Context. The ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) started in 2010. VVV targets 562 sq. deg in the Galactic bulge and an adjacent plane region and is expected to run for about five years. Aims: We describe the progress of the survey observations in the first observing season, the observing strategy, and quality of the data

MAXI J1659-152 which was discovered using Swift as a Gamma-ray-burst, was later on confirmed as a candidate Galactic black-hole X-ray binary. The source was intensively followed up by Swift and RXTE during its X-ray outburst and was revealed as a shortest period (2.4 hrs) black-hole X-ray binary. Following the X-ray outburst, we triggered the ESO

The VIRUS spectrograph will be installed on the upgraded Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) in the Spring of 2012. This instrument will feature an array of integral field units and will be used primarily to conduct a survey for the HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). The VIRUS instrument will be configured to allow parallel observations during the times

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We present UVOT imaging of a sample of 25 nearby star forming galaxies. Most of these galaxies are included in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) and have been observed by Spitzer in the Infrared as well as at optical wavelengths. We use the UVOT near ultraviolet imaging in conjunction with ground based optical and Spitzer infrared

Context. Observations of transiting extrasolar planets are of key importance to our understanding of planets because their mass, radius, and mass density can be determined. These measurements indicate that planets of similar mass can have very different radii. For low-density planets, it is generally assumed that they are inflated owing to their