This accomplishment positions the Andalusian center as a leader in the international scientific community, highlighting its participation in the observatory's global call for proposals. The approved projects, totaling 407 hours, represent a substantial portion of the observation time granted to Spanish institutions.
The James Webb call is highly competitive, with 2,855 proposals submitted and over 100,000 hours requested, of which only 254 were selected, distributing approximately 8,000 available hours. In this context, the IAA-CSIC successfully approved five projects, including the one with the longest observation time in the call, accounting for approximately 80% of the total led by Spanish entities.
“"This result reflects the solidity and leadership of the IAA-CSIC in the research of (exo)planetary systems and the center of our galaxy, as well as the ability of our research staff to successfully compete in highly demanding international programs."
Among the prominent projects, Rafael Luque leads a Large program that will use the telescope to study sub-Neptunes in systems organized into “resonance chains,” allowing for investigation into atmospheric evolution and the internal structure of planets. Meanwhile, Rainer Schödel heads another Large program that will use the NIRCa infrared camera to sample the center of the Milky Way, a crucial environment for studying star formation under extreme conditions.
Additionally, Nicholas Scarsdale has secured a Small program of 50 hours to investigate the atmospheric chemistry of sub-Neptunes, while Rubén Fedriani has been granted two Very Small programs of 9 hours each, focusing on the formation of massive stars in extreme environments. These observations are scheduled to take place between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027, during Cycle 5 of the telescope.
