The WASP consortium operates two wide-field camera arrays in the northern (La Palma) and southern (Sutherland) hemispheres. Each installation comprises a robotic mount bearing 8 cameras, forming a mosaic with a field of view of 30 degrees in declination by 1 hour in right ascension. Here we describe the system performance, observing strategy, candidate selection procedures and follow-up campaigns, and the yield and physical characteristics of the 16 planets discovered in the course of the survey to date.

A large fraction of Be stars show periodic light and line profile variations with a timescale of about one day. The mechanism which causes these periodic variations has been attributed to nonradial pulsation (NRP) or rotational modulation (RM). The authors present arguments supporting the two opposing points of view with the purpose of stimulating subsequent discussion by the Symposium participants.

In theoretical as well as practical issues of the asteroidal hazard problem, it is important to be able to assess the degree of predictability of the orbital motion of asteroids. Some asteroids move in a virtually predictable way, others do not. The characteristic time of predictability of any motion is nothing but the Lyapunov time (the reciprocal of the maximum Lyapunov exponent) of the motion. In this report, a method of analytical estimation of the maximum Lyapunov exponents of the orbital motion of asteroids is described in application for two settings of the problem. Namely, the following two types of the motion are considered: (1) the motion close to the ordinary or three-body mean motion resonances with planets, and (2) the motion in highly eccentric orbits subject to moderately close encounters with planets. Whatever different these settings may look, the analytical treatment is universal: it is performed within a single framework of the general separatrix map theory. (Recall that the separatrix maps describe the motion near the separatrices of a nonlinear resonance.) The analytical estimates of the Lyapunov times are compared to known numerical ones, i.e., to known estimates obtained by means of numerical integration of the orbits.

Oe stars are earlier type analogues of the better known Be class. These stars have relatively narrow emission in the hydrogen lines and sometimes in the helium lines, which often appears to be double. In several Oe stars, the emission is intermittent. Other properties of the class include relatively broad absorption lines and luminosities near the main sequence. Line profiles in three representative Oe stars are presented and discussed. The similarity of the spectra of Oe and Be stars suggests that the formation mechanism for the emitting region, whatever it is, must extend to the mid O-type stars, at least.

The results of a numerical simulation of the tidal evolution of the Earth-Moon system during the Phanerozoic epoch (the last 600 million years) are given. In most of the researches devoted to the solution of the problem the authors simplified and parametrized very complicated tidal phenomena to a primitive integral hump on the Earth's surface. As distinct from these the numerical model of the ocean tides in its most complete form is the core of the present study: the problem is solved for a viscous liquid in a paleoocean with variable outlines and depth allocations stimulated by the drift of the lithospheric platforms; the global interaction between the ocean and earth tides and the fluctuations of the gravitational field of the planet caused by them are taken into account. The astronomical component of the model is simplified. It is assumed that the Earth-Moon system is isolated, the Moon's orbit circular and the moment of inertia of the Earth constant during the Phanerozoic epoch. It is shown that the evolution of the Earth-Moon system during the Phanerozoic was nonuniform and that the primary role in this process belongs to the geodynamic factor.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

My contribution to this Joint Discussion can hardly be termed very novel or original. Rather, I just want to call your attention here to two headaches - one perhaps only a hangover, but the other a real migraine. Sooner or later these two headaches beset anyone who persists in asking how the random motions of stars in the only vicinity where we tolerably observe them can possibly jibe with the sensible presumption that not only our neighborhood but this entire Galaxy should by now be reasonably stable.

There is of course nothing strictly ‘local’ about any problem involving the far-reaching gravity. Yet if some conceivable instability of our collection of nearby stars comes even close to deserving such a label, it is surely the Jeans instability or tendency toward gravitational collapse. After all it is not difficult to estimate (e.g., Toomre, 1964) that the most troublesome of such incipient clumpings ought to have significant dimensions (such as half-wavelengths) of the order of 3 or 4 kpc. Even the latter scale is probably not too large a fraction of our distance from the galactic center for ‘local’ analyses in the WKBJ spirit to remain coarsely trustworthy.

Since the discovery of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) in the early 1920s, numerous research groups have taken on the task to obtain as complete a census of the DIBs as observationally possible in order to unravel characteristics that would allow the community to tie the DIB carriers to known species. Here, I will briefly review the efforts and progress that were made for the past two decades in producing new, deeper, and more complete DIB surveys. In particular, I will review the important role that these modern surveys are playing in revealing main observational characteristics of the DIBs and their dependence on the local physical conditions in the Galactic Interstellar Medium.

Star formation in the Galactic Center (GC) happens under unusual conditions, which include high gas temperatures, high velocity dispersions, and strong tidal shear (Spergel & Blitz 1992; Blitz et al. 1993). All these conditions may lead to an initial mass function (IMF) dominated by massive stars (Morris & Serabyn 1996). A history of chemical evolution dominated by massive stars is expected to result in enhancements of α-elements (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti) relative to Fe (Wheeler et al. 1989). This argument is the main motivation to study the abundance of Fe and Mg in GC stars.

There are two approaches to the problem of the dynamics of planetary nebulae. The first is based on the investigation of the velocity fields in the nebulae. The second can be carried out by studying the spatial distribution of the matter in these objects. In an ideal case both approaches can be united. However, data on the velocity fields in planetary nebulae still are very scarce and fragmentary and their rate of accumulation is rather slow.

The continuum radio spectra of planetary nebulae are discussed, and the structure of these objects is examined from the observed aperture synthesis brightness distributions determined with the Very Large Array. The use of radio observations in determining distances to planetary nebulae is examined. The detection of atomic neutral hydrogen at λ21 cm associated with planetary nebulae, as well as the associated CO and OH components are discussed. An upper limit, of the nebular magnetic field associated with the neutral material, of 1mG is reported for NGC 6302.

The size, and therefore the importance, of the population of compact, steep-spectrum, radio sources has only recently been recognised. While it is now clear that the extended steep-spectrum sources are powered by a pair of, originally anti-parallel, beams which transport energy to the outer lobes some 105–106 parcsec away, our understanding of the compact steep-spectrum sources is almost nil. This is largely because our radio maps have not had high enough resolution to show their structures in any detail. However 1.67 and 5 GHz MERLIN observations (resolutions 0″.25 and 0″.1) of the ~20 steep-spectrum 3CR sources whose LAS is ≲2″ have now allowed us to classify their structures, at least in broad terms. These MERLIN maps, and recent VLBI maps, show that while there is a wide range of structures - from colinear doubles to amorphous “blobs” - the “peculiar” structures are strongly concentrated in the objects whose optical counterparts are called QSO's.

The PG 1159 stars represent the hottest stage of post-AGB evolution. Quantitative spectral analyses of most known PG 1159 stars have been carried out by us from optical, UV and EUV observations (see Dreizler et al 1995 for a review). It has been shown that these stars have atmospheres dominated by C and He with a significant admixture of O. These abundances reveal the inter–shell matter of a former AGB star. The four stars, HS 2324+3944, NGC 7094, Abell 43, and Sh 2-68, define a small group of peculiar PG 1159 stars (termed hybrid PG 1159). Unlike all other PG 1159 stars hydrogen is detected in their spectra. Three of them are CSPNe. Our Non-LTE analyses (Dreizler et al 1995; Dreizler et al 1996) show that these stars have typical PG 1159 Teff, log g as well as C and He abundances (Table 1). In contrast, the O abundance is lower than in PG 1159 stars. N is probably present but near the detection limit of the currently available spectra. Hybrid PG 1159 stars tend to have lower masses/luminosities than ordinary PG 1159 stars. A reduced mass-loss in their post-AGB evolution might be responsible for the incomplete removal of the H rich envelope. However, peeling of a post-AGB star alone can not produce the observed abundance pattern. In addition, mixing is required. A first evolution calculation with time dependent mixing of Iben & MacDonald (1995) shows some qualitative agreement in the abundance pattern like the C/He ratio it is, however, not able to explain the overall abundances.

Sky observation in sub-tropical Andean areas, part of ancient Collasuyu, during the Inca empire (ca. 1470 A.D.) was characterized by the combined use of geographical, social, psychological and natural elements of the entorno (environment or landscape). From a phenomenological perspective, it would be understood as: the place (point of observation), the path (line or relation), the horizon (calendrical marker) and the zenith/anti-zenith (vertical projection) as an expression of ‘dwelling or living in the world’. I present results obtained from a spatio-temporal analysis of mountain worship which took place at the Atacama Indian community of Socaire, northern Chile (23° 35′ 28″S, 67° 52′ 36″W, 3274m AMSL). These indicate the existence of an animistic relationship between astronomical observations, the worship of mountains, and agricultural practices. The psychological phenomena of pareidolia, apophenia and hierophany also contribute to explain the mimetolith of the ‘Hand of God’ (formed by the Tumisa, Lausa, Chiliques, Ipira and Miñiques mountains) and the social categories of space and time in Socaire: ‘above, here, and down’; ‘right and left’; ‘female and male’; ‘noon and midnight’; ‘north and south’; and ‘visible and invisible’ (as complementary opposites or yanantin).

We summarize the current status of the turbulent model of star formation in turbulent molecular clouds. In this model, clouds, clumps and cores form a hierarchy of nested density fluctuations caused by the turbulence, and either collapse or re-expand. Cores that collapse can be either internally sub- or super-sonic. The former cannot further fragment, and can possibly be associated with the formation of a single or a few stars. The latter, instead, can undergo turbulent fragmentation during their collapse, and probably give rise to a cluster of bound objects. The star formation efficiency is low because only a small fraction of the density fluctuations proceed to collapse. Those that do not may constitute a class of “failed” cores that can be associated with the observed starless cores. “Synthetic” observations of cores in numerical simulations of non-magnetic turbulence show that a large fraction of them have subsonic internal velocity dispersions, can be fitted by Bonnor-Ebert column density profiles, and exhibit “coherence” (an apparent independence of linewidth with column density near the projected core centers), in agreement with observed properties of molecular cloud cores.

The IAU Strategic Plan for 2020-2030 presents an overview of all of the activities of the IAU along with priorities, key goals, mandates, and specific actions. Here future plans and goals are outlined for the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD).

We present a review of the field of formaldehyde (H2CO) 6cm masers in the Galaxy. Previous to our ongoing work, H2CO 6cm masers had been detected in the Galaxy only toward three regions: NGC7538 IRS1, Sgr B2, and G29.96–0.02. Current efforts by our group using the Very Large Array, Arecibo, and the Green Bank Telescope have resulted in the detection of four new H2CO 6cm maser regions. We discuss the characteristics of the known H2CO masers and the association of H2CO 6cm masers with very young regions of massive star formation. We also review the current ideas on the pumping mechanism for H2CO 6cm masers.

CMEs are large-scale magnetized plasma structures carrying billions of tons of material that erupt from a star and propagate in the stellar heliosphere, interacting in multiple ways with the stellar wind. Due to the high speed, intrinsic magnetic field and the increased plasma density compared to the stellar wind background, CMEs can produce strong effects on planetary environments when they collide with a planet. The main planetary impact factors of CMEs, are associated interplanetary shocks, energetic particles accelerated in the shock regions, and the magnetic field disturbances. All these factors should be taken into account during the study of evolutionary processes on exoplanets and their atmospheric and plasma environments. CME activity of a star may vary depending on stellar age, stellar spectral type and the orbital distance of a planet. Because of relatively short range of propagation of majority of CMEs, they impact most strongly the magnetospheres and atmospheres of close orbit (< 0.1 AU) exoplanets.

Some results are discussed of recent – still largely unpublished – high-resolution studies of bright spirals, both in the radio continuum and in the 21-cm line radiation. Special emphasis is given to observations of M51, M81 and NGC 4258.

The most important new data are (1) Estimates of the contrast in gas density between arms and interarm regions (M81 and M101); the contrast appears to be quite strong. It provides an important parameter for the density wave. (2) Evidence for a pronounced decrease of gas density along the arms when these are followed towards the centre. Considerable line radiation is observed from outer regions where the optical intensity of the arms is very low. (3) Extension of rotation curves to larger distances from the centre. (4) Data on the motions in the spiral waves. (5) Determination of the shift between synchrotron and optical arms, providing direct evidence for the formation of stars as a consequence of the passage of the interstellar gas through the spiral density wave. From the shift measured in M51 the formation time is found to be roughly ten million years. If the data for (2) are ascribed to the depletion of the gas by star formation, the average net fraction of the gas consumed in star formation is found to be between 2% and 3% per passage through the spiral wave (Table I). (6) Separation of nuclear and disk synchrotron radiation in spirals. (7) Evidence for a recent expulsion of about 108 solar masses from the nuclear region of NGC 4258.

We attempted to quantify the magnitude-dependent systematics in a sample of Schmidt plates by comparison to positions from the Yale/San Juan Southern Proper Motion program which offers star positions and absolute proper motions down to B = 18 with a mean density of about 50 stars per square degree and a positional accuracy of 0.1″ (Platais et al. 1995).

We present MERLIN observations of the atomic and molecular gas of IC 694 a member of the merger system Arp 299. The radio continuum of IC 694 is consistent with a disk of synchrotron emission powered by supernovae remnants. The atomic and molecular gas are located in a similarly orientated 250 pc large disk.