Latest news

IA reseacher awarded prize by the European Astronomical Society
Published 2 April, 2026 in Outreach

A researcher from the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) received the MERAC Prize for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Observational Astrophysics, attributed by the European Astronomical Society. Learn... read more ❯
Cheops discovers a late bloomer exoplanet
Published 12 February, 2026 in Outreach

A team, featuring several researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, published in the prestigious journal Science, the discovery of an exoplanet that defies current planet formation... read more ❯
PLATO space mission gets closer to space
Published 1 July, 2025 in Outreach

This European Space Agency mission, with strong involvement from the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, reached a major milestone. Learn more (in Portuguese) read more ❯
The “Born-Again Dynamo” of the Sun’s Elder Twin
Published 20 June, 2025 in Outreach

Led by Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço researchers, the team made new magnetic measurements of β Hydri, a star analogous to the future Sun, to reveal surprising activity. An... read more ❯

Activities

Upcoming activities

Stars Day 2026

2026 edition of Stars Day, an annual science meeting highlighting the work conducted by Group members and fostering debate.
Free registration

Past activities

Projects

ANDES@ELT

ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph) is the planned high-resolution (R ~ 100,000) spectrograph for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) operating at visible Read more

PoET

Detection and characterisation of other Earths, i.e., planets with the physical conditions to hold liquid water and thus potential life-sustaining environments, is a Read more

SPIRou@CFHT

SPIRou (SPectropolarimètre InfraROUge) is a near-infrared spectropolarimeter and high-precision velocimeter for the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). It is a near-infrared fiber-fed, double-pass cross-dispersed spectrograph, based Read more

Ariel

Ariel (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey) is the M4 mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision long-term plan, being expected to launch in 2029. During Read more