The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a global project to design and construct the next-generation international radio telescope operating at metre to cm wavelengths. The SKA will be an interferometric array with a collecting area of up to one million square metres and maximum baseline of at least 3000 km, and is designed to address fundamental questions in cosmology, physics and astronomy. The key science goals range from the epoch of re-ionization, dark energy, the formation and evolution of galaxies and large-scale structure, the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism, strong-field tests of gravity and detection of gravity waves.

The SKA project is now entering a final design for an SKA Observatory to begin to be built in the latter half of this decade that will include facilities in South Africa and Western Australia. The SKA design relies on advances in several technologies that will be prototyped over the next few years, and demonstrated for astronomical observations on SKA precursor telescopes. Scientific operations of the first 10% scale phase of the SKA is targeted for 2020.

This meeting started with a bang, with the announcement of what appears to be another ‘Lorimer burst’. Two more ‘diamond planets’, white dwarf binary companions made of crystalline carbon, quickly followed. This drama in the first session gave way to numerous interesting, surprising results. We still have not found a pulsar orbiting a black hole, but we do have the first triple system with the pulsar in the inner binary and a main sequence star forming the outer part of the binary; it may allow tests of the Equivalence Principle. Another close binary may allow checking for dipolar gravitational radiation. Work on the spin-up of millisecond pulsars is better determining the mass accreted during the spin-up and more sophisticated determination of their ages. Indications of more high mass (~2M⊙) pulsars will allow constraints to be placed on the Equation of State for a neutron star. As was remarked, ‘We keep finding cool new pulsars wherever we look!’; Duncan Lorimer predicted we would know of 4000 pulsars by 2020, a doubling of the present number.

We present preliminary results of a detailed study of the accretion, stellar, and wind properties of transitional disks (TDs) carried out with the X-Shooter spectrograph. Combining new and archival spectra, we collected a sample of more than 20 TDs from different nearby star-forming regions. Our sample includes objects with both small (<5-15 AU) and large (>20–30 AU) known inner hole size from the literature (either from mm-observations or IR SED fitting). We check their stellar parameters (Teff, L*, AV, M*) and derive their accretion properties (Lacc, Ṁacc) in a self-consistent way, which makes use of the wide wavelength coverage of X-Shooter, and study their wind properties by mean of different forbidden emission lines analysis.

Both the origin of the quiescent prominences and their eruption related to CMEs are still a matter of extended studies. The small scale dynamic aspects like vortex structures and counter- flows are now seriously taken into account having in mind that the flows are a good proxy of the line of force of the omnipresent but rather unknown in detail force free or not magnetic field. Large scale vortex has been detected in a high latitude prominence observed on November 13- 14, 2011 before its eruption.

This review summarizes current advances in astrometry of masers as they pertain to large-scale Galactic structure and dynamics and Local Group cosmology. Parallaxes and proper motions have now been measured for more than 60 massive star forming regions using the Japanese VERA array, the EVN and the VLBA. These results provide “gold standard” distances and 3-dimensional velocities for sources across the Milky Way, revealing its spiral structure. Modeling these data tightly constrains the fundamental parameters of the Milky Way: R0 and Θ0. Proper motions of Local Group galaxies have been measured, improving our understanding of the history and fate of the Group.

Exoplanet transit events are attractive targets for the ultrahigh-resolution capabilities afforded by optical interferometers. The intersection of two developments in astronomy enable direct imaging of exoplanet transits: first, improvements in sensitivity and precision of interferometric instrumentation; and second, identification of ever-brighter host stars. Efforts are underway for the first direct high-precision detection of closure phase signatures with the CHARA Array and Navy Precision Optical Interferometer. When successful, these measurements will enable recovery of the transit position angle on the sky, along with characterization of other system parameters, such as stellar radius, planet radius, and other parameters of the transit event. This technique can directly determine the planet's radius independent of any outside observations, and appears able to improve substantially upon other determinations of that radius; it will be possible to extract wavelength dependence of that radius determination, for connection to characterization of planetary atmospheric composition & structure. Additional directly observed parameters - also not dependent on transit photometry or spectroscopy - include impact parameter, transit ingress time, and transit velocity.

We have applied theoretical models to explain spectral energy distribution (SED) of three radio-loud broad absorption line (BAL) quasars: an extended hybrid object PG 1004+130 and two compact sources 1045+352 and 3C270.1. We calculate the emission from the very inner part of the sources which accounts for more than 90% of the observed X-ray radiation. In our analysis we consider a scenario in which the observed X-ray emission comes from the inverse-Compton (IC) scattering inside a jet and from the accretion disk corona. The compact objects 1045+352 and 3C270.1 are high-redshift quasars (z = 1.604 and 1.532 respectively), with strong radio cores. We argue that in the case of these two sources a non-thermal, inverse-Compton emission from the innermost parts of the jet can explain a large fraction of the observed X-ray emission. The large scale object PG 1004+130 with a peculiar radio morphology is a low-redshift (z = 0.24), lobe-dominated BAL quasar with a weak radio core. In this case simulated inverse-Compton X-ray emission of the jet is relatively low. However, the corona emission appears strong enough to explain the observed X-ray spectrum of this object.

The occurrence of grand minima like the Maunder minimum is an intriguing aspect of the sunspot cycle. We use the flux transport dynamo model to explain the grand minima, showing that they arise when either the poloidal field or the meridional circulation falls to a sufficiently low value due to fluctuations. Assuming these fluctuations to be Gaussian and determining the various parameters from the data of the last 28 cycles, we carry on a dynamo simulation with both these fluctuations. The results are remarkably close to the observational data.

To reliably determine the main physical parameters (masses and ages) of young stars, we must know their distances. While the average distance to nearby star-forming regions (<300 pc) is often known, the distances to individual stars are usually unknown. Individual distances to members of young moving groups can be derived from their radial velocities and proper motions using the convergent-point strategy. We investigate the kinematic properties of the Lupus moving group with the primary objective of deriving individual distances to all group members.

We have measured Fundamental Plane (FP) parameters in the 2MASS J, H and K passbands for 10,000 ellipticals, lenticulars and early-type spiral bulges in the 6dF Galaxy Survey (6dFGS) – a spectroscopic survey of the southern sky with |b| > 10° (Jones et al. 2009). 6dFGS provides a large near-infrared-selected sample of galaxies for accurately determining the NIR FP and investigating the trends in the FP with stellar population, morphology and environment.

The UK InfraRed Telescope/UFTI instrument was used to analyse stars in the central region (square kpc) of the M33 galaxy over 3 nights in August 2005 with observations in K-band. Photometry was obtained for all stars by fitting appropriate PSF models, using DAOPHOT package (Stetson 1987). Around 18500 stars were detected. A master image was produced by applying an appropriate shift to each image and combining all 30 images. The final catalogue was obtained by assigning unique ID numbers to all stars and calibrating instrumental magnitudes. Comparing the UFTI and the UIST catalogues (Javadi et al. 2011) shows that a larger number of stars were detected with the UFTI, reaching a K-band limiting magnitude of 18.5 mag. Cross correlation methods were employed to cross match our catalogue with a previous monitoring survey in the near-infrared, the UIST catalogue. As a result, we assigned J magnitude and J-K color index to those stars which were found in both catalogues. Using these stars, a color-magnitude diagram was produced which shows populations of RGB, AGB and Carbon stars. Isochrones from Marigo et al. (2008) for solar metallicity and a distance modulus of 24.9 magnitude were used to identify different populations in the central region of the M33 galaxy. We will merge the UFTI catalogue with the UIST and the WFCAM, to get better coverage of stars in the central square kiloparsec.

Both the origin of the quiescent prominences and their eruption related to CMEs event are still a matter of extended studies. The case of high latitudes quiescent prominences producing slow CMEs can be considered as a potential component of the slow wind. A high latitude prominence was observed on November 13 - 14, 2011. A schematic representation of flux rope is proposed to describe the magnetic structure of the prominence prior to its eruption.

We present the Milky Way Star Clusters (MWSC) survey based on 470 million stars extracted from the all-sky catalogues PPMXL and 2mass. The target list comprises 3784 entries and includes all open and globular clusters, as well as all cluster candidates, known at present. By means of a combined photometric/astrometric pipeline process, we determine individual membership probabilities for cluster stars and provide fundamental cluster parameters such as cluster centre coordinates, mean proper motions, radial velocity, distance, reddening, age and tidal radius. This sample includes ~ 700 clusters with fundamental parameters based on optical data and offers a good opportunity for a comparison of the near-infrared (NIR) and optical cluster distance scales. We find that distances and reddening values obtained from the colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) in the NIR agree well with earlier distance estimates based on optical CMDs. These newly obtained homogeneous distances, together with the other cluster parameters, allow us to study the properties of the open cluster population in the Galactic disk.

We present a kinematical study of the marginally edge-on galaxy ESO 379-006. With Fabry-Perot spectroscopy at Hα we obtain velocity maps, the radial velocity field, and position-velocity diagrams parallel to the major and to the minor axis of the galaxy. We build the rotation curve of the galaxy and discuss the role of projection effects. The twisting of isovelocities in the radial velocity field of the disk of ESO 379-006 as well as a kinematical asymmetry found in the position-velocity diagrams parallel to the minor axis suggest the existence of non-circular motions that can be modeled by including a radial inflow besides the rotation motion. Extraplanar Diffuse Ionized gas was detected in this galaxy both from the images and from its kinematics. It is possible that the diffuse gas is lagging in rotation.

The discovery of a likely companion of the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 142527 motivates the study of the effect that it produces on the SED. The main change on the system configuration is the formation of a gap in the disk in which the companion is embedded, following the orbit of the secondary star. This results in the formation of a wall (at the outer gap edge), which is illuminated by stellar radiation. We present a model for the SED, taking into account all the components of the system: the two stars, the disk with two gaps (one produced by the stellar companion and the other by potential planets), three walls (two associated with the gaps and the other with dust sublimation), optically thin material in the gaps and in a halo. The size of the modeled spherical halo is smaller than found in a previous study.

Having advance knowledge of solar activity is important because the Sun's magnetic output governs space weather and impacts technologies reliant on space. However, the irregular nature of the solar cycle makes solar activity predictions a challenging task. This is best achieved through appropriately constrained solar dynamo simulations and as such the first step towards predictions is to understand the underlying physics of the solar dynamo mechanism. In Babcock-Leighton type dynamo models, the poloidal field is generated near the solar surface whereas the toroidal field is generated in the solar interior. Therefore a finite time is necessary for the coupling of the spatially segregated source layers of the dynamo. This time delay introduces a memory in the dynamo mechanism which allows forecasting of future solar activity. Here we discuss how this forecasting ability of the solar cycle is affected by downward turbulent pumping of magnetic flux. With significant turbulent pumping the memory of the dynamo is severely degraded and thus long term prediction of the solar cycle is not possible; only a short term prediction of the next cycle peak may be possible based on observational data assimilation at the previous cycle minimum.

Late-type stars exhibit cool regions on their surface, the stellar equivalent of sunspots. These dark starspots can also mimic the radial velocity variations caused by orbiting planets, making it at times difficult to distinguish between planets and activity signatures. The amount of spots on the Sun and other cool stars changes cyclically during an activity cycle, which has length varying from about a year to longer than the solar 11 years. In this work we investigate the influence of varying amount of starspots on the sparsely sampled radial velocity observations - which are the norm in the radial velocity studies searching for exoplanets on wide orbits. We study two simulated cases: one with a random spot configuration, and one where the spot occurrence is concentrated. In addition we use Doppler images of young solar analogue V889 Her as a high activity case.

To study the origin of magnetars, a unique opportunity is provided by detecting an excess of X-ray thermal radiation of the radio pulsars (rotation powered pulsars) with dipolar magnetic fields as high as magnetars. The excess is probably caused by decay of the magnetic field as seen in magnetars. In order to investigate whether the rotation powered pulsars have the excess flux and the hard-tail component similar to magnetars, we observed PSR J0726-2612 which has a 3.44 s period and a 3 × 1013 G inferred dipolar magnetic field, with Suzaku for 44 ks on 2011 November 16-17. We report this observational result. We also compare with other observations and discuss a decaying of the magnetic field for normal radio pulsars.

The tidal interactions between galaxies are believed to be the main mechanism responsible for Wolf-Rayet (WR) phases in galaxies. The HI 21 cm-line is the best tracer for detecting tidal features in galaxies. We are studying WR galaxies in the HI line using GMRT and in the Hα line using Devasthal Optical telescope. Signatures of tidal interactions in Mrk 996 and Mrk 005, previously believed to be in non-interacting environment, have been detected using both HI and Hα images.

Emission variability from Black Hole objects like Seyfert Galaxies, Quasars etc. shows a irregular variation with various amplitude and time scale. Further analysis of the emission shows the appearance of the lognormal distribution. Such distribution cannot be explained by conventional Self Organized Criticality (SOC) Model. In this paper a modified SOC model with cellular automaton mechanism combined with advection process is introduced. Simulation shows that lognormal distribution can be resulted, while the other characteristics of PSD and structure function of the original SOC model can be maintained. Incorporation of the advection process is the key factor for the appearance of lognormal distribution.