Radio astronomy developed in several European countries on the initiative andwith the expertise of scientists who had been involved in radar researchduring World War II. This paper traces the influence of various radartechniques on the design of early radio telescopes, covering the period 1945–1955, after which time radio had become accepted as a natural disciplinewithin astronomy.

The Gaia spectro-photometric data consist of white-light G magnitudes from unfilteredfluxes measured in the astrometric field CCDs, and low resolution prism spectra measuredin the blue (BP) and red (RP) CCDs. The integrated flux of these BP and RP spectra willyield GBP and GRP magnitudes astwo broad passbands. The internal flux calibration will correct for all possibleinstrumental effects and produce mean spectral energy distributions in an internallydefined flux scale. The purpose of the absolute flux calibration is to tie this flux scaleto physical units by means of spectro-photometric standard stars that rely ultimately onVega’s absolute flux scale. The characteristics of the Gaia spectrophotometric system willbe described, and the absolute calibration process will be outlined and compared withexamples of classical systems.

The approximation known as Frozen Convection has been widely used in the context of stellar oscillations due to the lack of a Time Dependent Convection theory. This approximation supposes to neglect the interaction between convection and oscillations and there are different ways to do it. The choice can affect theoretical predictions concerning the non-adiabatic treatment of the stellar oscillations. In fact, fictitious excitation or damping of the pulsation modes can be produced depending on the approximation used.

Convective overshoot is a physical mechanism for which no recipe based on first principles is available; hence the necessity of assuming some parametrisations, which undermine the predictive power of the current generation of stellar models. We evidentiate the non local aspects of the convective phenomenon particularly in the proximities of the convective borders, and identify some cases when the use of a diffusive rather than the classic instantaneous approach to describe overshooting is highly recommended.

This chapter describes non supergiant B-type stars that show emission lines, called Be stars. The emission is caused by the presence of a circumstellar decretion disk. Many physical phenomena are thought to be involved in these stars, such as rapid rotation, pulsations and magnetic fields, and give rise to variations. Spectroscopy is used as a diagnostic tool to study Be stars, by professional astronomers as well as by amateurs.

A description of the early days of infrared site testing at the SouthPole is given, with special attention paid to the data whichquantified the conditions during summer and the long twilight period.Such times are also provide relatively benign conditions for humans inAntarctica as well. We show that they are favourable for manyobserving programs that require the thermal infrared, and then discussa number of specific projects that could be undertaken. Such projectsmight mark the first to be conducted with any new telescope inAntarctica, as they would enable science to be carried out during thecommissioning period.

We summarize results of magnetic measurements of the bright early B-type stars β Cep, ζ Cas, and V2052 Oph, which we found to be oblique rotators with a weak magnetic dipole field with polar strength of a few hundred Gauss. From stellar wind studies we derived their rotational periods very accurately, and matched the magnetic and stellar wind phases. From model atmosphere fits we derived the angles of the rotation and magnetic axis. All three stars show some chemical abundance anomaly, likely associated with the magnetic properties. The stars are also pulsating variables. This is of high asteroseismological interest, since these are the only early-type stars known with observationally determined rotation, pulsation and magnetic properties.

PAIX, acronym for Photometer AntarctIc eXtinction, is a new photometer which has just been installed at Dome C in December 2006. PAIX consists of a 40 cm telescope equipped with a KAF-0401E CCD detector. The goal is to qualify the site of Dome C and to get continuous observations for making the best from stellar pulsation studies across the HR diagram.

The aim of this talk is to present the most recent advances in establishing plausible planetary system architectures determined by the gravitational tidal interactions between the planets and the disc in which they are embedded during the early epoch of planetary system formation. We concentrate on a very well defined and intensively studied process of the disc-planet interaction leading to the planet migration. We focus on the dynamics of the systems in which low-mass planets are present. Particular attention is devoted to investigation of the role of resonant configurations. Our studies, apart from being complementary to the fast progress occurring just now in observing the whole variety of planetary systems and uncovering their structure and origin, can also constitute a valuable contribution in support of the missions planned to enhance the number of detected multiple systems.

Recently, it has been suggested that the metallicity aversion of long-duration gamma-raybursts (LGRBs) is not intrinsic to their formation, but rather a consequence of theanti-correlation between star-formation and metallicity seen in the general galaxypopulation. To investigate this proposal, we compare the metallicity of the hosts ofLGRBs, broad-lined Type Ic (Ic-bl) supernovae (SNe), and Type II SNe to each other and tothe metallicity distribution of star-forming galaxies using the SDSS to represent galaxiesin the local universe and the TKRS for galaxies at intermediate redshifts. The differingmetallicity distributions of the LGRB hosts and the star-formation in local galaxiesforces us to conclude that the low-metallicity preference of LGRBs is not primarily drivenby the anti-correlation between star-formation and metallicity, but rather must beoverwhelmingly due to the astrophysics of the LGRBs themselves. Three quarters of our LGRBsample are found at metallicities below 12+log(O/H) < 8.6, whileless than a tenth of local star-formation is at similarly low metallicities. However, ourSN samples are statistically consistent with the metallicity distribution of the generalgalaxy population. Using the TKRS population of galaxies, we are able to exclude thepossibility that the LGRB host metallicity aversion is caused by the decrease in galaxymetallicity with redshift. The presence of the strong metallicity difference between LGRBsand Ic-bl SNe largely eliminates the possibility that the observed LGRB metallicity biasis a byproduct of a difference in the initial mass functions of the galaxy populations.Rather, metallicity below half-solar must be a fundamental component of the evolutionaryprocess that separates LGRBs from the vast majority of Ic-bl SNe and from the bulk oflocal star-formation.

We present distance determinations to the LMC and SMC based on long period eclipsing binary systems composed of giants. Our LMC distance provides the best zero point for the whole extragalactic distance scale, while the precise relative distance between the LMC and SMC offers unique opportunity to study populational effects on the stellar distance indicators. Apart from distances, analysis of these systems allowed us to measure with a very good accuracy basic stellar parameters (1–2% radii, masses, effective temperature, etc.) of relatively large sample of giants. This catalog provides unique opportunity to calibrate evolutionary models of giant stars.

In this course, I will review the main properties of internal gravity waves, andexamine how they can lead to particle and angular momentum transport in stars. Iwill then present some recent results that have been obtained for angularmomentum transport which show that waves are an important ingrediant of stellar modelling.

Dwarf galaxies are generally faint. To derive their age and metallicity distributions, it is critical to optimize the use of any collected photon. Koleva et al., using full spectrum fitting, have found strong population gradients in some dwarf elliptical galaxies. Here, we show that the population profiles derived with this method are consistent and more precise with those obtained with spectrophotometric indices. This allows studying fainter objects in less telescope time.

We present model calculations of the atmospheric transmission for DOME C in Antarctica for frequencies up to 10 THz (30 μm) using the forward model MOLIERE-5. Measurements of precipitable water vapor (pwv), obtained by the SUMMIT radiometer installed at the Concordia station during 2008 and working at a wavelength of 200 μm, are translated into atmospheric transmission using MOLIERE. Quartiles of transmission, calculated from 200 μm data are extrapolated to 350 μm and compared to the CCAT (Cornell-Caltech Atacama Telescope) site in Chile. It turns out that for 25% of the time at DOME C (CCAT), the transmission is around 20% (5%) at 200 μm. This corresponds to a pwv of 0.18 mm for DOME C. At 350 μm, for 50% of time at DOME C (CCAT) the transmission is around 55% (25%). This corresponds to a pwv of 0.22 mm for DOME C. These results show that DOME C is one of the best observing sites on Earth for submm-astronomy with respect to high atmospheric transmission over long time periods.

For many years, our group has been investigating the VUV spectroscopy and photochemistry of molecules of astrophysical (Jochims et al. 2006a,b; Leach et al. 2008; Schwell et al. 2012) and prebiotic interest (Schwell et al. 2006). Polyynes and cyano-polyynes that are abundant in the interstellar medium (ISM) and in planetary atmospheres, have been investigated too (e.g. Fray et al. 2010). An aerosol source for reactive and thermo-labile compounds has been developed (Gaie-Levrel et al. 2011) to perform gas-phase measurements. These are necessary to measure intrinsic molecular properties and to compare to quantum chemical calculations. Besides measuring absolute absorption and photoionization cross sections, dissociative channels and their involved excited states are identified for a number of molecules of interstellar interest. Branching ratios of the respective elementary photoreactions are determined in order to understand and model the photochemistry occurring in the ISM. Some very recent results on the dissociative photoionization of methylformate (MF), glycolaldehyde (GA), dimethylether (DIM), aminoacetonitrile (AAC) and cyanoacetylene (CA), are presented here.

A review of the observational constraints and theoretical models of extra-planar rotation (lagging halos) is presented. It is becoming clear that lagging halos, with vertical gradients in rotation speeds ranging from dvΘ/dz = −8to − 60km s−1kpc−1, are a ubiquitous phenomenon. The observational data so far does not allow one to say definitively whether this number changes with radius or with vertical height in a galaxy, but it is pointed out that such measurements, along with constraints on the presence of radial flows, will provide a crucial test that may allow one to distinguish between the different physical models that produce lagging halos. Some challenges in kinematically distinguishing between Galactic circulation and extragalactic accretion are also discussed.

We report spectropolarimetric observations with THEMIS telescope multi-lines operating mode (MTR) during the last campaigns. We demonstrate the very favorable performances of THEMIS for investigations of the magnetic field and we report also observations devoted to the measurement of the scattering polarization. In that case, the signals are weak and are not "a priori" included in the THEMIS objectives but results show that THEMIS is a suitable instrument not only for strong field at high spatial resolution but also for weak signal at high polarimetric sensitivity. We describe briefly the multi-line spectropolarimetry mode (MTR) available at the franco-italian solar telescope THEMIS.

New GSC-II proper motions of RR Lyrae and Blue Horizontal Branch (BHB) stars near the North Galactic Pole are used to show that the Galactic Halo 5 kpc above the Plane has a significantly retrograde galactic rotation.

Few GRBs clearly present distinct High-Energy (HE) component that evolve independent ofthe usual Band function that describes the prompt keV-emission. This component can be longor short lasting compared to the burst duration. However, most of models only explain thelong duration HE component. We have developed a leptonic model on the external shockframework to describe the HE components. We propose that the short HE component that fallsin the MeV regime in coincidence with the prompt phase and, the second long lastingGeV-emission could be understood as synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission from thereverse and forward shock respectively. This model requires a magnetized jet and a reverseshock in the thick shell case. This model already has been proven in GRB 980923 and GRB090926A, the former with a short duration MeV-component and the latter with both long GeV-and short MeV- HE components. All fluxes, energies and durations are consistent with theobserved values. Here, we apply this model to GRB 940217 that presented similarities withGRB 090926A and GRB 980923.

Scientific results strongly rely on previous studies, experiments, and observations. A huge quantity of data is produced by astronomers and needs to be available to the whole community. To support astronomers in their daily research work, the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (Strasbourg astronomical data center – CDS) collects, verifies, homogenizes, and organizes information – in particular, those published in academic journals – in the most appropriate and comprehensible way. This CDS goal can reach the highest level of quality only through a close collaboration with journals, authors, and referees. This paper presents the succession of processes leading published data to the CDS databases, focusing on the strategy that maintains a high level of quality. Authors and referees are strongly encouraged to actively contribute to this endeavor. A few examples of how CDS databases are used through CDS services are also presented.