Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes

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 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 in the journal Nature the discovery of an unusually 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 formation and evolution predict smaller galaxies with slower rates of star production in the early Universe, the detection of such a galaxy is challenging.

Elephant's Trunk Nebula

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 GMT

A New View of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula.

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.

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.

Two new ING technical notes on arc maps have been published

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:00:00 GMT

No 133 Arc maps for the CuAr and CuNe lamps when used with IDS/Red+2 http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/manuals/ps/tech_notes/tn133.pdf
No 135 Arc maps for the CuAr and CuNe lamps when used with ACAM/AUXCAM http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/manuals/ps/tech_notes/tn135.pdf

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.

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.

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

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.

Call for proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:00:00 GMT

Call for proposals to the CCI's International Time Programme. The deadline for the 2013 (semesters 2013B and 2014A) call for proposals is midnight, February 28, 2013.

Web pages of the Isaac Newton Telescope

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:00:00 GMT

The web pages of the Isaac Newton Telescope have been renewed to offer more information: http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/telescopes/int/

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.

ING Schedules 2013A Released

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:00:00 GMT

We have now released the 2013A schedules for the WHT and INT, which can be found on: http://catserver.ing.iac.es/schedules/ (select semester '13A' then click on 'SUBMIT'). The PIs have been informed individually about their allocations, which are listed on: http://catserver.ing.iac.es/schedules/index.php?action=allocations

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.

Astronomy Advisory Panel Draft Report - Community Input Sought

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:00:00 GMT

STFC recently circulated the Astronomy Advisory Panel's draft report for the upcoming STFC programmatic review. STFC requests feedback on this draft via the linked web form. Please note the deadline, NOON OF THURSDAY 25 OCTOBER. With this late reminder, I strongly encourage all ING users who have not yet responded to provide their input via the web form. ING welcomes the report's consistent emphasis on the desirability of maintaining diversity of facilities in the run-up to E-ELT and SKA, and on the importance of future UK access to a powerful MOS.

However, current and future ING users may be concerned that two critical issues receive little attention in this report. Firstly, there is almost no discussion of the requirement to maintain Northern-hemisphere access for UK optical observers. Secondly, no mention is made of a clear path that exists for providing UK users with Northern MOS access (highlighted on p16 as being required for 3 out of 7 science areas), namely via the planned WEAVE spectrograph on the WHT (2-deg field, 1000 fibres).

If the report does not reflect your views about these issues, or others, we encourage you to provide feedback on the above link. We are very grateful for the support you have given in the past to the continued involvement of the UK in the ING. Your contribution is very important for the success of the process.

Many thanks in advance,

Marc Balcells
Director ING

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.

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.

"Light Years" Exhibit

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

"Light Years" is an exhibit where art and science join efforts to take the understanding of the Universe to the public. The exhibit is actually a light-year astronomical journey through the Universe and its chemical components. It will be open to the public in Madrid from the 18th of September to the 18th of November 2012. ING has closely collaborated with the artist, Eugenia Balcells. Don't miss it !

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.

INT and M74 featured in Deep Sky Videos

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:00:00 GMT

A new release from Deep Sky Videos, this time about the Isaac Newton Telescope and M74 galaxy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOJUrvB6GQ

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, 2 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

Grubb Parsons web site

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Grubb Parsons was responsible for the construction of many essential elements of our telescopes. Visit this new web site if you wish to learn more about this historical company.

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.

Winner of UK's National Science and Engineering Competition visits the ING

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Kirtana Vallabhaneni, winner of UK's "National Science and Engineering Competition" was awarded to visit the ING telescopes and others at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. Today she spent the day talking to astronomers, learning about the different telescopes and projects and touring seven facilities on site.

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

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

Today the attendants to the conference "Cosmic Microwave Background and High Energy Physics", organised by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias on La Palma, visited the William Herschel Telescope. More information on the conference can be found here: http://www.iac.es/congreso/isapp2012/

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.

Two time opportunities from the Spanish time allocation committee (CAT)

jma@ing.iac.es (Javier Mendez) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:00:00 GMT

DDT time next 18th August at 2.5m INT telescope with WFC: Deadline: 21st July Instructions and form: http://www.iac.es/cat/pages/cat-nocturno/es/presentacion/tiempo-del-director.php DDT time next 15th and 16th August at 4.2m WHT telescope with ISIS and/or ACAM: Deadline: 18th July Instructions and form: http://www.iac.es/cat/pages/cat-nocturno/es/presentacion/tiempo-del-director.php

ING Observing Schedule and Allocations 12B Available

crb@ing.iac.es (Chris Benn) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:00:00 GMT

The ING observing schedule for 2012B is now available, on: http://catserver.ing.iac.es/schedules/index.php?action=allocations. A list of the WHT and INT time allocations for 2012B can be found on the same page.

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 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 Mendez 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.

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).

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 them.

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

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 29th February, 2012. More information: http://www.iac.es/eno.php?op1=5&op2=13&op3=26&lang=en

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 intent 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.

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.

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.

The ATLAS 3D Project: Replacing the Handle of Hubbles 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

balcells@ing.iac.es (Marc Balcells) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:00:00 GMT

UK Parliamentary Inquiry into Astronomy - Report Now 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.

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.

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).

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.

Observing Time Allocations and Schedules

wji@ing.iac.es (Ian Skillen) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:00:00 GMT

The latest observing time allocations and most recent schedules are available online.