We describe the effects of environment on low-mass star formation, from the perspective that most stars in the galaxy form in dense clusters and aggregates in GMCs, often in the presence of massive OB stars. First, we discuss the observational evidence for circumstellar disks around stars of the Trapezium Cluster, and how they are affected by their environment. Second, we examine the more distant M 16, where photo-evaporation by OB stars may disrupt the star formation process, and may inhibit the development of circumstellar disks.

The Utrecht Hard Solar X-Ray Spectrometer on board the ESRO TD-1A satellite (launch March 1972) is permanently Sun-pointed and measures the solar radiation between 30 keV and 1000 keV, in 12 logarithmically spaced energy channels, with a continuous fine time resolution, viz. 1.2 s for the four lowest energy channels and 4.8 s for the rest. The detector has a 5 cm2 Cs I (Na) crystal; counts due to particles are rejected and even during the largest solar flares saturation effects (e.g. pulse pile-up) are absent. For further details see Van Beek (1973), and Van Beek and De Feiter (1973).

Stellar winds have been revealed in a large fraction of central stars of planetary nebulae from P Cygni profiles observed with the IUE satellite. The relevant lines are essentially the resonance lines NV λ 1240, Si IV λ 1397, CIV λ 1549 and the subordinate lines OIV∗ λ 1342, 0V∗ λ 1371, NIV∗ λ 1579. Edge velocities are of the order of 1000-3000 km s−1, similar to the case of population I O stars. Detailed determinations of the mass loss rate have been performed for NGC 6543, NGC 2371, IC 2149 and IC 3568 with values between 4.10−9 to 7. 10−7 Mo yr−1. The accuracy of these determinations is not well known. It is however clear from the variety of observed profiles in these and in several other objects that properties of the winds (ionization structure, etc.) varies considerably from object to object and that very likely the mass loss rate will span over a large interval. Some possible consequences of these winds are discussed.

We review our current knowledge on the IMF in nearby environments, massive star forming regions, super star clusters, starbursts and alike objects from studies of integrated light, and discuss the various techniques used to constrain the IMF. In most cases, including UV-optical studies of stellar features and optical-IR analysis of nebular emission, the data is found to be compatible with a ‘universal’ Salpeter-like IMF with a high upper mass cut-off over a large metallicity range. In contrast, near-IR observations of nuclear starbursts and LIRG show indications of a lower Mup and/or a steeper IMF slope, for which no alternate explanation has yet been found. Also, dynamical mass measurements of seven super star clusters provide so far no simple picture of the IMF. Finally, we present recent results of a direct stellar probe of the upper end of the IMF in metal-rich H ii regions, showing no deficiency of massive stars at high metallicity, and determining a lower limit of Mup ≳ 60 – 90 M⊙.

The similarities between linearized gravity and electromagnetism are known since the early days of General Relativity. Using an exact approach based on tidal tensors, we show that such analogy holds only on very special conditions and depends crucially on the reference frame. This places restrictions on the validity of the “gravito-electromagnetic” equations commonly found in literature.

I review radiative processes responsible for X-ray emission in the hard (low) and soft (high) spectral states of black-hole binaries. The main process in the hard state appears to be thermal Comptonization (in a hot plasma) of blackbody photons emitted by a cold disk. This is supported by correlations between the spectral index, the strength of Compton reflection, and the peak frequencies in the power-density spectrum, as well as by the frequency-dependence of Fourier-resolved spectra. Spectral variability may then be driven by the variable truncation radius of the disk. The soft state appears to correspond to the smallest truncation radii. However, the lack of high-energy cutoffs observed in the soft state implies that its main radiative process is Compton scattering of disk photons by nonthermal electrons. The bulk-motion Comptonization model for the soft state is shown to be ruled out by the data.

Rotation plays a major role in the evolution of massive stars. A revised grid of stellar evolutionary tracks accounting for rotation has recently been released by the Geneva group and implemented into the Starburst99 evolutionary synthesis code. Massive stars are predicted to be hotter and more luminous than previously thought, and the spectral energy distributions of young populations mirror this trend. The hydrogen ionizing continuum in particular increases by a factor of up to 3 in the presence of rotating massive stars. The effects of rotation generally increase towards shorter wavelengths and with decreasing metallicity. Revised relations between star-formation rates and monochromatic luminosities for the new stellar models are presented.

The observed frequency of passages of Earth-crossing long-period (LP) comets (P > 200 yr) is about three per year for comets brighter than absolute magnitude H10 ∼ 10.5. About one out of six LP comets is estimated to be new, i.e., making its first passage through the inner planetary region. The sample of observed LP comets shows an excess of retrograde orbits that may be accounted for by the shorter dynamical lifetimes of comets on direct orbits due to planetary perturbations. The original semimajor axes of new comets concentrate in the range 7 × 103 ≳ aorig ≳ 4 × 104 AU, which tells us about the region of the Oort cloud where forces other than planetary perturbations act with the greatest efficiency. Yet the distribution of original semimajor axes cannot tell us anything about the existence of a dense inner core of the Oort cloud. Besides planetary perturbations, passing stars, molecular clouds and the galactic tidal force also influence the dynamical evolution of Oort cloud comets. The observed distribution of the aphelion points of near-parabolic comets shows such a dependence on the galactic latitude. Molecular clouds and stars penetrating very deeply in the Oort cloud are found to give rise to major enhancements in the influx rate of new comets, known as comet showers, at average intervals of a few 107 yr.

An important issue to solve concerns how the frequency of comet passages varies with time, in particular as regards to the current level of comet appearances. Should we be passing through a highly intense phase, most aphelia of the incoming Oort comets would concentrate on the sky area where the strong perturber exerted its greatest effect. By contrast, the observed galactic latitude dependence of the aphelia suggests a dominant influence of the vertical galactic tidal force as compared with random strong perturbers. This seems to indicate that the frequency of comet passages is currently at, or near, its quiescent level. Whether intense comet showers are reflected in the impact cratering record is still a debatable issue. A periodicity of ∼ 26-30 Myr in the impact cratering rate is quite uncertain, owing to the small size of the sample of well-dated craters and the noise from background impact craters from asteroids.

The family of short-period (SP) comets (orbital periods P < 20 yr) has long been regarded as the dynamical end-state of new comets on low-inclination orbits captured by Jupiter. However, if SP comets came from a spherical population of comets (e.g., incoming new comets), we should expect to find a percentage of them on retrograde orbits, which contradicts the observations. An alternative hypothesis for the origin of most SP comets is that they come from a trans-Neptunian comet belt. Extensive searches aimed at detecting faint slow-moving objects are required to assess the size of the comet population in the outer planetary region. Modeling of the transfer rate of comets from an outer belt to SP orbits gives transient populations between Saturn and Neptune on the order of 106 – 107 bodies. This is roughly comparable to the upper limit set by the most recent searches of outer solar system bodies.

The impact crater production rate of comets, at the present time, can be estimated to be on the order of 10% of the value corresponding to asteroidal impacts. These estimates, however, are subject to large uncertainties in the brightness-mass relation of comets and crater scaling law. The Earth could have received about 2 × 1020 g of cometary material over the last 4 billion years — if the injection rate of new comets remained constant in the time interval. Within the context of H2O inventory, the cometary influx should have rather minor effects. On the other hand, because of the paucity of H2O content in the atmospheres of Venus and Mars, cometary impact could strongly modulate their water contents.

We present the results of the ICOMOS international symposium “Cultural Heritage of Astronomical Observatories (around 1900) – From Classical Astronomy to Modern Astrophysics” (Oct. 2008). The objective of the symposium was to discuss the relevance of modern observatories to the cultural heritage of humankind and to select partner observatories which, due to the date of their construction or to their architectural or scientific importance are comparable to Hamburg Observatory, as international cooperation partners for a serial trans-national application.

The first section discusses a recalibration of the luminosity–linewidth technique and its use in a determination of H0. The recalibration introduces (i) new cluster calibration data, (ii) new corrections for reddening as a function of inclination, and (iii) a new zero-point calibration using 13 galaxies with distances determined via the cepheid period–luminosity method. It is found that H0 = 82 ± 16 km s−1 Mpc−1 (95% confidence).

Asteroids, comets and interstellar dust are possible sources of the particles that constitute the dust in the inner solar system. Each of these components gives rise to particular, characteristic features, the amplitudes of which can be used to estimate the size of the associated source. The asteroidal component feeds the dust bands and the Earth's resonant ring, while the cometary component may account for the large scale height of the zodiacal cloud observed at 1 AU Previous discussions of the observed strengths of these various features indicated that the source of about one third of the thermal flux observed, for example, in the IRAS 25μm waveband is asteroidal, while two thirds is cometary. However, a variety of assumptions go into this calculation (the size-frequency distribution of the particles is particularly significant) and we now know that the result is highly dependent on these assumptions. The zodiacal cloud is also the source of the IDPs collected on Earth. Because of strong gravitational focusing by the Earth of particles in low e and I orbits, it is probable that the majority of IDPs originate from asteroids, particularly those asteroids in the Themis and Koronis families.

We summarise recent results from analysis of APOGEE/Gaia data for stellar populations in the Galactic halo, disk, and bulge, leading to constraints on the contribution of dwarf galaxies and globular clusters to the stellar content of the Milky Way halo. Intepretation of the extant data in light of cosmological numerical simulations suggests that the Milky Way has been subject to an unusually intense accretion history at z ≳ 1.5.

We analyzed data from PSMSL monthly mean sea level seeking correlations between sea level fluctuations and the solar and cosmic rays 11 year cycle. The data reveals decadal variability that could be causally connected to the solar and cosmic rays cycle, since these periodic changes are correlated. It is also found that the solar (cosmic rays) cycle correlates (anti-correlates) with the mean global surface temperature anomaly. A probable explanation of the above correlations is that the solar intensity and cosmic rays variations induce oscillations in the average temperature and precipitation, with corresponding changes in the continental water and snow accumulation. Thus, for instance, a higher than average snow and water over land, and lower temperatures produce oceans thermal contraction and lower mass, implicating lower mean sea level.

The detection of apparent faster-than-light motion (v=7.6c) in the core of 3C 179 poses some problems for the simple relativistic jet explanation.

Stellar chemical composition analyses can only yield reliable abundances if the atomic transition parameters are accurately determined. During the last couple of decades a renewed emphasis on laboratory spectroscopy has produced large sets of useful atomic transition probabilities for species of interest to stellar spectroscopists. In many cases the transition data are of such high quality that they play little part in the abundance uncertainties. We summarize the current state of atomic parameters, highlighting the areas of satisfactory progress and noting places, where further laboratory progress will be welcome.

Using phase-referenced multi-epoch Very Long Baseline Array observations, we have measured the trigonometric parallax of several young stars in the Taurus and Ophiuchus star-forming regions with unprecedented accuracy. The mean distance to the Taurus complex was found to be about 140 pc, and its depth around 20 pc, comparable to the linear extent of Taurus on the sky. In Ophiuchus, 4 sources have been observed so far. Two of them were found to be at about 160 pc (the distance traditionally attributed to Ophiuchus), while the other 2 are at about 120 pc. Since the entire Ophiuchus complex is only a few parsecs across, this difference is unlikely to reflect the depth of the region. Instead, we argue that two physically unrelated sites of star-formation are located along the line of sight toward Ophiuchus.

Indigenous, endogenous, traditional, or cultural astronomy focuses on the many ways that people and cultures interact with celestial bodies. In most parts of Africa, there is very little or no awareness about modern astronomy. However, like ancient people everywhere, Africans wondered at the sky and struggled to make sense of it. The African Cultural Astronomy Project aims to unearth the body of traditional knowledge of astronomy possessed by peoples of the different ethnic groups in Africa and to consider scientific interpretations when appropriate for cosmogonies and ancient astronomical practices. Regardless of scientific validity, every scientist can relate to the process of making observations and creating theoretical mechanisms for explaining what is observed. Through linking the traditional and the scientific, it is believed that this would be used to create awareness and interest in astronomy in most parts of Africa. This paper discusses the vision, challenges and prospects of the African Cultural Astronomy Project in her quest to popularize astronomy in Africa.

A series of VLBI observations of planet-orbiting spacecraft and angularly nearby quasars has provided an estimate of the relative orientation of the JPL VLBI reference frame and the ephemeris frame of the inner planets. We find the two frames to be coincident in both right ascension and declination to less than 20 milliarcseconds (mas).

The strengths of the longitudinal magnetic fields recorded at different depths of active regions with a double magnetograph of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory are compared.

The recordings of the magnetic fields were made in the lines Fe Iλ5250Å, Ca Iλ6103Å, Na I D1, BIIλ4554Å, Mg Iλ5184Å, Hα, Hγ, Hδ.

It is shown, that there is a close correlation between the longitudinal magnetic field at different levels.

In the first part of our communication, in a short summary of our recent results, it is demonstrated that over the last 15 years (the time interval for which the magnetic synoptic charts are available) the largest solar activity, usually connected with proton-flare occurrence, has been very closely related to a characteristic large-scale pattern in the magnetic field distribution with a life-time of the order of 8–10 solar rotations. These regular features are seen in the negative as well as in the positive polarity, although they can be seen better in the negative polarity where their forms are more pronounced, regardless of the activity cycle. The form alternates with the location in the northern or the southern solar hemispheres due to the mutual relations of both polarities, individual active regions, the influence of the differential rotations, the shift in longitude, etc. This pattern could be observed up to the large August 1972 proton-flare activity.

The large-scale magnetic patterns described are accompanied by characteristic large-scale features in the green (λ 5303) coronal emission, presented in the form of isophotes on the synoptic charts (reduced to a unified photometric scale).

In the second part of the presentation, preliminary results, concerning the correlation of the longitudinal distribution of the green coronal emission with the negative and the positive polarity fields for two time intervals (August 1960–September 1961 and January 1969–December 1969) are described. The existence of two ‘coronal active longitudes’ in both intervals, as well as the close relation of these longitudinal emission maxima to certain parts of the large-scale characteristic bodies of negative polarity, is discussed. Also, the existence of one heliographic longitude, connected with ‘coronal holes’ (minimal green corona emission), and its relation to the positive polarity large-scale pattern are proved.