio are known, the system UScoCTIO 108A and B is the widest identified so far and possibly has a lower gravitational bound energy than any other known low-mass binary.

Diffuse Bands Don't Originate in Circumstellar Envelopes

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The origin of the diffuse interstellar bands is a long-standing observational problem that now can see some light. A systematic survey of post-AGB stars, conducted by a team of Spanish and Dutch astronomers, has demonstrated for the first time that the carriers of the diffuse bands cannot be present in circumstellar envelopes. The result has been highlighted in Astronomy & Astrophysics journal this week and it indeed places the origin of the diffuse bands in the interstellar medium.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2008B

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in Semester 2008B: August 1, 2008 - January 31, 2009.

Opportunity for Extended Service Observing

rgmr@ing.iac.es (Rene Rutten) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:00:00 GMT

The ING is pleased to announce a special call for proposals to the WHT service programme, for up to 18 nights scheduled from May to July this year. This opportunity, which extends to all our communities, has arisen out of the wish to exploit the newly commissioned laser guide star beacon, GLAS, working in conjunction with the NAOMI Adaptive Optics module and associated instrumentation. Proposals should be submitted by 29th February 2008 through the usual web application forms at the ING Service Programme web pages.

Winner of Dutch Astronomy Olympiad Will Enjoy the INT Experience

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The Dutch Astronomy Olympiad 2008 is aimed at high school students, raising interest for science studies with an emphasis on astronomy. And as in its previous edition, the winner of the final will be awarded with a trip to La Palma and observations with the Isaac Newton Telescope.

Time's Top 10 Scientific Discoveries of 2007: International Accolade for SuperWASP

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Time magazine places SuperWASP discoveries in the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2007.

IPHAS Initial Data Release

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:00:00 GMT

The IPHAS collaboration, together with CASU and Astrogrid has announced the availability of the IPHAS Initial Data Release (IDR). The INT/WFC Photometric Halpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane is an imaging survey being carried out in H-alpha, Sloan r' and Sloan i' bands with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) on the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) to a depth of r'=20. The IPHAS IDR is a photometric catalogue of more than 200 million objects coupled with associated imaging data covering about 1700 square degrees three colours. The survey is aimed at revealing large scale structure in our local galaxy, and also the properties of key early and late populations making up the Milky Way.

First Light of FastCam on the WHT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:00:00 GMT

FastCam is an imaging camera that takes very short exposures in the optical wavelength range. By selecting the data least affected by the atmospheric turbulence, FastCam can produce very high-resolution images (10^-2 arcseconds). The instrument had been tested previously on other telescopes, and on the 27th of november it visited the William Herschel Telescope for the first time.

Call for International Observing Time on the Canary Islands

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:00:00 GMT

First Ground-Layer Adaptive-Optics System for General Astronomical Observations

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:00:00 GMT

A team from the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes in collaboration with scientists from Durham University in the United Kingdom and from the University of Leiden and the ASTRON institute in The Netherlands have developed and commissioned at the William Herschel Telescope on the island of La Palma the first ground-layer adaptive optics system in the world that can be used for general astronomical observations.

SuperWASP Finds a Strongly-Irradiated Transiting Gas-Giant Exoplanet

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:00:00 GMT

The WASP and SOPHIE collaboration has announced the discovery of WASP-3b, one of the hottest exoplanets discovered so far. At a temperature of more than 1700 degrees Celsius WASP-3b has the potential to place stringent constraints on exoplanet atmospheric models. The adaptive optics system of the William Herschel Telescope was used to exclude the possibility of a nearby eclipsing-binary system being the cause of the transits.

First Observational Evidence that Outflows from AGNs Originate as Disk Winds

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Astronomers from the Rochester Institute of Technology and from University of Hertfordshire have obtained the first observational evidence that outflows from active galactic nuclei originate as winds from rotating accretion disks surrounding a super-massive black hole. Such evidence came from observations of quasar PG 1700+518 made by ISIS spectrograph in spectropolarimetric mode on the William Herschel Telescope.

Comet 17P/Holmes Observed with the Eyes of the INT

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Telescope pointed to the comet 17P/Holmes just after the sunset of the following night to the outburst, and it has been tracking its evolution since then.

The ING's Telescopes Contribute Towards the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:00:00 GMT

The discovery that the expansion of the Universe is currently accelerating was achieved using the most powerful telescopes in the world, and in particular, the members of the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP) team have been using the telescopes of the Isaac Newton Group since the early nineties extensively.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in 2008A

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Tue, 21 August 2007 15:00:00 GMT

Announcement of opportunity for observing time in semester 2008A: February 1, 2008 � July 31, 2008.

Two Stellar Explosions at Exactly the Same Position

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:00:00 GMT

For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a double stellar explosion at exactly the same position on the sky suggesting the death of a massive star.

First Light for the Galaxy H-alpha Fabry-Perot System (GHaFaS)

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:00:00 GMT

From July 6th to July 12th a new private instrument for the WHT, GHaFaS, saw its first run.The acronym GHaFaS stands for Galaxy Halpha Fabry-Perot System, and gives an idea of the nature and the prime use of the instrument. It is a new generation FP interferometer, whose chief and powerful advantage over traditional systems which have been used on telescopes is the high sensitivity photon counting detector.

Thousands of Dwarf Galaxies in the Coma Galaxy Cluster

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have been able to identify about 1600 dwarf galaxies in the Coma galaxy cluster, which are likely to be either part of a population of low-surface-brightness dwarf galaxies or too red to be detected in the existing optical surveys. More information: http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/coma.html.

A Low-Mass Pre Main Sequence Eclipsing Binary System

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have been able to obtain accurate and empirical measurements of the the masses and radii of the component stars of a new low mass eclipsing binary system. JW 380, as it is called, comprises a 0.26, 0.15 solar-mass pre main sequence stars and it is located in the very young Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). More information: http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/orion.html.

Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae IV Conference, La Palma, 18-22 June 2007

rcorradi@ing.iac.es (Romano Corradi) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 14:00:00 GMT

After more than two decades of intensive work, understanding the complex shapes of planetary nebulae and their implication on stellar evolution in general, is still a challenging and exciting goal. This is the fourth meeting of the APN conferences series devoted to this astrophysical problem. It will be held from June 18 to 22, 2007, on La Palma in the Canary Islands (Spain).

First Light for GLAS Laser Beacon

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 7 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The GLAS laser beam produces a bright star-like beacon at an elevation of some 15 kilometres above the observatory. This beacon is used to sense the wavefront distortions due to the atmosphere that are subsequently corrected by the Adaptive Optics system. Full operation of the GLAS laser and the NAOMI Adaptive Optics system is anticipated for fall of 2007.

Brown Dwarfs and Isolated Planetary-Mass Objects Might Follow the Same Formation Process

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 6 Jun 2007 10:00:00 GMT

A deep infrared survey of the young sigma Orionis open cluster using the Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope has revealed that brown dwarfs and isolated planetary-mass objects may share the same origin.

The Most Detailed Image Ever Produced of the Rosette Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:00:00 GMT

This new image of the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237) is thought to be the most-detailed ever produced. Compiled from data taken from the Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric Hydrogen-alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS), the image spans four square degrees, about twenty times the size of the full moon.

A Whirlpool in the Wake Left by a Dying Star

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:00:00 GMT

Using data from the Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric Hydrogen-alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS), astronomers have found evidence that giant whirlpools form in the wake of stars as they move through clouds in interstellar space.

The YORP Effect Detected on Near-Earth Asteroid 2000 PH5

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:00:00 GMT

Astronomers have seen an asteroid change the rate at which it spins for the first time, and shown that it is due to the YORP theoretical effect predicted but never before seen.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in 2007B

rgmr@ing.iac.es (Rene Rutten) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:00:00 GMT

Announcement of opportunity for observing time in semester 2007B: August 1, 2007 � January 31, 2008.

Opportunity for Extended Service Observing - April 2007

rgmr@ing.iac.es (Rene Rutten) — Fri, 9 Feb 2007 15:00:00 GMT

The ING is pleased to announce a special call for proposals to the WHT service programme, for up to nine nights in April.

Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes - Position Statement

rgmr@ing.iac.es (Rene Rutten) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:00:00 GMT

This brief paper summarizes ING's position and its view of how it expects to continue to deliver a high-quality service to the astronomical community from one of the best observing sites in the world.

Call for International Observing Time on the Canary Islands

rgmr@ing.iac.es (Rene Rutten) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:00:00 GMT

This is an announcement of opportunity for observing time on all night-time telescopes at the Roque de los Muchachos and Teide Observatories in the Canary Islands, under the auspices of the International Scientific Committee.

Ex-Chairperson of the ING Board Becomes Next Director General of ESO

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 15:00:00 GMT

The ESO Council has just appointed Tim de Zeeuw as the next Director General of ESO, effective as of 1 September 2007. Professor de Zeeuw occupied the chair of the ING Board from 1999 to 2002 and he was also responsible for the development of SAURON for the William Herschel Telescope.

A Gaseous Metal Disk Around a White Dwarf

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:00:00 GMT

The destiny of planetary systems through the late evolution of their host stars is very uncertain. Recently a team of astronomers from the University of Warwick using both the William Herschel Telescope and the Isaac Newton Telescope found a metal-rich gas disk around a moderately hot and young white dwarf.

ULTRACAM Obtains the First Observational Evidence of a Dead Cataclysmic Variable

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 10:00:00 GMT

A long-standing and unverified prediction of binary star evolution theory is the existence of a population of white dwarfs accreting from substellar donor stars. Such systems ought to be common, but the difficulty of finding them, combined with the challenge of detecting the donor against the light from accretion, means that no donor star to date has a measured mass below the hydrogen burning limit. Now astronomers using ULTRACAM on the William Herschel Telescope claim the first detection.

A New Planetary Nebula Discovered by IPHAS

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 16 Nov 2006 13:00:00 GMT

The Isaac Newton Telescope/Wide-Field Camera H-alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS) has discovered a new Planetary Nebula.

UES Detects Rubidium in Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 10:00:00 GMT

A long debated issue concerning the nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars is the identification of the neutron source. Recently, a team of astronomers using UES spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope has detected rubidium from the overproduction of the long-lived radioactive isotope ⁸⁷Rb in intermediate-mass AGB stars in our Galaxy. This represents a direct observational evidence, predicted theoretically 40 years ago, of the slow-neutron capture process following the ²²Ne(α,n)²⁵Mg reaction.

LIRIS Observes the Least-Massive Brown Dwarfs in the Pleiades

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 15:00:00 GMT

A search for low-mass brown dwarfs in the Pleiades open cluster has led to the identification of the least massive cluster members: BRB 28 and 29 have masses of the order of 25 Jupiter masses

SuperWASP Finds Its First Transiting Exoplanets

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:00:00 GMT

A team of UK, French and Swiss astronomers has discovered two new Jupiter-sized extrsolar planets, WASP-1b (also named as Garaía-1) and WASP-2b, using the transit method. These planets are the first to be found during the UK-led SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) programme. More information.

Seminar at ING: The Search for Extrasolar Planets

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Aldo Fiorenzano (TNG) will give a seminar on "The search for extrasolar planets: Study of line bisectors and its relation with precise radial velocity measurements", at the 6th floor meeting room of Mayantigo Building (sea-level office) at 12:00am on the 6th of September. They have prepared a suitable software in order to use the same spectra acquired for radial velocity determinations (i.e., with the spectrum of the Iodine cell imprinted on) to measure variations of the stellar line profiles. This is a novel approach, that can be of general utility in all high precision radial velocity surveys based on iodine cell data. This software has then been extensively used on data acquired within our survey (at TNG), allowing a proper insight into a number of interesting cases, where spurious estimates of the radial velocities due to activity or contamination by light from the companions were revealed. The same technique can also be considered to correct the measured radial velocities, in order to search for planets around active stars.

ING Biennial Report 2004-2005

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 6 Aug 2006 10:00:00 GMT

The 2004-2005 Biennial Report of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes is already available online at http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/AR2005/

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in 2007A

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 6 Aug 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Announcement of opportunity for observing time on the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma, in semester 2007A: February 1, 2007-July 31, 2007. Further details of the proposal submission process and current instrumentation at ING.

Conference on 'The Nature of V838 Mon and Its Light Echo', La Palma, 16-19 May 2006

rcorradi@ing.iac.es (Romano Corradi) — Tue, 16 May 2006 09:00:00 GMT

From 16th to 19th May, 2006 the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes is organising a conference on 'The Nature of V838 Mon and Its Light Echo' at La Palma.

Seminar at ING: High Redshift Ly-alpha Emitters in the GOODS-S field

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 13:00:00 GMT

Kim Nilsson (ESO) will give a seminar on "High redshift Ly-alpha emitters in the GOODS-S field" at the next 6th floor meeting room, sea-level office, at 4:00 p.m. next 27th of April (Thursday).

Discovery of the Progenitor of Nova Cygni 2006 in IPHAS Images

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:00:00 GMT

On 2 April 2006 a new nova was reported in Cygnus (IAUC No. 8697). This is now named V2362 Cygnus, and it reached a peak magnitude of 8 on 6 April 2006. IPHAS observations of this same part of the sky were obtained on 3 August 2004, and have now been found to include a (rare) detection of the nova progenitor at r' = 20.30(+/-0.05). This valuable result has been reported as ATEL No. 795.

Slow Motion Mergers in Galaxy Clusters Provide Conditions to Transform Spirals to Smooth Disks

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 19:00:00 GMT

Slow Motion Mergers in Galaxy Clusters Provide Conditions to Transform Spirals to Smooth Disks is a press release issued by the Royal Astronomical Association during the National Astronomy Meeting 2006 in Leicester. It is based on observations obtained with the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope.

ING Technical Note: Conversion of ING Cameras to SDSU Generation 3 Controllers

smt@ing.iac.es (Simon Tulloch) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 23:00:00 GMT

'ING Technical Note No. 131: Conversion of ING Cameras to SDSU Generation 3 Controllers' describes the changes required in the conversion of a camera to Gen III.

Users' Meeting at NAM 2006: Astronomy from La Palma: Developments and Future Directions

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:00:00 GMT

This session is a question-and-answer mini-workshop aimed at providing the La Palma user community with a forum to discuss current and future developments on the island. It will be structured around a small number of presentations by ING staff summarizing current activities and forthcoming developments. Those interested in making a short presentation, either formal or informal, should contact the session chair, to whom suggestions for discussion points should also be addressed. The preliminary agenda includes a short review of ING, its instrumentation and operational plans, concentrating in particular on its AO/laser guide star project. In addition there will be a special contribution on the 10m GTC which will be offered to the UK community through the auspices of ESO, discussing how science time will be offered to ESO countries.

Seminar at ING: Formation, Evolution and Multiplicity of BDs and Giant Exoplanets

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Wed, 05 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Brown dwarfs are the bridge between the least massive stars and Jovian planets. More than ten years after the discovery, the formation mechanism of brown dwarfs and isolated planetary-mass objects is not completely understood. In this talk, I will give a summary on the properties of the substellar objects and show several scientific outcomes from my PhD research.

WHT and NOT Observations Probing Cosmic Evolution with GRBs: GRB 060206 at z=4.048

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:00:00 GMT

Early in the morning of February the 6th, 2006 a GRB was detected by the Swift satellite.Within 15 minutes the NOT was pointed towards this burst by the Danish GRB follow-up group. Using ALFOSC a bright optical afterglow was discovered in the R band. Directly after the detection had been made, a low-resolution spectrum was acquired using the same instrument. The latter spectrum rapidly determined the redshift of GRB 060206 at z=4.048. Meanwhile, the WHT had been alerted through our collaboration of the NOT and WHT, involving GRB follow-up teams from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Denmark. Starting at just 1.6 hours after the burst a medium-resolution spectrum could be obtained using WHT's ISIS spectrograph. The combination of the NOT and WHT provides a unique window on this afterglow.

Seminar at ING: Cosmological Inflation

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Enormous progress has been made in inflationary cosmology in the past few years and this seminar is to provide historical and modern overview of the subject.

Seminar at ING: Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies in Clusters: Near InfraRed Perspectives

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 12:00:00 GMT

The structural properties and the fundamental scaling relations of cluster dwarf elliptical (and dS0) galaxies will be reviewed, based on the NIR (H-band, 1.65 micron) surface photometry observations in nearby clusters of galaxies (Virgo and Centaurus in particular) collected by the author and G. Gavazzi in the framework of the GOLDMiNe survey.

Announcement of Opportunity for Observing Time in 2006B

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 15:00:00 GMT

ING announcement of opportunity for observing time in semester 2006B: August 1, 2006 - January 31, 2007.

Proceedings of the Workshop on AO Assisted IF Spectroscopy available online

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 08 Feb 2006 09:00:00 GMT

The proceedings of the Workshop on Adaptive-Optics Assisted Integral-Field Spectroscopy, 9-11 May 2005, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain are already available online: Rutten, R. G. M., Benn, C. R., Méndez, J., 2006, New Astronomy Reviews, 49, 487-704.

ING User Questionnaire - Summary of the Results

rgmr@ing.iac.es (Rene Rutten) — Mon, 22 Jan 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Earlier this year a questionnaire was issued to our community of telescope users with a number of questions regarding the current and future use of the ING telescopes. Here we present the results.

ING Newsletter No. 10, December 2005 available online

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Mon, 22 Jan 2006 09:00:00 GMT

The ING Newsletter is published twice a year and it contains scientific news from the data acquired with the ING telescopes, information on developments of the ING telescopes and instrumentation, telescope time allocations and useful information on how to apply and other news.

WHT and TNG Observations Prove that the Large Trans-Neptunian Object 2005 FY₉ is Very Similar to Pluto

licandro@ing.iac.es (Javier Licandro) — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Visible and near-infrared spectroscopic observations carried out on August 1st 2005 by a group led by the ING-IAC astronomer Javier Licandro using the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) simultaneously show that the recently discovered trans-neptunian object (TNO) 2005 FY₉ is very similar to Pluto. Results have been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics (Licandro et al., 2006, A&A,445, 35L).

Seminar at ING: The QSO HE1013-2136 (z = 0.785): tracing the ULIRG - QSO connection towards large look-back times?

djl@ing.iac.es (Danny Lennon) — Sat, 15 Jan 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Jochen Heidt from Landessternwarte Heidelberg will give the seminar entitled 'The QSO HE1013-2136 (z=0.785): tracing the ULIRG - QSO connection towards large look-back times?' at the meeting room on the 6th floor of the sea-level base at 16:00pm on 24th January (Tuesday), 2006.