The state and discovery rate of current NEO surveys reflect incremental improvements in a number of areas, such as detector size and sensitivity, computing capacity, detection software efficiency and availability of larger telescope apertures. The result has been an increase in the NEO discovery rate. There are currently eight telescopes ranging in size from 0.5-1.5 meters carrying out full-or part-time systematic surveying in both hemispheres. The sky is covered 1-2 times per lunation to V1~9, with a band near the ecliptic to V2~0.5. We review the current survey programs and their contributions towards the Spaceguard goal of discovering at least 90% of the NEOs larger than 1 km.

We show that the available constraints relating to 6LiBeB Galactic evolution can be accounted for by the so-called superbubble model, according to which particles are efficiently accelerated inside superbubbles out of a mixture of supernova ejecta and ambient interstellar medium. The corresponding energy spectrum is required to be flat at low energy (in E−1 below 500 MeV/n, say), as expected from Bykov's acceleration mechanism. The only free parameter is also found to have the value expected from standard SB dynamical evolution models. Our model predicts a slope 1 (primary) and a slope 2 (secondary) behaviour at respectively low and high metallicity, with all intermediate slopes achieved in the transition region, between 10−2 and 10−1Z⊙.

We present the results of a spectroscopic study of planetary nebulae (PN) in the Magellanic Clouds. The optical survey of He, N, O, and Ne abundances by Monk et al. (1988) has been updated by higher S/N AAT optical data. In addition, carbon and other elemental abundances have been derived from the IUE spectra of 38 PN. Ionized nebular masses have been derived for 80 PN. The ionised mass versus nebular electron density plot shows that planetary nebulae become optically thin when their electron densities drop below 4500 cm--3. Below this density, the mean nebular hydrogen mass found for non-Type I PN is 0.22±0.08 M⊙. Using Zanstra and energy-balance methods, the mean central star mass found for 14 SMC and LMC PN is 0.59±0.02 M⊙.

Crystallization of silicate has been investigated within the framework of dust formation in steady state gas outflows around oxygen–rich AGB stars, where silicates are locked not only into homogeneous silicate grains but also into the mantles of heterogeneous grains. Based on the thermal history of dust grains after their formation, the crystallization calculation results in no crystalline silicate for the mass loss rate Ṁ ≤ 2 × 10−5M⊙ yr−1. Only silicate in the mantles of heterogeneous grains can be crystallized for Ṁ ≥ 3 × 10−5M⊙ yr−1, while homogeneous silicate grains remain amorphous. The mass fraction of crystalline silicate increases with increasing Ṁ. The radiation transfer calculations confirm the appearance of an emission feature around 33.5 μm, taking olivine as a representative of crystalline silicates. On the other hand, the 10μm feature appears in absorption, being dominated by homogeneous silicate grains. These trends are consistent with the observations. Thus the crystalline silicate is a diagnostics of high mass loss rate at the late stage of AGB stellar evolution, reflecting the formation process of dust grains.

The evidence that pulsars accelerate relativistic particles is reviewed, with emphasis on the γ-ray observations. The current state of knowledge of acceleration in strong waves is summarized, with emphasis on the inability of consistent theories to accelerate very high energy particles without converting too much energy into high energy photons. The state of viable models for pair creation by pulsars is summarized, with the conclusion that pulsars very likely lose rotational energy in winds instead of in superluminous strong waves. The relation of the pair creation models to γ-ray observations and to soft X-ray observations of pulsars is outlined, with the conclusion that energetically viable models may exist, but none have yet yielded useful agreement with the extant data. Some paths for overcoming present problems are discussed.

Under nebular conditions it is expected that the [CaII] lines at 7291.470 and 7323.880 Å should be among the strongest emission lines in the red part of the optical spectrum unless the nebula is matter bounded. The lines are observed in novae, supernovae and some symbiotic systems but the only observation of these lines in planetary nebulae (PN) is for AFGL 618 where the lines are thought to be shock-excited. While higher ionization states of Ca do produce some lines observed in a few high-excitation PN, from which gas-phase Ca abundances averaging to about 5% of solar are found, the CaII lines are not observed even in PN with massive neutral envelopes such as NGC 7027. If the Ca is depleted onto dust grains it would explain the absence of the CaII lines. However it is thought that the dust is destroyed with time in the ionized region. Any observation of the CaII lines would produce better abundance estimates and would test the extent of dust destruction that is taking place in the outer parts of the PN.

Evidence for the existence of 5 min oscillations in the photospheric and low chromospheric magnetic fields is presented, their properties discussed, and a possible production mechanism suggested.

The participants in the project are:

1. – USSR, by developing the Granat spacecraft (Scientific and Production Association S.A. Lavochkin, G.N. Babakin Research Center) and the instruments in the scientific equipment packages

2. – ART-P, ART-S, KONUS-V, ‘Podsolnukh’ (Sunflower), KS-18M (IKI of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nuclear Physics Science and Research Institute of the Moscow State University);

3. – France (CNES), by developing and delivering the gamma ray telescope SIGMA, the high energy spectrometer Phoebus, a memory device with 128 Mbit capacity, and a system for determining the current orientation of the telescope (star sensor);

4. – Denmark (Danish Institute for Space Research), by developing the wide-angle X-Ray telescope VOTCh;

5. – Bulgaria (TsLKI Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), by developing and delivering certain control instruments for the ‘Podsolnukh’ apparatus.

We discuss observations of the intense, time variable and very narrow 0.511 MeV positron-electron annihilation line from the Galactic Center, and the implications of these and other observations on the source of the positrons and their annihilation site.

We have observed a broad range of post-main-sequence, type I and irregular nebulae using the intermediate dispersion spectrograph of the Isaac Newton Telescope (La Palma, Spain). Many of these show evidence for high velocity mass outflow, and in particular we find: (i) High velocity (∼ 500 km s−1), and appreciable mass loss outflows within ≅ 10 arcsecs of M2-9 and SH 2-71; (ii) Substantial shell expansion velocities in NGC 7026 (∼ 102 km s−1) with evidence for an appreciable driving wind at the central star, velocity ≅ 103 km s−1; (iii) Jet outflows extending over a range 260 km s−1 in Hb 5, with a distinctly tilted line structure suggestive of shock compression at the edges of an outflow cavity; and finally (iv) similarly strong winds (2 × 10 km s−1) from each member of a WC binary in the nucleus of NGC 6905. The binary separation is approximately 3.6 arcseconds, and the core is further enveloped by two, apparently co-spatial shells, expansion velocity 90 km s−1, and separation ΔV ≅ 130 km s−1. The [N II] emission for the shells is extraordinarily weak, although ansae located outside of the shells, and perpendicular to the binary major axis, possess I([N II]λ6584) > I(HIλ6563). We propose that the two shells were ejected at differing phases of binary evolution.

The frequency distribution f(a) of semimajor axes of double and multiple systems, and their eccentricities and mass ratios, contain valuable fossil information about the process of star formation and the dynamical history of the systems. In order to advance in the understanding of these questions, we made an extensive analysis of the frequency distribution f(a) for wide binaries (a > 25 AU) in various published catalogues, as well as in our own (Poveda et al 1994; Allen et al 2000; (Poveda & Hernández–Alcántara 2003). Based upon all these studies we have established that the frequency distribution f(a) is a function of the age of the system and follows Öpik's distribution f(a) ∼ 1/a in the range of 100 AU < a < ac(t), where ac (t) are the critical semimajor axes beyond which binaries have been dissociated by encounters with massive objects. We argue that the physics behind the distribution f(a) ∼ 1/a is a process of energy relaxation, analogous to those present in stellar clusters (secular relaxation) or in the early stages of spherical galaxies (violent relaxation). The existence of runaway stars indicates that both types of relaxation are important in the process of binary and multiple star dynamical evolution.

The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) Rapid Service/Prediction Center (RS/PC) produces daily and weekly EOP combination and prediction solutions. The daily solutions are produced after 1700 UTC while the weekly EOP solutions are produced Thursday after 1700 UTC. These solutions include data from Atmospheric Angular Momentum (AAM) analysis and forecasts, Global Positioning System (GPS) solutions, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) solutions, and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) solutions. The solutions are sent to roughly 700 people by e-mail per week and are picked up in roughly 40000 ftp downloads per month.

A preliminary account is presented of some characteristics of Fast Fine Structure, that is fine structure with time scales in the milli second range, and of the flare events in which they appear. Fast Fine Structure is found to be a fairly common phenomenon that could, but not necessarily does, appear in flare events of any importance occurring at any longitude. It may occur with any type of microwave burst (except most likely “Rise” and “Fall”). It appears more often in the more important events and it may last for only a few seconds up to many minutes. Fast Fine Structure may have any degree of circular polarization, apparently independent of its longitude position.

By investigating ten typical magnetic clouds (MCs) associated with large geomagnetic storms (Dst $\leq-100$ nT) from 2000 to 2003, the geoeffectiveness of MCs with various orientations is addressed. It is found that the Dst peak values during the geomagnetic storms are well estimated by applying flux rope model to these magnetic clouds. A high correlation between estimated and observed Dst values is obtained. Moreover, the effect of orientations of MCs on intensities of geomagnetic storms is studied. It is found that the favorable orientations of MCs are approximately at $\theta\sim70^{\circ}$ and $\phi\sim40^{\circ}$ in GSE coordinates to cause large geomagnetic storms. Further, by analyzing solar observations of four associated erupted filaments, the question who determine the orientations of MCs is studied. The likelihood of predicting the intensities of a geomagnetic storms several tens hours before their occurrences is also discussed.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The HEOS 2 satellite was launched into a highly eccentric orbit around the earth on January 31, 1972 and re-entered the earth’s atmosphere after a successful mission on August 2, 1974. Due to the orbit (apogee: 240 000 km, perigee: 300 – 5000 km) the satellite spent most of the time in the interplanetary region where the influence of the earth’s gravitation field is negligible with regard to its effect on interplanetary dust particles.

We review recent advances and ongoing work in evolving the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) beyond an object reference database into a data mining discovery engine. Updates to the infrastructure and data integration techniques are enabling more than a 10-fold expansion; NED will soon contain over a billion objects with their fundamental attributes fused across the spectrum via cross-identifications among the largest sky surveys (e.g., GALEX, SDSS, 2MASS, AllWISE, EMU), and over 100,000 smaller but scientifically important catalogs and journal articles. The recent discovery of super-luminous spiral galaxies exemplifies the opportunities for data mining and science discovery directly from NED’s rich data synthesis. Enhancements to the user interface, including new APIs, VO protocols, and queries involving derived physical quantities, are opening new pathways for panchromatic studies of large galaxy samples. Examples are shown of graphics characterizing the content of NED, as well as initial steps in exploring the database via interactive statistical visualizations.

If we investigate the interrelations among different classes of small solar system bodies, we must be aware that we deal with nonrepresentative and practically noncomparable data samples consisting of bodies differing either in size, or in orbits, or in their nature. So, practically, all our knowledge about small bodies - from kilometer-sized Apollo asteroids (including Atens) and Amor asteroids (designated below as AA bodies) to fine dust particles - refer to bodies on orbits intersecting the ecliptic plane at a heliocentric distance ≃ 1 A.U. To solve the problem of origin of this ensemble it would be advantageous if analogous data could be obtained at least for one more heliocentric distance. Since planetary atmospheres are excellent detectors for small cosmic objects, the necessary data could be obtained with the aid of artificial satellites orbiting a planet, e.g. Mars or Venus. Thus the source for the ensemble of Earth-crossing objects may not be correctly pictured. Are comets or asteroids the general supplier? We know the answer to this question only in two cases: (1) meteor streams such as the Leonids originate from comets, (2) meteorites originate from asteroids. But these two categories represent a minute part of the considered ensemble by mass. As to its other members- the selection of the source is a matter of tradition rather than a logic conclusion.

With the rapid development of telescopes, both temporal cadence and the spatial resolution of observations are increasing. This in turn generates vast amount of data, which can be efficiently searched only with automated detections in order to derive the features of interest in the observations. A number of automated detection methods and algorithms have been developed for solar activities, based on the image processing and machine learning techniques. In this paper, after briefly reviewing some automated detection methods, we describe our efficient and versatile automated detection method for solar filaments. It is able not only to recognize filaments, determine the features such as the position, area, spine, and other relevant parameters, but also to trace the daily evolution of the filaments. It is applied to process the full disk Hα data observed in nearly three solar cycles, and some statistic results are presented.

Radio synchrotron emission, its polarization and its Faraday rotation are powerful tools to study the strength and structure of interstellar magnetic fields. The total intensity traces the strength and distribution of total magnetic fields. Total fields in gas-rich spiral arms and bars of nearby galaxies have strengths of 20–30 μGauss, due to the amplification of turbulent fields, and are dynamically important. In the Milky Way, the total field strength is about 6 μG near the Sun and several 100 μG in filaments near the Galactic Center. – The polarized intensity measures ordered fields with a preferred orientation, which can be regular or anisotropic fields. Ordered fields with spiral structure exist in grand-design, barred, flocculent and even in irregular galaxies. The strongest ordered fields are found in interarm regions, sometimes forming “magnetic spiral arms” between the optical arms. Halo fields are X-shaped, probably due to outflows. – The Faraday rotation of the polarization vectors traces coherent regular fields which have a preferred direction. In some galaxies Faraday rotation reveals large-scale patterns which are signatures of dynamo fields. However, in most galaxies the field has a complicated structure and interacts with local gas flows. In the Milky Way, diffuse polarized radio emission and Faraday rotation of the polarized emission from pulsars and background sources show many small-scale and large-scale magnetic features, but the overall field structure in our Galaxy is still under debate.

The observational status of superluminal radio sources is reviewed, and the results for one well-studied source (3C 345) are discussed in detail. We discuss the relativistic-beam model of superluminal sources, and concentrate on one aspect, namely the geometric constraints provided by combined X-ray and proper-motion measurements.