Analysis of a sample of giant Herbig-Haro flow sources shows that 79%–86% are binaries or higher order multiples. This represents the youngest sample of stars studied so far for binarity. A stellar dynamics jet hypothesis is proposed in which the dynamical decay of triple or multiple systems leads to giant outflow activity. Close triple approaches will cause serious perturbations and probably direct collisions among individual circumstellar disks, with a consequent burst of outflow activity, which can produce giant HH bow shocks. As one component is ejected, the two remaining stars and their small truncated disks form a closer bound pair with high eccentricity. Gas streams from a circumbinary disk feed the stars and this as well as other dynamical effects cause the binary orbit to shrink. As the stellar components gradually spiral towards each other, accretion and outflow becomes cyclic, modulated on an orbital time scale. The resulting HH flows can be read as a fossil record of the evolution of orbital motions of the newly formed binary as it shrinks from a typical separation of 100 AU or more to 10 AU or less. After a triple disintegration event, both components (star and close binary) leave their nascent envelope, and while one component becomes visible as a T Tauri star, the other will be obscured for a while by the envelope and will appear as a bright near-infrared object, thus explaining the socalled IRC binaries which are infrequently found in star forming regions.

The phase or orbital light curves of extrasolar terrestrial planets in reflected or emitted light will contain information about their atmospheres and surfaces complementary to data obtained by other techniques such as spectrosopy. We show calculated light curves at optical and thermal infrared wavelengths for a variety of Earth-like and Earth-unlike planets. We also show that large satellites of Earth-sized planets are detectable, but may cause aliasing effects if the lightcurve is insufficiently sampled.

The early days of VLBI are discussed, with emphasis on the fifteen experiments performed in the U.S. and Canada in 1967. Some key technical ideas are described that influenced the development of the technique, including digital fringe rotation, bandwidth synthesis, spectral phase referencing, phase closure and self-calibration, and water vapor radiometry.

It would be a mistake to think that the density wave theories of spiral structure have reached the maturity where they can make unconditional predictions which can be tested. On the contrary, they are still very dependent on observations for help and guidance.

The features and make up of the population of X-ray sources in Galactic star clusters reflect the properties of the underlying stellar environment. Cluster age, mass, stellar encounter rate, binary frequency, metallicity, and maybe other properties as well, determine to what extent we can expect a contribution to the cluster X-ray emission from low-mass X-ray binaries, millisecond pulsars, cataclysmic variables, and magnetically active binaries. Sensitive X-ray observations withXMM-Newton and certainlyChandra have yielded new insights into the nature of individual sources and the effects of dynamical encounters. They have also provided a new perspective on the collective X-ray properties of clusters, in which the X-ray emissivities of globular clusters and old open clusters can be compared to each other and to those of other environments. I will review our current understanding of cluster X-ray sources, focusing on star clusters older than about 1 Gyr, illustrated with recent results.

Magnetic fields of late-type stars are presumably generated by a dynamo mechanism at the interface layer between the radiative interior and the outer convective zone. The Rossby number, which is related to the dynamo process, shows an observational correlation with activity. It represents the ratio between the rotation period of the star and the local convective turnover time. The former is well determined from observations but the latter is estimated by an empirical iterated function depending on the color index (B-V) and the mixing-length parameter. We computed the theoretical Rossby number of stellar models with the TGEC code, and analyze its evolution with time during the main sequence. We estimated a function for the local convective turnover time corresponding to a mixing-length parameter inferred from a solar model, and compare our results to the estimated Rossby number of 33 solar analogs and twins, observed with the spectropolarimeters ESPaDOnS@CFHT and Narval@LBT.

We know that each of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter has a tenuous atmosphere by terrestrial standards. Io’s SO2 equatorial atmosphere and, perhaps, Callisto’s atmosphere inferred from its large ionospheric densities are measured in nanobars, whereas the atmospheres of Europa and Ganymede produced by ion sputtering of the water ice surfaces only reach picobar pressures and are comprised mostly of O2. Io’s polar atmosphere is probably an order of magnitude less dense than its equatorial atmosphere. Europa and Ganymede have O2 atmospheres with column densities in the range of (1-10)×1014cm−2. These atmospheres, on the basis of their inferred production and loss rates, are estimated to have short residence times of ~2-3 days.

Recent HST spectra indicate that a large fraction of Seyfert 1 galaxies have UV absorption lines that are intrinsic to the active nucleus or its environment. IUE monitoring or multiple HST observations of several sources show that many absorption lines are variable, either as a result of mass motion across the line-of-sight or of changing ionization within the gas in response to variations in the ionizing continuum. The UV absorbers may be related to the warm absorbers seen in the X-ray spectra of many Seyfert galaxies, but a direct connection between the two has not been made. Some of the absorption lines may arise in the emission-line regions in the nucleus or host galaxy, providing valuable clues to their nature.

Knowing the distance of an astrophysical object is key to understanding it. However, at present, comparisons of theory and observations are hampered by precision (or lack thereof) in distance measurements or estimates. Putting the many recent results and new developments into the broader context of the physics driving cosmic distance determination is the next logical step, which will benefit from the combined efforts of theorists, observers and modellers working on a large variety of spatial scales, and spanning a wide range of expertise. IAU Symposium 289 addressed the physics underlying methods of distance determination across the Universe, exploring the various approaches employed to define the milestones along the road. The meeting provided an exciting snapshot of the field of distance measurement, offering not only up-to-date results and a cutting-edge account of recent progress, but also full discussion of the pitfalls encountered and the uncertainties that remain. One of the meeting's main aims was to provide a roadmap for future efforts in this field, both theoretically and observationally.

The RadioAstron space-VLBI mission has successfully detected extragalactic H2O MegaMaser emission regions at very long Earth to space baselines ranging between 1.4 and 26.7 Earth Diameters (ED). The preliminary results for two galaxies, NGC 3079 and NGC 4258, at baselines longer than one ED indicate masering environments and excitation conditions in these galaxies that are distinctly different. Further observations of NGC 4258 at even longer baselines are expected to reveal more of the physics of individual emission regions.

We present the Wide-Field Plate Database, a basic source of data and meta-data for astronomy's more than 2.4 million wide-field photographic images obtained with professional telescopes worldwide. The technology developed in Sofia for plate digitization with commercial high-quality flatbed scanners yields low-resolution digital images for quick visualization and easy online access, and optimal high-resolution ones for photometric and astrometric investigations.

We describe the nature of the interference challenges facing radio astronomy in the next decade. These challenges will not be solved by regulation only, negotiation and mitigation will become vital. There is no silver bullet for mitigating against interference. A successful mitigation approach is most likely to be a hierarchical or progressive approach throughout the telescope and signal conditioning and processing systems. We summarise some of the approaches, including adaptive systems.

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.

While recent years have seen rapid growth in the number of galaxy peculiar velocity measurements, disagreements remain about the extent to which the peculiar velocity field - a tracer of the large-scale distribution of mass - agrees with both ΛCDM expectations and with velocity field models derived from redshift surveys. The 6dF Galaxy Survey includes peculiar velocities for nearly 9 000 early-type galaxies (6dFGSv), making it the largest and most homogeneous galaxy peculiar velocity sample to date. We have used the 6dFGS velocity field to determine the amplitude and scale of large-scale cosmic flows in the local universe and test standard cosmological models. We also compare the galaxy density and peculiar velocity fields to establish the distribution of dark and luminous matter and better constrain key cosmological parameters such as the redshift-space distortion parameter.

The following new OBN and OBC stars have been found: HD 75860, BC 2 Iab; HD 104565, OC 9.7 Ia; HD 123008, ON 9.7 Iab; and HD 150574, ON 9 III(n). Examples of morphologically more moderate CNO anomalies in OB spectra are also discussed; it is concluded that the O9-B0 7 supergiants of the Orion Belt and NGC 6231 (the nuclear cluster of Scorpius OB1) are systematically nitrogen-deficient. One possible explanation of these nitrogen-deficient supergiants in sub-associations is that they may have formed from nitrogen-deficient clouds; another could be that the more numerous morphologically normal supergiants show the effects of mixing in their spectra, while the nitrogen-deficient ones are relatively younger or have not yet been red supergiants. No red supergiants are found in Sco OB1, whereas NGC 3293 contains two B0 supergiants with normal CNO spectra together with a red supergiant. The paper will appear in the Astrophysical Journal, April 15, 1976.

The global missing baryon problem – that the sum of observed baryons falls short of the number expected form BBN – is well known. In addition to this, there is also a local missing baryon problem that applies to individual dark matter halos. This halo by halo missing baryon problem is such that the observed mass fraction of baryons in individual galaxies falls short of the cosmic baryon fraction. This deficit is a strong function of circular velocity. I give an empirical estimate of this function, and note the presence of a critical scale of ~ 900 km s−1 therein. I also briefly review Ωb from BBN, highlighting the persistent tension between lithium and the CMB, and discuss some pros and cons of individual galaxies and clusters of galaxies as potential reservoirs of dark baryons.

Major advances in our understanding of the Universe have historically come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. The astrometric observations obtained by modern digital sky surveys are enabling unprecedentedly massive and robust studies of the kinematics of the Milky Way. For example, the astrometric data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), together with half a century old astrometry from the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS), have enabled the construction of a catalog that includes absolute proper motions as accurate as 3 mas/year for about 20 million stars brighter than V=20, and for 80,000 spectroscopically confirmed quasars which provide exquisite error assessment. We discuss here several ongoing studies of Milky Way kinematics based on this catalog. The upcoming next-generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. For example, we show using realistic simulations that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will measure proper motions accurate to 1 mas/year to a limit 4 magnitude fainter than possible with SDSS and POSS catalogs, or with the Gaia survey. LSST will also obtain geometric parallaxes with accuracy similar to Gaia's at its faint end (0.3 mas at V=20), and extend them to V=24 with an accuracy of 3 mas. We discuss the impact that these LSST measurements will have on studies of the Milky Way kinematics, and potential synergies with the Gaia survey.

Brown dwarfs are intermediate objects between planets and stars. The lower end of the brown-dwarf mass range overlaps with the one of massive planets and therefore the distinction between planets and brown-dwarf companions may require to trace the individual formation process. We present results on new potential brown-dwarf companions of Sun-like stars, which were discovered using CORALIE radial-velocity measurements. By combining the spectroscopic orbits and Hipparcos astrometric measurements, we have determined the orbit inclinations and therefore the companion masses for many of these systems. This has revealed a mass range between 25 and 45 Jupiter masses almost void of objects, suggesting a possible dividing line between massive planets and sub-stellar companions.

We know almost nothing about the evolutionary tracks of extragalactic radio sources but those tracks are, however, strongly constrained by the distribution of sources in the radio luminosity, P, overall physical size, D, diagram. This is the radioastronomer's H-R diagram, an analogy which two lines of algebra shows is exact. Fig. 1 is the P-D diagram for the 3CR 166 source sample of Jenkins et al. (1977) with later additions. Most of the sources are identified and have known redshifts. It is a flux density limited sample so that the numbers at any P are weighted relative to the true space density by P3/2 because of the differing volumes of space sampled. The important feature of the diagram is the lack of sources greater than 1 Mpc in size. Because of doubts about the completeness of the sample in this region, we have made searches in the 6C 151MHz survey for sources having surface brightnesses lying between the two lines of slope 2 on the right of Fig.1. The numbers found to a limiting flux density of 1–2 Jy suggest that there is no serious underestimate of the numbers in the 166 source sample.