The z=0.89 spiral galaxy located on the line of sight to the quasar PKS1830-211 is right now the extragalactic object with the largest number of detected molecular species (34, plus isotopic variants). This remarkable molecular inventory was recently built after an unbiased spectral survey of molecular absorption lines with the Australia Telescope Compact Array in the 7 mm band. We present the results of this survey, as a showcase of the various interests of molecular absorption studies at intermediate redshift: chemical inventory and gas properties in distant galaxies, chemical enrichment history of the Universe, measurements of the CMB temperature as a function of z, and constraints on the constancy of fundamental constants.

Our UBV(RI)C CCD photometry of a WZ Sge-type dwarf nova OT J213806.6+261957, discovered on May 6, 2010 at 8.4 mag, is presented. The analysis of our ~ 10000 CCD images, taken at observatories in Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia during May-November 2010, revealed the presence of ordinary and late superhumps. Fast brightness variations (flickering) on a time scale of minutes were also detected.

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, as an all-sky survey and monitoring mission, is producing well-sampled gamma-ray light curves for dozens of blazars and other high-energy sources. We report highlights of gamma-ray variability properties, and outline multi-frequency observing campaigns that are targeted to new or known blazars which emit gamma rays.

Division V on Variable Stars consists of Commission 27, also called Variable Stars, and Commission 42, Close Binary Stars. The former deals with stars whose variations are intrinsic, whereas in the latter the variations are caused by the interactions between the components in the binary or multiple star system. There may be cases where the assignment of an object to one of the two Commissions may be in doubt. For example, the observation of pulsating stars in eclipsing binaries within nearby galaxies, or the relation between some types of oscillation modes and membership to binary systems, continue to be widely discussed.

High resolution spectral observations of ϵ Aur were carried out in the near-IR spectral range. Observations were obtained with the Coudé-spectrograph of the 2m RCC telescope at National Astronomical Observatory Rozhen and cover all main phases of the current eclipse. Results revealed for the first time absorption components in O I and Ca II triplets and variations of N I lines. Estimation of the electron density was done using lines from the Paschen series of hydrogen.

In the framework of the IAU Working Group on Comparative Solar Minima, we investigate the latitudinal deflection of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) with respect to the location of their uniquely identified solar source regions. Data compiled during the Whole Sun Month (WSM) and Whole Heliosphere Interval (WHI) campaigns allowed for comparisons between the two last solar minima.

The analysis of the coronal streamers’ distribution during these intervals led to study of the dependence of CME deflection on the angular separation between their source regions and the nearest streamer. All performed analyses consider exclusively projected structures on the plane of the sky, disregarding longitudinal deflections as well.

The results of the present study indicate that for both minima most of the events (62.5% for WSM, 84.2% for WHI) are deflected towards the nearest streamer, following the boundary conditions imposed by the heliospheric current sheet.

Most of the deflections found in the WHI period could be explained by the more complex structure in the global distribution of magnetic field present during that minimum. On the other hand, the low number of events detected during the WSM period hinders the statistical comparison between both campaigns.

The repository of GRB (gamma-ray burst) observations made by the Swift X-ray Telescope, now consisting of over 650 bursts, is a valuable and unique resource for the study of GRB X-ray emission. The observed soft X-ray spectrum typically arises from an underlying power law continuum, absorbed by gas along the line-of-sight. However, particularly at early times in a burst's evolution the continuum emission is not always understood and may comprise multiple components including thermal emission unexpected in the standard model. A thermal X-ray component has been discovered in two very unusual GRBs, perhaps suggesting an association only with this subset of events. However, evidence exists for thermal emission from more typical examples and here we present a new discovery of one such case and describe a systematic search for thermal components among all early GRB X-ray spectra.

We present new results of 3-D AMR MHD simulations focusing on two distinct aspects of PPN evolution. We first report new simulations of collimated outflows driven entirely by magnetic fields. These Poynting flux dominated “magnetic towers” hold promise for explaining key properties of PPN flows. Our simulations address magnetic tower evolution and stability. We also present results of a campaign of simulations to explore the development of accretion disks formed via wind capture. Our result focus on the limits of disk formation and the range of disk properties.

Eastern Polynesian astronomy was practiced by navigators and astronomer-priests who were in charge of adjusting the lunar calendar and their annual ritual cycle of activities known as ‘The Work of the Gods’. The festivity known in Polynesia as Matariki, Matali'i or Matari'i was related to the heliacal and acronical rising and setting of the Pleiades. A study of 75 marae on the island of Raivavae, Austral Islands and of 7 marae in the island of Raiatea, Society Islands shows that there are alignments towards important star positions associated with this ritual cycle. Their use as observatories has not been documented and therefore these alignments could have served solely ritual purposes. On Easter Island all information regarding the Matariki festival coincides with the arrival of a Spanish expedition in 1770.

Within the framework of the HerM33es Key Project for Herschel and in combination with multi-wavelength data, we study the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of a set of H ii regions in the Local Group Galaxy M33. Using the Hα emission, we perform a classification of a selected H ii region sample in terms of morphology, separating the objects in filled, mixed, shell and clear shell objects. We obtain the SED for each H ii region as well as a representative SED for each class of objects. We also study the emission distribution of each band within the regions. We find different trends in the SEDs for each morphological type that are related to properties of the dust and their associated stellar cluster. The emission distribution of each band within the region is different for each morphological type of object.

The paper presents a statistical analysis of the fast solar wind streams during the last prolonged minimum. Defining a minimum phase as the period with the monthly relative sunspot numbers (smoothed values) having a value of less than 20, we considered for this analysis the interval February 2006 September 2010. The High-Speed Streams (HSSs) in the solar wind were determined by their main parameters: duration, maximum velocity, velocity gradient. A comparative analysis of the HSS dynamics during the last solar minimum with the previous solar minimum (1996-1997) concludes the paper.

As research on variable stars continues at an ever growing pace, this report can only give a selection of research highlights from the past three years, with a rigorously abbreviated bibliography. The past triennium has been dominated by results of the CoRoT (Astronomy & Astrophysics 2009) and Kepler (Gilliland et al. 2010) space missions, stemming from their unprecedented photometric accuracies and large time bases.

R Coronæ Borealis was found to be variable in the year 1783, and was one of the first variable stars to be so identified. Its class, the R Coronæ Borealis (RCB) stars, are rare hydrogen-deficient carbon-rich supergiants. RCB stars undergo massive declines of up to 8 mag due to the formation of carbon dust at irregular intervals. The mechanism of dust formation around RCB stars is not well understood, but the dust is thought to form in or near the atmosphere of the star. Their rarity may stem from the fact that they are in an extremely rapid phase of the evolution, or are in an evolutionary phase that most stars do not undergo. Several evolutionary models have been suggested to account for the RCB stars, including a merger of two white dwarfs (WDs) or a final helium-shell flash (FF) in a PN central star. The large overabundance of 18O found in most of the RCB stars favours the WD merger model, while the presence of Li in the atmospheres of five RCB stars favours the FF one. In particular, the measured isotopic abundances imply that many, if not most, RCB stars are produced by WD mergers, which may be the low-mass counterparts of the more massive mergers thought to produce type Ia supernovæ. Understanding these enigmatic stars depends to a large extent on continuous monitoring to catch their irregular but rapid variations caused by dust formation, their variations due to stellar pulsations, and long-term changes that may occur over centuries. I will use observations of R Coronæ Borealis obtained over 200 years to demonstrate what kinds of monitoring are necessary for these and similar classes of variables.

For more than 50,000 years, Indigenous Australians have incorporated celestial events into their oral traditions and used the motions of celestial bodies for navigation, time-keeping, food economics, and social structure. In this paper, we explore the ways in which Aboriginal people made careful observations of the sky, measurements of celestial bodies, and incorporated astronomical events into complex oral traditions by searching for written records of time-keeping using celestial bodies, the use of rising and setting stars as indicators of special events, recorded observations of variable stars, the solar cycle, and lunar phases (including ocean tides and eclipses) in oral tradition, as well as astronomical measurements of the equinox, solstice, and cardinal points.

40 years have passed since the first molecular detection outside our Galaxy. Since then, our knowledge on the distribution, kinematics and composition of the molecular material in the extragalactic ISM has built up significantly based not only on the carbon monoxide observations but also in the more than 50 molecular species detected. In particular, line surveys have been proven to be excellent tools to study the chemical composition in the nuclei of galaxies. Such studies have been favored by the increasing instantaneous bandwidth of current mm and sub-mm facilities. Here I will summarize the highlights of extragalactic molecular spectroscopy, mostly focusing in the results from molecular line surveys published in the last few years as well as the aims of still ongoing projects.

“What do the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) look like? How can we hope to find them?” We focus on the epoch during which mass is incident on a white dwarf (WD) at high rates (> 10−7M⊙ yr−1). Such epochs are expected in single-degenerate (SD) progenitors, double-degenerate (DD) progenitors, and in a wide range of binaries with WDs that will not achieve the Chandrasekhar mass, MCh. High-rate accretion onto a WD produces high luminosities through accretion alone; in addition, most calculations show that quasisteady or episodic nuclear burning can occur, increasing the luminosity by more than an order of magnitude. If the photosphere is not much larger than the WD, the emission will have values of kT in the range of tens of eV, and the source will appear as a luminous supersoft x-ray source (SSS). Studies of local SSSs that are good candidates for nuclear-burning WDs (NBWDs) suggest that many have low duty cycles of SSS activity. This is consistent with the fact that binary WD models predict about 100 times as many SSSs in external galaxies of all types as are actually detected. Interstellar absorption does not appear to be the problem. Instead, it is likely that the ~1037−1038 erg s−1 emitted by NBWDs emerges in other wavebands. The challenge we face is to search for highly luminous systems within the Milky Way and nearby galaxies that have unusual properties consistent with NBWDs, and inconsistent with other physical models. Model tests can then be conducted for individual candidates, allowing us to identify large numbers of progenitors years before explosion.

Using the Herschel PACS and SPIRE FIR/submm data, we investigate variations in the dust spectral index β in the nearby spiral galaxy M33 at a linear resolution of 160 pc. We use an iteration method in two different approaches, single and two-component modified black body models. In both approaches, β is higher in the central disk than in the outer disk similar to the dust temperature. There is a positive correlation between β and Hα as well as with the molecular gas traced by CO(2-1). A Monte-Carlo simulation shows that the physical parameters are better constrained when using the two-component model.

This paper is a review of some of the recent modeling efforts to improve our understanding of structure formation and evolution of planetary nebulae including their interaction with the interstellar medium. New propositions have been made for the formation mechanism of multi-polar PNe and PPNe. These mechanisms are based on the central engine with interacting binary stars or hole producing instabilities in expanding shock waves leading to illumination effects from the central star that change the appearance of the nebula. Furthermore, there has been a lot of progress in the observation and 3D modeling of the kinematics, which is key to the understanding of the dynamics. Extensive observational catalogs are coming online for the kinematics, as well as some very detailed proper motion measurements have been made. New techniques for morpho–kinematic 3D modeling help to make the interpretation of kinematic data more reliable and detailed. In addition to individual pointed observations, new surveys have lead to the discovery of many PNe that show clear signs of interaction with the interstellar medium. Systematic hydrodynamic models of the interaction have produced a general scheme for the observed structure that results from the interaction of an evolving planetary nebula with the ISM. Detailed modeling of the dust-gas dynamics during the interaction with the ISM have produced interesting predictions for future IR observations. Detailed models were worked out for the structure of the bowshock and tail of Mira that was recently discovered in the UV.

We present constraints on core-collapse supernova progenitors through observations of their environments within host galaxies. This is achieved through 2 routes. Firstly, we investigate the spatial correlation of supernovae with host galaxy star formation using pixel statistics. We find that the main supernova types form a sequence of increasing association to star formation. The most logical interpretation is that this implies an increasing progenitor mass sequence going from the supernova type Ia arising from the lowest mass, through the type II, type Ib, and the supernova type Ic arising from the highest mass progenitors. We find the surprising result that the supernova type IIn show a lower association to star formation than type IIPs, implying lower mass progenitors. Secondly, we use host HII region spectroscopy to investigate differences in environment metallicity between different core-collapse types. We find that supernovae of types Ibc arise in slightly higher metallicity environments than type II events. However, this difference is not significant, implying that progenitor metallicity does not play a dominant role in deciding supernova type.

Low mass stars in binaries are frequently used as unique tools to determine and establish fundamental stellar parameters. The need for their study and understanding has led to developing new instruments, new observational techniques and improved theoretical models. The relatively recent discovery of exoplanets and their study as the low-mass constituents around other stars is now opening new horizons in binary research. Here, I examine the most common observational challenges in studying low mass binaries across the electromagnetic spectrum.