Recent observations using several different telescopes and sky surveys showed patterns of asymmetry in the distribution of galaxies by their spin directions as observed from Earth. These studies were done with data imaged from the Northern hemisphere, showing excellent agreement between different telescopes and different analysis methods. Here, data from the DESI Legacy Survey was used. The initial dataset contains $\sim\!2.2\times 10^7$ galaxy images, reduced to $\sim\!8.1\times 10^5$ galaxies annotated by their spin direction using a symmetric algorithm. That makes it not just the first analysis of its kind in which the majority of the galaxies are in the Southern hemisphere, but also by far the largest dataset used for this purpose to date. The results show strong agreement between opposite parts of the sky, such that the asymmetry in one part of the sky is similar to the inverse asymmetry in the corresponding part of the sky in the opposite hemisphere. Fitting the distribution of galaxy spin directions to cosine dependence shows a dipole axis with probability of 4.66 $\sigma$ . Interestingly, the location of the most likely axis is within close proximity to the CMB Cold Spot. The profile of the distribution is nearly identical to the asymmetry profile of the distribution identified in Pan-STARRS, and it is within 1 $\sigma$ difference from the distribution profile in SDSS and HST. All four telescopes show similar large-scale profile of asymmetry.

Several recent observations using large data sets of galaxies showed non-random distribution of the spin directions of spiral galaxies, even when the galaxies are too far from each other to have gravitational interaction. Here, a data set of $\sim8.7\cdot10^3$ spiral galaxies imaged by Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is used to test and profile a possible asymmetry between galaxy spin directions. The asymmetry between galaxies with opposite spin directions is compared to the asymmetry of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The two data sets contain different galaxies at different redshift ranges, and each data set was annotated using a different annotation method. The results show that both data sets show a similar asymmetry in the COSMOS field, which is covered by both telescopes. Fitting the asymmetry of the galaxies to cosine dependence shows a dipole axis with probabilities of $\sim2.8\sigma$ and $\sim7.38\sigma$ in HST and SDSS, respectively. The most likely dipole axis identified in the HST galaxies is at $(\alpha=78^{\rm o},\delta=47^{\rm o})$ and is well within the $1\sigma$ error range compared to the location of the most likely dipole axis in the SDSS galaxies with $z>0.15$, identified at $(\alpha=71^{\rm o},\delta=61^{\rm o})$.

Dynamical models will be key to exploitation of the incoming flood data for our Galaxy. Modelling techniques are reviewed with an emphasis on f(J) modelling.

This general overview of our understanding of the Galaxy followed the lines of its main structures (halo, disc, bulge/bar) and emphasized some time-domain astronomy contributions. On the one hand the distance and tangential motions of the stars are essential to that understanding, and are obtained through multi-epoch surveys. On the other hand the chemistry of the stars and their radial velocities are also key elements for mapping the Galactic (sub-)structures, and unravelling their history and evolution. Contemporary surveys are revolutionizing our view of the Milky Way and of galaxies in general. Among those, the Gaia mission excels through its precise astrometry of 1.3 billion stars that populate the Milky Way and beyond, providing the first 3-D view of a major part of the Milky Way.

Bayesian component separation techniques have played a central role in the data reduction process of Planck. The most important strength of this approach is its global nature, in which a parametric and physical model is fitted to the data. Such physical modeling allows the user to constrain very general data models, and jointly probe cosmological, astrophysical and instrumental parameters. This approach also supports statistically robust goodness-of-fit tests in terms of data-minus-model residual maps, which are essential for identifying residual systematic effects in the data. The main challenges are high code complexity and computational cost. Whether or not these costs are justified for a given experiment depends on its final uncertainty budget. We therefore predict that the importance of Bayesian component separation techniques is likely to increase with time for intensity mapping experiments, similar to what has happened in the CMB field, as observational techniques mature, and their overall sensitivity improves.

At large distance scales, space exploration in the last decades has significantly helped in better locating the boundaries of the Heliosphere and outlining its shape as well as in probing the various plasma domains that separate the inner heliospheric region from the interstellar one. At shorter distance scales, a fleet of spacecraft has been probing the outer and inner Solar System plasma with a high level of detail.

This monitoring, complemented by space- and ground-based observations of processes relevant to the Heliosphere, has pointed out a series both of intrinsic and extrinsic perturbations that characterise the physical state of heliospheric plasmas both at small and large spatial scales and on short and long temporal scales.

By means of concept maps that schematise the association among concepts, in this work we will present a new domain ontology for the definition and characterisation of Heliospheric Weather and Climate.

From the derived stellar density profile using LAMOST giant stars, we find that the Galactic disk does not show truncation or break, but smoothly transit to the halo from 19 kpc. The scale length of the outer disk is only 1.6 ± 0.1 kpc, substantially smaller than previous results. This implies that the shapes of the inner and outer disk are different. Meanwhile, the disk flaring is not only found in older populations, but also in younger population. Moreover, the vertical oscillations of the disk are identified in a wide range or R from 8 to 14 kpc. We also find that the velocity dispersion profile as a function of the Galactocentric radius is flat with scale length of 26.3 ± 3.2 kpc. We confirm that the radial velocity profile in outer disk is significantly affected by asymmetric motion. The bar with either a slower or a faster pattern speed can induce the similar radial asymmetric motion.

We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12, which is the largest available white dwarf catalog to date, to study the evolution of the kinematical properties of the population of white dwarfs in the Galactic disc. We derive masses, ages, photometric distances and radial velocities for all white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich atmospheres. For those stars for which proper motions from the USNO-B1 catalog are available the true three-dimensional components of the stellar space velocity are obtained. This subset of the original sample comprises 20,247 objects, making it the largest sample of white dwarfs with measured three-dimensional velocities. Furthermore, the volume probed by our sample is large, allowing us to obtain relevant kinematical information. In particular, our sample extends from a Galactocentric radial distance RG = 7.8 kpc to 9.3 kpc, and vertical distances from the Galactic plane ranging from Z = −0.5 kpc to 0.5 kpc. We examine the mean components of the stellar three-dimensional velocities, as well as their dispersions with respect to the Galactocentric and vertical distances. We confirm the existence of a mean Galactocentric radial velocity gradient, ∂〈VR〉/∂RG = −3 ± 5 km s−1 kpc−1. We also confirm North-South differences in 〈Vz〉. Specifically, we find that white dwarfs with Z > 0 (in the North Galactic hemisphere) have 〈Vz〉 < 0, while the reverse is true for white dwarfs with Z < 0. The age-velocity dispersion relation derived from the present sample indicates that the Galactic population of white dwarfs may have experienced an additional source of heating, which adds to the secular evolution of the Galactic disc.

The LAMOST Galactic surveys provide robust stellar atmospheric parameters, abundances, masses and ages of millions of stars, allowing a unprecedented mapping of matter distribution, spatial structure, star formation rate, chemistry and kinematics of the Galaxy. In this proceeding we present structure and metallicity of the Galactic disk revealed by mono-age stellar populations within a few kilo-parsec of the solar neighborhood.

The next Galactic supernova is expected to bring great opportunities for the direct detection of gravitational waves, full flavor neutrinos, and multi-wavelength photons. To prepare for appropriate observations of these multi-messenger signals, we use a long-term numerical simulation of the core-collapse supernova and discuss detectability of the signals in different situations. By exploring the sequential multi-messenger signals of a nearby CCSN, we discuss preparations for maximizing successful studies of such an unprecedented stirring event.

It is widely accepted that binary interactions are responsible for the shaping of planetary nebula. However, these binary interactions and evolutionary channels are poorly understood. Our recent study revealed a newly discovered population of low-luminosity, low-metallicity, likely binaries in the Magellanic Clouds: dusty post-RGB stars. They are likely to have evolved off the RGB via binary interaction. In this paper we present preliminary results of the first radial velocity monitoring of the post-RGB stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and the implications on stellar (binary) evolution. We also investigate their link, if any, to the planetary nebulae systems.

The mass and cumulative mass profile of the Galaxy are its most fundamental properties. Estimating these properties, however, is not a trivial problem. We rely on the kinematic information from Galactic satellites such as globular clusters and dwarf galaxies, and this data is incomplete and subject to measurement uncertainty. In particular, the complete 3D velocity vectors of objects are sometimes unavailable, and there may be selection biases due to both the distribution of objects around the Galaxy and our measurement position. On the other hand, the uncertainties of these data are fairly well understood. Thus, we would like to incorporate these uncertainties and the incomplete data into our estimate of the Milky Way's mass. The Bayesian paradigm offers a way to deal with both the missing kinematic data and measurement errors using a hierarchical model. An application of this method to the Milky Way halo mass profile, using the kinematic data for globular clusters and dwarf satellites, is shown.

By proclaiming the IYL2015, the United Nations recognized the importance of light and light based technology in the lives of the citizens of the world and for the development of global society on many levels. Light and application of light science and technology are vital for existing and future advances in many scientific areas and culture. Light is a key element in astronomy: as astronomers, it is what we study and makes our science possible, but it is also what threatens our observations when it is set-off from the ground (light pollution). The UN-designated year 2015 represented a magnificent and unique opportunity for the global astronomical community to disseminate these messages and raise the awareness of the importance and preservation of dark skies for heritage and the natural environment.

As such, the International Year of Light served as a launching pad for several projects during 2015. Two other projects with equally as impressive programs are highlighted and begin the narrative for this section on public education and outreach programs on light pollution issues and solutions.

GLEAM, the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA survey, is a survey of the entire radio sky south of declination + 25° at frequencies between 72 and 231 MHz, made with the MWA using a drift scan method that makes efficient use of the MWA’s very large field-of-view. We present the observation details, imaging strategies, and theoretical sensitivity for GLEAM. The survey ran for two years, the first year using 40-kHz frequency resolution and 0.5-s time resolution; the second year using 10-kHz frequency resolution and 2 s time resolution. The resulting image resolution and sensitivity depends on observing frequency, sky pointing, and image weighting scheme. At 154 MHz, the image resolution is approximately 2.5 × 2.2/cos (δ + 26.7°) arcmin with sensitivity to structures up to ~ 10° in angular size. We provide tables to calculate the expected thermal noise for GLEAM mosaics depending on pointing and frequency and discuss limitations to achieving theoretical noise in Stokes I images. We discuss challenges, and their solutions, that arise for GLEAM including ionospheric effects on source positions and linearly polarised emission, and the instrumental polarisation effects inherent to the MWA’s primary beam.

The spatial distribution and kinematics of stars in the Milky Way are linked through the gravitational potential. Observations of the positions and velocities of stars can therefore be used to measure the mass distribution of the Milky Way. I review steady-state dynamical modeling approaches and illustrate their use in constraining the local matter distribution and the circular velocity curve from the kinematics of stellar tracers. In a few years, Gaia will increase the number of precise positions and velocities by multiple orders of magnitude. I describe some of the dynamical analyses that will be possible with the Gaia data and discuss some promising avenues for the optimal analysis of dynamical data.

This closing contribution is structured as a tour of developments of Galactic astronomy over the last forty years, seen from an entirely personal viewpoint. On this background, I try to place some of the current developments in context, with reference to many of the key contributions to this meeting, and speculate where we may be heading in the near future.

A survey of the Milky Way disk and the Magellanic System at the wavelengths of the 21-cm atomic hydrogen (H i) line and three 18-cm lines of the OH molecule will be carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. The survey will study the distribution of H i emission and absorption with unprecedented angular and velocity resolution, as well as molecular line thermal emission, absorption, and maser lines. The area to be covered includes the Galactic plane (|b| < 10°) at all declinations south of δ = +40°, spanning longitudes 167° through 360°to 79° at b = 0°, plus the entire area of the Magellanic Stream and Clouds, a total of 13 020 deg2. The brightness temperature sensitivity will be very good, typically σT≃ 1 K at resolution 30 arcsec and 1 km s−1. The survey has a wide spectrum of scientific goals, from studies of galaxy evolution to star formation, with particular contributions to understanding stellar wind kinematics, the thermal phases of the interstellar medium, the interaction between gas in the disk and halo, and the dynamical and thermal states of gas at various positions along the Magellanic Stream.

We investigate the scale on which the correlation arises between the 843 MHz radio and the 60 μm far-infrared (FIR) emission from star forming regions in the Milky way. The correlation, which exists on the smallest scales investigated (down to ≈ 4 pc), becomes noticeably tight on fields of size 30′, corresponding to physical scales of ≈ 20–50 pc. The FIR to radio flux ratio on this scale is consi stent with the radio emission being dominated by thermal emission. We also investigate the location dependence of qmean, a parameter measuring the mean FIR to radio flux ratio, of a sample of star forming regions. We show that qmean displays a modest dependence on galactic latitude. If this is interpreted as a dependence on the intensity of star formation activity, the result is consistent with studies of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and other near by galaxies that show elevated values for q in regions of enhanced star formation.

Planck is a cosmology experiment, but significant interstellar dust and gas emission exists in the band where the CMB peaks. Therefore, Planck's all-sky surveys provide new views of the ISM and magnetic fields in the Galaxy, as well as the dust and gas in galaxies.

Determination of trigonometric parallaxes is one of the very few direct methods available for measuring cosmic distances, and the only one capable of reaching beyond the Solar System. It is fundamental both to determine the intrinsic properties of astrophysical objects and as the first step on the cosmic distance ladder. Steady improvements of instruments and techniques have extended the applicability of the parallax method to ever greater distances. However, it is not correct to say that the method is independent of physical assumptions. This review covers ground-based optical techniques, from Bessel's time to the present, as well as space observations and radio interferometry. Some emphasis is put on the physical limitations of the method, in particular its sensitivity to source structure and photocentric variability on different timescales.