Recent analysis of monthly mean cloud data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project uncovered a strong correlation between low cloud and the cosmic ray flux for extensive regions of the Earth. Additional data have been recently released covering the period up to September 2001 with which we have made a new study of the

Published conference proceedings have been called both a great advancement and a despicable curse for astronomy. In reality, they simply fill a niche that any scientific society must have filled to remain healthy. Two obvious items they address are 1) the need for timely dissemination of research and 2) the need to provide a "snapshot" of the

Presently every telescope at McDonald Observatory is utilized for the search for extrasolar planets. Here we give an overview of the precision Doppler surveys currently in progress at the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telscope (HET) and the Harlan J. Smith 2.7 m telescope. Other planet search programs at McDonald Observatory include a transit search at the 0

We report on the optical spectroscopy of the eclipsing halo low-mass X-ray binary 2S 0921-630, which reveals the absorption-line radial velocity curve of the K0 III secondary star with a semiamplitude K2=92.89+/-3.84 km s-1, a systemic velocity γ=34.9+/-3.3 km s-1, and an orbital period Porb of 9.0035+/-0.0029 days (1 σ). Given the quality of the

When the polarimetric sensitivity and the angular resolution exceed a threshold, magnetic fields show up almost everywhere on the solar surface. Here I revise the observational properties of the weakest polarization signals, which appear in the InterNetwork (IN) regions. We already have some information on the magnetic field strengths and

We summarise some recent results about nearby galactic bulges, relevant to their formation. We highlight a number of significant advances in our understanding of the surface brightness profiles, stellar populations, and especially the very centers of spirals. We also view our own Milky Way as if it were an external galaxy. Our main conclusions are