Clusters of galaxies contain several types of diffuse radio sources with very steep radio spectra which are associated with the cluster environment, including central radio bubbles, cluster radio relics, and cluster radio halos. Radio halos and relics are found only in merging clusters. Cluster radio relics may be produced by particle acceleration in merger shocks, while radio halos, may result from electron re-acceleration by turbulence produced by mergers. Secondary production of electrons and positrons by hadronic interactions also plays a role. If cluster radio halos and relics are related to mergers, then deep low frequency radio surveys could detect 1000's of clusters. Long-wavelength radio observations have a great potential to help us understand clusters and large scale structure, and can provide a diagnostic of cluster mergers, which affect the use of clusters in cosmological and dark energy studies.

The segregated disk populations obtained from applying the MEMPHIS algorithm (Cubarsi & Alcobé, This symposium) to the Hipparcos catalogue are the basis of the following important kinematical results (Cubarsi & Alcobé 2006). In particular, the thick disk population was extrapolated until reaching an asymptotic ideal axisymmetric population. The obtained no net radial motion point had a radial heliocentric velocity of 20 ± 1 Km s−1 toward the galactic anticentre, which is the opposite of the solar radial motion.

According to the obtained population mean velocities, an intriguing question arose: Why the young thin disk population, the continuum of old thin disk stars, and the thick disk, are moving, on average, in the same direction, as belonging to an unique main stream? On the other hand, the early thin disk population, in the region of the Hyades-Pleiades supercluster, remains as an isolated population, with a nearly null radial mean velocity.

The thick disk stars drawn from increasing Hipparcos subsamples showed a decreasing trend of vertex deviation (Cubarsi & Alcobé 2004, Alcobé & Cubarsi 2005), by indicating a clear trend to axial-symmetry. If we assume that the asymptotic thick disk is nearly in steady state, then we can also admit a null radial mean velocity for the oldest thick disk. Thus, in the plane, using galactocentric cylindrical coordinates, with star velocities Π (toward the Galactic anticentre) and Θ (in the rotational direction), the mean velocity of thick disk stars satisfieswhere Π0(cyl) and Θ0(cyl) are the mean velocities of a pure axial population, and ρ is a constant.

The rotation mean velocity of such an ideal axial and steady state thick disk was extrapolated for Π0=Π0(cyl)=0, giving a value of Π0(cyl) = 138 ± 2 Km s−1. Moreover, the progressive partial thick disk populations were also extrapolated in the Π Θ plane, up to the above rotation mean velocity, leading to a solar galactocentric radial velocity of Π⊙ = −20 ± 1 Km s−1.

The centroid of such an asymptotic local thick disk (or local halo) is moving on a circular orbit, similarly to the early-thin disk. The young-thin disk is moving on the most eccentric elliptical orbit. This fact would be consistent with the effect of a Galactic bar moving stars from circular to eccentric orbits, in the journey from the early to the young thin disk. As the stars get older, the disk populations partially lose their average angular momentum, as well as they lose radial motion and increase their velocity dispersion.

Finally, let us remark that the mean radial velocity of the thick disk stars remains explained as the addition of a term due to the non axiality of the system, and a term due to the system's time dependence, which is clearly non-null. Both terms are acting in opposite senses, and are more important for younger than for older stars. The term due to the deviation from axial symmetry increases the radial motion toward the Galactic center, while the time dependent term opposes it, in a trend to recover the axial symmetry, that is reached for the extrapolated population.

The population of Near-Earth Objects contains small bodies that can make very close passages to the Earth and the other planets. Depending on the approach distance and the object's internal structure, some shape readjustment or disruption may occur as a result of tidal forces. A real example is the comet Shoemaker Levy 9 which disrupted into 21 fragments as a result of a close approach to Jupiter, before colliding with the planet during the next passage in July 1994. We have recently developed an exact analytical theory for the distortion and disruption limits of spinning ellipsoidal bodies subjected to tidal forces, using the Drucker-Prager strength model with zero cohesion. This model is the appropriate one for dry granular materials such as sands and rocks, for rubble-pile asteroids and comets, as well as for larger planetary satellites, asteroids and comets for which the cohesion can be ignored. Here, we recall the general concept of this theory for which details and major results are given in a recent publication. In particular, we focus on the definition of “material strength”: while it has great implications this concept is often misunderstood in the community of researchers working on small bodies. Then, we apply our theory to a few real objects, showing that it can provide some constraints on their unknown properties such as their bulk density. In particular it can be used to estimate the maximum bulk density that a particular object, such as 99942 Apophis, must have to undergo some tidal readjustments during a predicted planetary approach. The limits of this theory are also discussed. The cases where internal cohesion cannot be ignored will then be investigated in the near future.

The high, dry and stable climatic conditions on top of the Antarctic plateau offer exceptional conditions for a wide range of observational astronomy, from optical to millimetre wavelengths. This is principally on account of the greatly reduced thermal backgrounds, the improved atmospheric transmission and the supurb seeing, in comparison with conditions at temperate latitude sites. The polar plateaus in the Arctic may also offer excellent conditions for astronomy, though these have yet to be quantified. We briefly review the history of astronomy in Antarctica and outline some of the activities now taking place on the polar plateaus, and plans for the future.

Extending the study of star-forming galaxies to z>6 is extremely difficult due to the faintness of the sources and the challenging nature of deep near-infrared observations. Nevertheless, current observations are now just good enough that we can begin drawing some conclusions about the nature of galaxies at z≳7. At present, deep near-infrared observations with NICMOS (reaching ≳27 AB mag at 5σ) cover more than 20arcmin2 of area with deep optical coverage and allow us to identify four strong z≃7–8 candidates. Comparing this sample with dropout samples at later times (z≃4–6), we are able to study evolution in the rest-frame UV LF over the range z≃8 to z≃4. We find strong evidence for significant evolution in the characteristic luminosity with time (brightening by ∼2 mag, from z≃8 to z≃4). The observed evolution appears to be the direct result of hierarchical growth in the galaxy population.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina astronomy teaching is almost nonexistent. There are only several courses within universities and they are usually given by physicists who themselves have had only elementary courses in astrophysics. When educational outreach is in question, the situation is even more grim. On the other hand, there is a huge interest for astrophysics in the student population. There are several solutions and possibilities which I will present, together with a discussion of the main obstacles which need to be overcome.

High-resolution spectroscopy of U Gem was obtained during quiescence. We did not find a hot spot or gas stream around the outer boundaries of the accretion disk. Instead, we detected a strong narrow emission near the location of the secondary star. We measured the radial velocity curve from the wings of the double-peaked Hα emission line, and obtained a semi-amplitude value in excellent agreement with the ultraviolet results by Long & Gilliland (1999). We present also a new method to obtain K2, which enhances the detection of absorption or emission features arising in the late-type companion. Our results are compared with published values derived from the near-infrared NaI line doublet. From a comparison of the TiO band with those of late type M stars, we find that a best fit is obtained for a M6 V star, contributing 5% of the total light at that spectral region. Assuming that the radial velocity semi-amplitudes reflect accurately the motion of the binary components, then from our results: Kem = 108 ± 2 km s−1; Kabs = 310 ± 5 km s−1, and using the inclination angle by Zhang & Robinson (1987); i = 69°.7 ± 0.7, the system parameters become: MWD = 1.20 ± 0.05 M⊙; MRD = 0.42 ± 0.04 M⊙; and a = 1.55 ± 0.02 R⊙. Based on the separation of the double emission peaks, we calculate an outer disk radius of Rout/a ∼ 0.63, close to the distance of the inner Lagrangian point L1/a ∼ 0.63. Therefore we suggest that, at the time of observations, the accretion disk was filling the Roche-Lobe of the primary, and that the matter leaving the L1 point was colliding with the disc directly, producing the hot spot at this location. Specific details not included in the printed version can be found in the Electronic Poster (EP).

Most dwarf elliptical galaxies except for ‘dE, N’ galaxies which are characterized by young stellar populations in the nuclear regions are located in the high density environment. The colors and spectra of ‘dE, N’ galaxies are different from other types, in the sense that they have redder colors with little emission lines. The majority of dwarf elliptical galaxies are younger than 7 Gyr with metallicity larger than [z/H]=−0.5.

The scientific program is presented as well a the abstracts of the contributions. An extended account is published in “The Ultraviolet Universe: stars from birth to death” (Ed. Gómez de Castro) published by the Editorial Complutense de Madrid (UCM), that can be accessed by electronic format through the website of the Network for UV Astronomy (www.ucm.es/info/nuva).

There are five telescopes currently in orbit that have a UV capability of some description. At the moment, only FUSE provides any medium- to high-resolution spectroscopic capability. GALEX, the XMM UV-Optical Telescope (UVOT) and the Swift. UVOT mainly delivers broad-band imaging, but with some low-resolution spectroscopy using grisms. The primary UV spectroscopic capability of HST was lost when the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph failed in 2004, but UV imaging is still available with the HST-WFPC2 and HST-ACS instruments.

With the expected limited lifetime of sl FUSE, UV spectroscopy will be effectively unavailable in the short-term future. Even if a servicing mission of HST does go ahead, to install COS and repair STIS, the availability of high-resolution spectroscopy well into the next decade will not have been addressed. Therefore, it is important to develop new missions to complement and follow on from the legacy of FUSE and HST, as well as the smaller imaging/low resolution spectroscopy facilities. This contribution presents an outline of the UV projects, some of which are already approved for flight, while others are still at the proposal/study stage of their development.

This contribution outlines the main results from Joint Discussion 04 held during the IAU General Assembly in Prague, August 2006, concerning the rationale behind the needs of the astronomical community, in particular the stellar astrophysics community, for new UV instrumentation. Recent results from UV observations were presented and future science goals were laid out. These goals will lay the framework for future mission planning.

Changes in the double star database are highlighted, describing various methods of observation (both historically and those of the past few years) and their effectiveness in different regimes of separation space. The various niches for wide- and narrow-field work as they apply to double and multiple stars are examined and the different types of information which each can provide are described. Despite the significant growth of the double star database, much can still be done, such as finding lost pairs, filling in missing parameters so that observing programs can select all stars appropriate to their capabilities, or providing at least gross kinematic descriptions. After more than 20 years of successful work, speckle interferometry and conventional CCD astrometry have replaced filar micrometry and photography as preferred classical techniques. Indeed, most work in filar micrometry is now being done by amateurs. Work on pairs described as neglected in the last major WDS data release (2001) is given as a specific example. Finally, the continued need to publish data in classical double star parameters is also discussed.

We present the essential features of the ANTARES code. ANTARES has been developed to perform the simulation of astrophysical flows in one, two, or three dimensions. Using, in particular, the option of grid refinement, we present results for solar granulation achieved at very high spatial resolution.

Some aspects of power-spectral densities (PSD) of active galactic nuclei are similar to those of galactic black hole X-ray binary systems (McHardy et al. 2005). The signal originates near a black hole and its modulation by general-relativistic effects should be taken into account (Życki & Nedźwiecki 2005). We modified the previous calculations of these effects, assuming a model of spots which occur on the disc surface and decay with a certain lifetime.

Multiwavelengths studies of massive star formation regions in the LMC and SMC reveal that a second generation of stars is being formed in dense molecular clouds located in the surroundings of the massive clusters. These dense molecular clouds have survived the action of massive star UV radiation fields and winds and they appear as compact dense H2 knots in regions of weak CO emission. Alternatively, we have found that large molecular clouds, probably remnants of the parental giant molecular clouds where the first generation of stars were formed, are suffering the interaction of the winds and UV radiation field in their surfaces in the direction of the central massive cluster or massive stars. These molecular regions show 1.2 mm continuum emission form cold dust and they show embedded IR sources as determined from deep ground base JHKs imaging. The distribution of young IR sources as determined from their Mid IR colors obtained by SPITZER concentrate in the maxima of CO and dust emission. IR spectroscopy of the embedded sources with high IR excess confirm their nature as massive young stellar objects (MYSO's). Our results are suggestive of contagious star formation where triggering and induced star formation could be taking place.

The winding up of a conference like this provides the opportunity to look (1) backwards at how we reached the present stage of understanding of binary star behavior and its relationship to the rest of astronomy, (2) around at the garden of unsolved problems, and (3) cautiously forward at what might come next.

Large-scale CO observations with the millimeter/submillimeter telescope NANTEN toward a whole FIR loop-like structure whose angular extent is ~20° × 20° around (l, b) ~(109°, − 45°) in Pegasus have been carried out in the 12CO (J = 1 − 0) at 4′ – 8′ grid spacing and the 12CO emitting region in the 13CO (J=1–0) at 2′ grid spacing. The diameter corresponds to ~25 pc at a distance of 100 pc, adopted from that of the star HD886(B2IV) near the center of the loop.

Incorporating early data from the Suzaku satellite launched in July 2005, properties of Ultra-Luminous compact X-ray sources (ULXs) were studied in close comparison with those of Galactic and Magellanic black-hole binaries. Based on an analogy between these two types of X-ray sources, ULXs showing power-law type spectra are considered to host Comptonized accretion disks, while those with multicolor-disk type spectra are interpreted to harbor “slim” disks. The analogy also suggests that ULXs are radiating near their Eddington limits, and hence their central black holes are significantly more massive than the ordinary stellar-mass black holes contained in Galactic and Magellanic black-hole binaries. In this sense, ULXs can be regarded as intermediate-mass black holes.

We present deep HI observations of a sample of 9 nearby E+A galaxies (0.05 < z < 0.1). In 7 of them, we detected up to a few times 109 M⊙ of neutral gas, making the link between E+As and early-types less direct than previously thought.

Using a semiconvective model based on thermohaline convection, we investigate the case of an expanding core of a main-sequence massive star. The numerical simulations at high Prandtl number show a flow consistent with the assumption that a dynamically neutral layer sits between the core and the radiative envelope. More simulations at low Prandtl number are needed to infer scaling laws applicable to astrophysical regimes.

Integrated spectra of 10 concentrated Galactic open clusters were obtained in the (3600-6800)Å range using the CASLEO (Argentina) 2.15 m telescope. The method used to determine ages and reddening of the clusters consists of the following steps: (1) Estimation of the cluster age from equivalent widths of the Balmer lines. This age is practically independent of the reddening. (2) Choice of the template whose spectral features better resemble those of the observed spectrum. This choice was made by using the libraries of template spectra which were available at the moment of making use of this methodology. In a first approach, the age inferred by the previous method was adopted. (3) Variation of the reddening of the observed spectrum until obtaining the best match to the chosen template. The reddening corrections were done using the normal reddening law. In Table 1 we show the parameters derived here, where the ages values are in Myr.

Five out of the ten studied clusters have not been the subject of previous studies so that their fundamental parameters determined turn out to be the first of their kind. For the remaining clusters, the parameters derived exhibit good agreement with those determined in previous studies.

With the exception of ESO429-SC2, the remaining Galactic open clusters are located within two 90°. sectors centered at l = 343° and l = 253°, respectively. A comparison of the properties of the Galactic open clusters here studied to those of well-known clusters located in the above mentioned sectors, shows that, unless major star forming events had occurred in the Galactic disk in the last 100 Myr or so, the present results would favour an important dissolution rate of star clusters in the above mentioned Galactic sectors.

The exploration of the earliest phase of star and galaxy formation after the Big Bang remains an important challenge of contemporary astrophysics and represents a key science driver for numerous future facilities. During this phase the first stars and galaxies appear and start to light up and ionize the then neutral Universe ending thereby the so called cosmic dark ages and leading progressively to the complete reionization we observe now at redshift z≃6 or earlier.