The visible spectra of (42355) Typhon showed evidence for aqueously altered materials. Therefore we seek to understand if such an event is possible.

We use data from the ESO/Very Large Telescope together with the Hapke Hapke radiative transfer model to interpret the surface composition of (42355) Typhon over the whole spectral range (~0.5 − 2.4 μm).

Our results points that (42355) Typhon could be a fragment from a larger parent body that suffered aqueous alteration.

Cosmological models predict that large galaxies like the Milky Way formed from the accretion of smaller stellar systems. The most spectacular of these merger events are stellar tidal streams, rivers of stars and dark matter that envelop the discs of spiral galaxies. We present a research project for a collaboration with amateur astronomers in the study of the formation process of our Galaxy. The main objective is the search for RR Lyrae variable stars in the known stellar streams (Sagitarius, Monoceros, Orphan, etc) a project that can be carried out using small telescopes. The catalogue of candidate variable stars were selected from SDSS data based in colour criteria and it will be sent to interested amateur astronomers who wish to participate in scientific research in one of the most active and competitive topics in Galactic astronomy.

We have developed a new procedure to search for Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars from the Hamburg/ESO (HES) prism-survey plates. This method uses an extended line index for the CH G-band, which we demonstrate to have superior behavior when compared to the narrower G-band index formerly employed for these spectra.

A first subsample, biased towards brighter stars (B<15.5), has been extracted from the scanned HES plates. After visual inspection (to eliminate spectra compromised by plate defects, overlapping spectra, etc., and to carry out rough spectral classifications), a list of 669 previously unidentified candidate CEMP stars was compiled. Follow-up spectroscopy for a pilot sample of 132 candidates was obtained on the SOAR 4.1m telescope. Our results show that most of the stars observed lie in the targetted metallicity range, and possess prominent carbon absorption features at 4300Å. The success rate for the identification of new CEMP stars is ~50% for [Fe/H]< −2.0. For stars with [Fe/H]< −2.5, the ratio increases to 100%.

Lunar laser ranging (LLR) has long provided many of our best measurements on the fundamental nature of gravity, including the strong equivalence principle, time -rate-of-change of the gravitational constant, the inverse square law, geodetic precession, and gravitomagnetism. This paper serves as a brief overview of APOLLO: a recently operational LLR experiment capable of millimeter-level range precision.

We present a direct N-body simulation modeling the evolution of the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. This is the first N-body open cluster simulation whose initial binary population is directly defined by observations of a specific open cluster: M35 (150 Myr). We compare the simulated color–magnitude diagram at 7 Gyr to that of NGC 188, and discuss the blue stragglers produced in the simulation. We compare the solar-type main-sequence binary period and eccentricity distributions of the simulation to detailed observations of similar binaries in NGC 188. These results demonstrate the importance of detailed observations in guiding N-body open cluster simulations. Finally, we discuss the implications of a few discrepancies between the NGC 188 model and observations and suggest a few methods for bringing N-body open cluster simulations into better agreement with observations.

In this contribution we discuss the origin of the extreme helium-rich stars which inhabit the blue main sequence (bMS) of the Galactic globular cluster Omega Centauri. In a scenario where the cluster is the surviving remnant of a dwarf galaxy ingested by the Milky Way many Gyr ago, the peculiar chemical composition of the bMS stars can be naturally explained by considering the effects of strong differential galactic winds, which develop owing to multiple supernova explosions in a shallow potential well.

Magneto-convection structures the magnetic field in solar and stellar atmospheres over scales that for the Sun span about 8 orders of magnitudes, down to the magnetic diffusion scale of order 10 m. The statistical properties of this structuring are governed by probability density functions (PDFs), for the vertical and transverse field components as well as for the field inclination. Due to the fractal nature of the field pattern these PDFs appear to have a high degree of scale invariance. There are serious pitfalls in the derivations of empirical PDFs, pitfalls that are particularly severe in the case of the field inclination. This explains the fragmentary and rather unreliable PDF information available in the published literature. Here we discuss the nature of these pitfalls and indicate how they may be avoided, using Hinode quiet-sun Stokes vector data to derive PDFs for the field strength and field inclination.

Diffuse intracluster light (ICL) has now been observed in nearby and in intermediate redshift clusters. Individual intracluster stars have been detected in the Virgo and Coma clusters and the first color-magnitude diagram and velocity measurements have been obtained. Recent studies show that the ICL contains of the order of 10% and perhaps up to 30% of the stellar mass in the cluster, but in the cores of some dense and rich clusters like Coma, the local ICL fraction can be high as 40%-50%. What can we learn from the ICL about the formation of galaxy clusters and the evolution of cluster galaxies? How and when did the ICL form? What is the connection to the central brightest cluster galaxy? Cosmological N-body and hydrodynamical simulations are beginning to make predictions for the kinematics and origin of the ICL. The ICL traces the evolution of baryonic substructures in dense environments and can thus be used to constrain some aspects of cosmological simulations that are most uncertain, such as the modeling of star formation and the mass distribution of the baryonic component in galaxies.

The spiral galaxy M 83, an SB(rs)b at only 4.5 Mpc, is a privileged case for study of the detailed physics on spatial scales of a tenth of a parsec. With 3-D spectroscopic observations using CIRPASS on Gemini-S, we studied the ionized gas properties in J-band with spatial resolution of 0.″5 (Figure 1). The Paβ velocity field shows two dynamical centers, neither of them coincident with the bulge center, identified with the optical nucleus (ON) and the hidden nucleus (HN), with masses, within a radius of 10 pc, of MON = (1.8±0.4)× 107M⊙ and MHN = (1.0±0.4)× 107M⊙. Using the Paβ equivalent width together with population synthesis models, we are able to estimate the ages of both mass concentrations, TON = 8 Myr and THN =6–7 Myr. Adding complexity to this puzzling scenario, we used GMOS+Gemini imaging and spectroscopy to study the radio source J133658.3–295105 (Dottori et al. 2008) and find that Hα emission at the position of this source is redshifted by ~130 km s−1 with respect to an M 83 H II region, leading us to face the possibility of that we are witnessing the ejection of an object by gravitational recoil from the M 83 nucleus. A fit to the X-ray spectrum obtained Chandra supports the association between this source and the disk of M 83 by the presence of the Fe Kα line at 6.7 keV.

This is a pilot study part of a larger program devoted to understand the influence of bars in the evolution of galaxy disks. Some of the goals of this observational program are to compare the stellar metallicity gradients of galaxies with and without bars, the role of bars in the redistribution of mass and angular momentum and to study the evolution of the metallicity gradients with time. Some promising results are presented as well as some words of caution.

In ancient times the stars and the Moon were humans' only guide to cross the seas and explore the depths of the deserts. With the use of modern technological gadgets, and the increasingly light pollution, citizens of the world stopped looking at the heavens. How can planetaria play a rôle in reviving public interest in astronomy? How can the beauty of astronomy play a rôle in luring the youth to pursue a career in science? How can astronomy play a rôle in raising public awareness about preserving the environment? Moreover, how can astronomy play a rôle in the dialogue among civilisations?

We summarise recent results form direct numerical simulations of both non-rotating helically forced and rotating convection driven MHD equations in spherical wedge-shape domains. In the former, using perfect-conductor boundary conditions along the latitudinal boundaries we observe oscillations, polarity reversals and equatorward migration of the large-scale magnetic fields. In the latter we obtain angular velocity with cylindrical contours and large-scale magnetic field which shows oscillations, polarity reversals but poleward migration. The occurrence of these behviours in direct numerical simulations is clearly of interest. However the present models as they stand are not directly applicable to the solar dynamo problem. Nevertheless, they provide general insights into the operation of turbulent dynamos.

We have observed a subset of TNOs that are going to be studied by means of Herschel Space Telescope (HSO). More than 50 objects have been studied astrometrically and 30 with time series photometry. The main conclusion regarding the astrometry is that all the observed HSO targets have ephemerides uncertainties smaller than 5 arcsec, needed for the correct pointing of the space telescope. Concerning the time series analysis of the targets, most of the objects present low amplitude variability. This is an on-going program and more results are expected.

Beryllium stellar abundances were suggested to be a good tracer of time in the early Galaxy. In an investigation of its use as a cosmochronometer, using a large sample of local halo and thick-disk dwarfs, evidence was found that in a log(Be/H) vs. [α/Fe] diagram the halo stars separate into two components. One is consistent with predictions of evolutionary models while the other is chemically indistinguishable from the thick-disk stars. This is interpreted as a difference in the star formation history of the two components and suggests that the local halo is not a single uniform population where a clear age-metallicity relation can be defined.

An essential use of stellar population synthesis methods is to interpret the observations of galaxies, to infer their star-formation and assembly histories. I describe here some of the uses of these techniques over the past few years, primarily in the context of local galaxy redshift surveys. For this purpose, such surveys have both advantages and disadvantages relative to higher signal-to-noise but smaller studies, which I discuss. After discussing general issues, I describe how the substantial model uncertainties impact the analysis of galaxy spectra. Then, I discuss the special case of elliptical galaxies, arguing that investigators have made interesting discoveries even in the absence of perfect (or even good) models. I then describe the desiderata for massive higher redshift surveys and the trade-offs that must be made between cosmological and galaxy-focused science, in qualitative terms.

The space-time around Neutron Stars is indeed an extreme environment. Whether they are in accreting binary systems, isolated or in non-accreting binaries (perhaps with another Neutron Star), Neutron Stars provide a window onto physical processes not accessible by other means. In particular, the study of their time variability: pulsations, quasi-periodic oscillations, thermonuclear X-ray bursts, flares and giant-flares, pulsar glitches and pulse period variations, constitutes a valuable instrument to unveil those very same physical processes. Here we briefly summarize the most important results presented at Joint Discussion 3 of the XXVII IAU General Assembly.

We present a study of HST/STIS optical spectra of a sample of ten Seyfert galaxies aimed at analyzing the structure and physical properties of the coronal line region. The high spatial resolution provided by STIS (about 7 pc for the closest objects) allowed us to resolve the coronal line region and obtain key information about the kinematics of the coronal-line gas, measure directly its spatial scale, and study the mechanisms that drive the high-ionization lines.

In this review we discuss possible systematic errors inherent in classical 1D LTE abundance analyses of late-type stars for the light elements (here: H, He, Li, Be and B). The advent of realistic 3D hydrodynamical model atmospheres and the availability of non-LTE line formation codes place the stellar analyses on a much firmer footing and indeed drastically modify the astrophysical interpretations in many cases, especially at low metallicities. For the Teff-sensitive hydrogen lines both stellar granulation and non-LTE are likely important but the combination of the two has not yet been fully explored. A fortuitous near-cancellation of significant but opposite 3D and non-LTE effects leaves the derived 7Li abundances largely unaffected but new atomic collisional data should be taken into account. We also discuss the impact on 3D non-LTE line formation on the estimated lithium isotopic abundances in halo stars in light of recent claims that convective line asymmetries can mimic the presence of 6Li. While Be only have relatively minor non-LTE abundance corrections, B is sensitive even if the latest calculations imply smaller non-LTE effects than previously thought.

Recent experiments have successfully tested Einstein's general theory of relativity to remarkable precision. We discuss recent progress in the tests of relativistic gravity in the solar system and present motivations for the new generation of high-accuracy gravitational experiments. We especially focus on the concepts aiming to probe parameterized-post-Newtonian parameter γ and evaluate the discovery potential of the recently proposed experiments.

We argue that brown dwarfs (BDs) and planemos form by the same mechanisms as low-mass hydrogen-burning stars, but that as one moves to lower and lower masses, an increasing fraction of these objects is formed by fragmentation of the outer parts (R ≳ 100 AU) of protostellar accretion discs around more massive primary protostars, which in turn formed in their own very-low-mass prestellar cores. Numerical simulations of disc fragmentation with realistic thermodynamics show that low-mass objects are readily formed by fragmentation of short-lived massive, extended protostellar accretion discs. Such objects tend subsequently to be liberated into the field at low speed, due to mutual interactions with the primary protostar. Many (~20%) are in low-mass (M1 + M2 < 0.2M⊙) binary systems with semi-major axes a ~ 1 to 2 AU or ~200 AU and mass ratios q ≡ M2/M1 ≳ 0.7. Most of the brown dwarfs have sufficiently large attendant discs to sustain accretion and outflows. Most of the BDs that remain bound to the primary protostar have wide orbits (i.e., there is a BD desert), and these BDs also have a significantly higher probability of being in a BD/BD binary system than do the brown dwarfs that are liberated into the field (just as observed). In this picture, the multiplicity statistics and velocity dispersion of brown dwarfs are largely determined by the eigen evolution of a small-N system, born from a single prestellar core, rather than the larger-scale dynamics of the parent cluster. Consequently, many of the statistical properties of brown dwarfs should not differ very much from one star-formation region to another.