Rafael Rebolo López (born September 12, 1961, in
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-l ...
) is a Spanish
astrophysicist. In October 2013 he became the director of the
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands; IAC). He is a professor at the
Spanish National Research Council
The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...
. In 2002 Rebolo became an external professor at the
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, MPIA) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl, adjacent to th ...
and a member of the Max Planck Society.
Education
Rebolo earned a degree in physics from the
University of Granada
The University of Granada ( es, Universidad de Granada, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apar ...
in 1984 and a doctorate in astrophysics from the
University of La Laguna
The University of La Laguna (ULL; Spanish: ''Universidad de La Laguna'') is a public research university situated in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It is the oldest university in the Canary Islands. The universit ...
in 1987.
Career
1984 Rafael Rebolo began as a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands ( IAC).
1997-1999 served as head of the IAC Research Division. In 1998
1998 Rebolo began to serve as a
Spanish National Research Council
The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...
(CSIC) Professor of Research in Physical Science
2002 Rebolo became a member of the
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...
and External Professor at the
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, MPIA) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl, adjacent to th ...
in Heidelberg.
Rebolo has developed research projects in
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosophe ...
,
in
stellar physics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the he ...
and
exoplanets
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
,
involving the study of the
cosmic microwave background
In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all spac ...
,
the characterization of sub-stellar objects
and
black holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can defo ...
and the search for Earth-like
exoplanets
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
.

Rebolo and his team were responsible for the discovery in 1995 of the first
brown dwarfs
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen (hydrogen-1, 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main sequence, main-sequence star. Instead, they have ...
Brown dwarfs are objects with properties intermediate between stars and giant planets.
He was part of the discovery of several giant
extrasolar planets
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
in 2000,
Rebolo provided empirical evidence in 1999 of the physical connection between
supernovae
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
and
black holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can defo ...
.
He has been a pioneer in Spain in the experimental research of the
cosmic microwave background
In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all spac ...
.
Rebolo has developed experiments in astrophysical observation at the
Observatorio del Teide in collaboration with the
Universities of Manchester and
Cambridge.
Rebolo leads the
QUIJOTE consortium for measuring the polarization of the cosmic microwave background
with telescopes in Tenerife.
He is co-director of a high-precision spectrograph
ESPRESSO
Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans an ...
for detecting exo-Earths
with the 8 m
Very Large Telescope (VLT) ) in Chile, and the AOLI project for high spatial resolution imaging
on the 4.2 m
William Herschel Telescope
The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) is a optical/near-infrared reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The telescope, which is named after William Herschel, ...
at the
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory ( es, Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, ORM) is an astronomical observatory located in the municipality of Garafía on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The observatory site is operated ...
in
La Palma, Canary Islands. He is co-investigator of the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
’s
Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...
and
Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
space missions, and member of the Board of the 10.4 m
Gran Telescopio Canarias
The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GranTeCan or GTC) is a reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, in the Canaries, Spain. It is the world's largest single-aperture optical telescope.
Con ...
(GTC) and the
Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Cherenkov Telescope Array or CTA is a multinational, worldwide project to build a new generation of ground-based gamma-ray instrument in the energy range extending from some tens of GeV to about 300 TeV. It is proposed as an open observatory ...
. He was also a member of the science committee of the 40 m E-ELT telescope, the steering committees of several European networks in astronomy (OPTICON; EARA) and the US (
AURA
Aura most commonly refers to:
* Aura (paranormal), a field of luminous multicolored radiation around a person or object
* Aura (symptom), a symptom experienced before a migraine or seizure
Aura may also refer to:
Places Extraterrestrial
* 1488 ...
) and the Scientific Committee "Science Vision for European Astronomy" and co-chair of the "Stars and Planets" panel. He is Scientific director of the "IAC: Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" program since 2011.
Awards and honors
Rebolo is a corresponding member of the
Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain, Academician of the Academy of Science and Engineering Lanzarote, Honorary Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Region of Murcia, Doctor Honoris Causa from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena.
* Iberdrola Prize of Science and Technology (2000)
* Jaime I Research Prize (2001)
*Canary Islands Prize for Research (2002)
*Medalla de Honor al Fomento de la Invención / Medal of Honor for the Promotion of the Invention (2004)
* Jules Janssen Prize of the French Astronomical Society (2015)
* Premio Naciional de Investigación Blas Cabrera (2018)
References
External links
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebolo Lopez, Rafael
1961 births
Living people
People from Cartagena, Spain
Spanish astrophysicists
20th-century Spanish physicists
21st-century Spanish physicists
Planetary scientists
Spanish cosmologists
Max Planck Society people