A study of the morphology, kinematics and ionization structure of the infrared (IR) merger NGC5514 is presented. This study is based mainly on INTEGRAL two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy (obtained at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope, WHT), plus optical and near-IR images. Clear evidence of two extranuclear starbursts with young outflows (OFs)

We report on a spectroscopic determination of the stellar parameters and chemical abundances for the parent star of the transiting planet TrES-1. Based on a detailed analysis of iron lines in our Keck and Hobby-Eberly Telescope spectra, we derive Teff=5250+/-75 K, logg=4.6+/-0.2, and [Fe/H]=0.00+/-0.09. By measuring the Ca II activity indicator and

A survey of 380 sq. deg. of the sky with the 1m Schmidt telescope at the Observatorio Nacional de Llano del Halo and the QUEST camera has found 498 RR Lyrae variables lying from 4 to 60 kpc from the Sun. We describe the halo substructure revealed by these data and the results of measuring some of the stars' radial velocities and metal abundances.

We present Sloan g and i imaging from the Gemini Multi-object Spectrograph (GMOS) instrument on the Gemini North telescope for the globular cluster (GC) system around the Virgo galaxy NGC 4649 (M60). Our three pointings, taken in good seeing conditions, cover an area of about 90 square arcmin. We detect 2151 unresolved sources. Applying colour and

High-resolution spectra of a sample of all known stars more luminous than MV=+6.5 and closer than 15 parsecs are being analyzed spectroscopically in order to derive their effective temperatures and surface gravities. These spectra are taken from the database of "A Spectroscopic Survey of Stars in the Solar Neighborhood". The analysis utilizes a

Although it is clear that the circumnuclear regions of galaxies are intimately related to their host galaxies, most directly through their bars, it remains unclear what exactly initiates and fuels nuclear stellar (starburst) and non-stellar (AGN) activity. Deviations from axisymmetry in the gravitational potential of a galaxy, set up by a bar or an