A major uncertainty in models for photoionised outflows in AGN is the distance of the gas to the central black hole. We present the results of a massive multiwavelength monitoring campaign on the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 to constrain the location of the outflow components dominating the soft X-ray band. Mrk 509 was monitored by XMM-Newton, Integral, Chandra, HST/COS and Swift in 2009. We have studied the response of the photoionised gas to the changes in the ionising flux produced by the central regions. We were able to put tight constraints on the variability of the absorbers from day to year time scales. This allowed us to develop a model for the time-dependent photoionisation in this source. We find that the more highly ionised gas producing most X-ray line opacity is at least 5 pc away from the core; upper limits to the distance of various absorbing components range between 20 pc up to a few kpc. The more lowly ionised gas producing most UV line opacity is at least 100 pc away from the nucleus. These results point to an origin of the dominant, slow (v<1000 km s−1) outflow components in the NLR or torus-region of Mrk 509. We find that while the kinetic luminosity of the outflow is small, the mass carried away is likely larger than the 0.5 Solar mass per year accreting onto the black hole. We also determined the chemical composition of the outflow as well as valuable constraints on the different emission regions. We find for instance that the resolved component of the Fe-K line originates from a region 40–1000 gravitational radii from the black hole, and that the soft excess is produced by Comptonisation in a warm (0.2–1 keV), optically thick (τ~ 10–20) corona near the inner part of the disk.

In this report we have presented results of spectral observations of classical T Tauri type stars T Tau and RY Tau. Observational dates were obtained from following sources: spectrograms of the UV range from the IUE archive data, and spectrograms of the visual range obtained in the 2 m telescope of ShAO of the NAS of Azerbaijan (Ismailov et al. 2010). For both of stars on the Scargle method we have searched a periodicity of variations in equivalent widths of emission lines in the optical and UV ranges. In the RY Tau firstly was detected the periodic variability in MgII λ2800 Å emission doublet intensities with a period of 23 days. The observed period had also revealed with the equivalent widths and displacements of components of Hα and H+Hϵ and K CaII emission.

The lines were found to be shifted to short wavelengths as the emission line intensities increased in both UV and optical spectral ranges. The lack of a correlation between the brightness variation and the emission line intensity also suggests that, on the whole, the contribution from the radiation in emission lines for the star RY Tau is insignificant.

On the analysis of T Tau we conclude that there is a significant variation of spectral emission lines in the optical and UV on a time scale of about 33 days and that this variations is periodic. Both of stars shows the periodicity also for observed group of such lines as CIV λ1450 Å, HeII λ 1640 Å, SII λ1756 Å (Ismailov et al. 2010, Ismailov et al. 2011).

Additionally we have carried out spectral energy distributions of this stars in the range 0.36-100 μm which have indicated the excess of spectral radiation in the IR range of spectrum. These excesses of radiations can be explained by the thermal radiation of still unformed bodies at the circumstellar environment. The periodic variability in the spectrum together with the excess of the spectral radiation may be occurred by protoplanets and/or protostars in these young systems. It is showed that possible, planet formation processes mainly to be completed at the time of the formation of classical T Tauri type stars.

We review the possible formation and orbital stability of Earth-mass or super Earth-mass planets around either of the stars Alpha Centauri A or B and describe a program at Mt John University Observatory using the Doppler method that aims to detect such planets. From New Zealand, we are able to observe the Alpha Centauri system year-round. This is critical in order to acquire data of sufficient quantity and phase coverage to detect the orbit of a terrestrial-mass planet in the habitable zone. Our observations are being made at high resolution (R = 70,000) and high signal-to-noise with the Hercules vacuum echelle spectrograph attached to the 1-m McLellan telescope by a 25-m long optical fibre and using an iodine cell. We discuss the velocity precision and instrumental stability required for success and outline the progress of the observations so far. At present we are collecting about 10,000 observations of each star, A and B, per year with a typical precision of 2.5 m/s per observation.

Gaia's five-year observation baseline might naively lead to the expectation that it will be possible to fit the parallax of any sufficiently nearby object with the default five-parameter model (position at a reference epoch, parallax and proper motion). However, simulated Gaia observations of a ‘model Universe’ composed of nearly 107 objects, 50% of which turn out to be multiple stars, show that the single-star hypothesis can severely affect parallax estimation and that more sophisticated models must be adopted. In principle, screening these spurious single-star solutions is rather straightforward, for example by evaluating the quality of the fits. However, the simulated Gaia observations also reveal that some seemingly acceptable single-star solutions can nonetheless lead to erroneous distances. These solutions turn out to be binaries with an orbital period close to one year. Without auxiliary (e.g., spectroscopic) data, they will remain unnoticed.

This paper gives an brief overview of the structure of hypothetical strange quarks stars (quark stars, for short), which are made of absolutely stable 3-flavor strange quark matter. Such objects can be either bare or enveloped in thin nuclear crusts, which consist of heavy ions immersed in an electron gas. In contrast to neutron stars, the structure of quark stars is determined by two (rather than one) parameters, the central star density and the density at the base of the crust. If bare, quark stars possess ultra-high electric fields on the order of 1018 to 1019 V/cm. These features render the properties of quark stars more multifaceted than those of neutron stars and may allow one to observationally distinguish quark stars from neutron stars.

We have used high-resolution, HST WFC3/IR, near-infrared imaging to conduct a detailed bulge-disk decomposition of the morphologies of ≃ 200 of the most massive (M* > 1011 M⊙) galaxies at 1 < z < 3 in the CANDELS-UDS field. We find that, while such massive galaxies at low redshift are generally bulge-dominated, at redshifts 1<z<2 they are predominantly mixed bulge+disk systems, and by z > 2 they are mostly disk-dominated. Interestingly, we find that while most of the quiescent galaxies are bulge-dominated, a significant fraction (25–40%) of the most quiescent galaxies, have disk-dominated morphologies. Thus, our results suggest that the physical mechanisms which quench star-formation activity are not simply connected to those responsible for the morphological transformation of massive galaxies.

Due to the complexity of their environment, prominences properties are still a matter of controversy. Prominences cool and dense plasma is suspended in the hot corona by a magnetic structure poorly known. Their thermal insulation from the corona results in a thin geometrical interface called prominence-corona-transition-region (PCTR). Here we will review the main properties of such a region as derived primarily from observations. We will introduce the thermal structure properties, describe the fine structure together with the Doppler-shift and width properties of lines of the emitting plasma. We will introduce the proposed interpretations of such observations and the limits of our knowledge imposed by the present instrumentation. We will conclude with a perspective for the future observations of the PCTR.

An explanation of the mystery of the extended 23rd solar cycle duration about 13 years in the frame of non-linear regime of the αΩ- dynamo model is proposed. The calculated dynamo-period of the solar cycle, T, depends (in the inverse proportion) on the intensity of the α- effect in the solar convection zone (SCZ). As well, the intensity of the α- effect in non-linear regime depends (also in the inverse proportion) on the value of toroidal magnetic field, BT (magnetic alpha-quenching). Thus, the calculated period is in direct proportion to the value of toroidal magnetic field: the stronger toroidal field BT in certain cycle, the longer dynamo-period T of this cycle. Since the toroidal field is hidden in the deep layers of the SCZ, it is necessary to know some other magnetic experimental evidence that reflects something like information about inner toroidal field. In this connection we allow for that the strong toroidal field is transported by magnetic buoyancy to the solar surface and produces here the sunspots, so they carry indirect information on BT. In this connection we took into account up-to-date observed data on the essential increase of the averaged annual module of the magnetic field of the large-scale sunspots, Bsp, in the 23rd cycle; and then we made calculation of the alpha-quenching which depends on these referred data. It is important to know only relative variations of magnetic index Bsp for calculation of the dynamo-period variation. Our estimations showed that the average solar period, which is about 11 years, must increase by a factor of 1,2; so the calculated 23rd cycle dynamo-period would be about 13 years.

The bright and narrow spectral line emission of masers is ideal for measuring the Zeeman-splitting as well as for determining the orientation of magnetic fields in 3-dimensions around massive protostars. Recently, polarization observations at milliarcsecond resolution of 6.7-GHz CH3OH masers have uniquely been able to resolve the morphology of magnetic fields close to massive protostars. The observations reveal that the magnetic fields are along outflows and/or on the surfaces of circumstellar tori. Here we present three different examples selected from a total number of 7 massive star-forming regions that were investigated at 6.7-GHz with the EVN in the last years.

The search for B-mode, or curl-type, polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background is the most promising technique to constrain or detect primordial gravitational waves predicted by the theory of inflation. The Bicep telescope, which observed from the South Pole for three years from 2006 through 2008, is the first experiment specifically designed to target this signal. We review the observational motivations for inflation, the advantages of B-mode observations as a technique for detecting the gravitational wave background, and the design features of Bicep that optimize it for this search. The final analysis of all three seasons of Bicep data is in progress, representing a 50% increase in integration time compared to the result from Chiang et al. (2010). A preview of the three year result includes E-mode and B-mode maps, as well as the projected constraint on r, the tensor-to-scalar ratio.

The dependence of the solar cycle duration, T, on the 3 years averaged module of the large-scale sunspots magnetic fields (30-60 arcsec), Bsp index, was investigated on the base of about 10,000 visual observations conducted during last eight (16-23) cycles. It was found that the duration T of the investigated cycles linearly depends on the index Bsp of the magnetic fields observed during 3 years on decline phase of the solar cycle (second, third and fourth years after solar maximum Tmax). Namely, the duration of the cycles T was varied between 9,5 and 12,5 years, when the magnetic index Bsp was ranged from 2450 to 2600 G. An explanation for this dependence is proposed within the framework of non-linear αΩ- dynamo model. We found the following equation for the dependence of solar dynamo-period on magnetic index: T ≈ Bsp3/2. Therefore, the large observed index Bsp, the longer calculated period T.

We present a new analysis and reduction pipeline for the detection of planetary companions using Angular Differential Imaging. The pipeline uses Fourier transforms for image shifting and rotation in order to achieve very low signal loss. Furthermore it is parallelised in order to run on computer clusters of up to 1024 cores. The pipeline was developed in Geneva for the ongoing direct imaging campaign for stars with radial velocity drifts in the HARPS and CORALIE radial-velocity planet-search surveys. In addition to that, a disk mode has been implemented in the context of observations of the protoplanetary disk around HD142527.

In the context of life detection on terrestrial exoplanets, new methods of search for spectral signatures of chlorophyll and other biomarkers in the Earthshine have been developed in the last few decades. Astronomical observations made at OHP and ESO (NTT) showed a significant signal when continents are facing the Moon. This signal, called the Vegetation Red Edge (VRE), is undoubtedly due to chlorophyll absorption properties. In order to strengthen these results, the LUCAS (LUmière Cendrée en Antarctique par Spectroscopie) project dedicated to the measurement of the Earthshine from the Concordia Research Station (C Dome, Antarctica) has been set up. One of the objectives of LUCAS was to observe prolonged variations of the VRE corresponding to various parts of the Earth facing the Moon. An extension of this project, called LUCAS II, would allow long-term observations to detect seasonal variations of the vegetation signal. These data, together with accurate measurements of the Earth's albedo, will help validate a model of global and spectral albedo of our planet.

BICEP2 is an evolution from the highly successful BICEP CMB polarization experiment. In turn Keck-Array is an array of BICEP2 like receivers to achieve an additional increase in sensitivity. All these experiments are located at the South Pole in Antarctica and target the CMB B-mode polarization signal which is predicted to exist in many simpler models of Inflation at angular scales of several degrees. The design and performance of BICEP2 and Keck-Array is described and some preliminary polarization maps are presented.

A sudden increase in stellar luminosity may lead to the ejection of a large part of any optically thin gas orbiting the star. Test particles in circular orbits will become unbound, and will escape to infinity (if radiation drag is neglected), when the luminosity changes from zero to at least one half the Eddington value, or more generally, from L to (LEdd+L)/2 or more. Conversely, a decrease in luminosity will lead to the tightening of orbits of optically thin fluid. Even a modest fluctuation of luminosity of accreting neutron stars or black holes is expected to lead to substantial coronal heating. Luminosity fluctuations may thus account for the high temperatures of the X-ray corona in accreting black hole and neutron star systems.

H2O masers are important magnetic field tracers in very high density gas. We show one of the first magnetic field determinations at such high density in a low-mass protostar: IRAS 16293-2422. We used the Very Large Array (VLA) to carry out spectro-polarimetric observations of the 22 GHz Zeeman emission of H2O masers. A blend of at least three maser features can be inferred from our data. They are excited in zones of compressed gas produced by shocks between the outflows ejected by this source and the ambient gas. The post-shock particle density is in the range 1 - 3 × 109 cmt−3, and the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field is estimated as ~ 113 mG. The outflow dynamics is likely magnetically dominated.

We have measured the annual parallax of the water maser source associated with star forming region NGC2264 from observations with VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA). We detected masers at VLSR = 7.2 km s−1. We discussed its driving sources of detected maser spots. One of the maser spots was associated with a centimeter continuum source observed with VLA. Neither optical, infrared nor X-ray sources is catalogued near the spot. The other maser spot is located close to an X-ray source, although there is no optical or infrared counterpart. The proper motion of the former spot was (μα, μδ) = (23.91 ± 4.29, −29.81 ± 4.27) and the proper motion of latter spot was (μα, μδ) = (−0.96 ± 0.58, −6.05 ± 3.06). For the latter spot, the peculiar motion is ∼ 150 km s−1 and it has the high velocity and this may be a jet or an outflow from a young star. The observed parallax is 1.365 ± 0.098 mas, corresponding to the distance of 738+57−50 pc. This value is constant with the photometric distance of NGC2264 previously measured. The fitting result of the parallax is shown in figure 1. We also observed in NH3 (1,1), (2,2), (3,3) lines of NGC2264 with the Kashima 34m telescope. We estimated the star formation efficiency (SFE) of NGC2264 from the dense molecular mass of NH3 and the stellar mass calculated by Teixeira et al. (2012). The SFE is 9 – 12% which is consistent with previous results.

In determining the distances to stars within the Milky Way galaxy, one often uses photometric or spectroscopic parallaxes. In these methods, the type of each individual star is determined, and the absolute magnitude of that star type is compared with the measured apparent magnitude to determine individual distances. In this paper, we define the term statistical photometric parallax, in which statistical knowledge of the absolute magnitudes of stellar populations is used to determine the underlying density distributions of those stars. This technique has been used to determine the density distribution of the Milky Way's stellar halo and its component tidal streams, using very large samples of stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Most recently, the volunteer computing platform MilkyWay@home has been used to find the best-fitting model parameters for the density of these halo stars.

Prominence eruptions are one of the most spectacular manifestations of our Sun's activity. Yet there is still some mystery surrounding their relevant physical conditions. What are their plasma parameters? How different are they from those of quiescent prominences? How do they relate to those within coronal mass ejections? We briefly review some recent results in non-LTE radiative transfer modelling which contribute to our knowledge of the plasma properties in eruptive prominences. We discuss in particular how these results, combined with observational data analysis, can help us in determining the plasma parameters in eruptive prominences.

Massive stars (M ≥ 10M⊙) end their lives with spectacular explosions due to gravitational collapse. The collapse turns the stars into compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes with the ejection of cosmic rays and heavy elements. Despite the importance of these astrophysical events, the mechanism of supernova explosions has been an unsolved issue in astrophysics. This is because clarification of the supernova dynamics requires the full knowledge of nuclear and neutrino physics at extreme conditions, and large-scale numerical simulations of neutrino radiation hydrodynamics in multi-dimensions. This article is a brief overview of the understanding (with difficulty) of the supernova mechanism through the recent advance of numerical modeling at supercomputing facilities. Numerical studies with the progress of nuclear physics are applied to follow the evolution of compact objects with neutrino emissions in order to reveal the birth of pulsars/black holes from the massive stars.