The supergiant star Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse) is the only star other than the Sun to be spatially resolved either through direct imaging or through reconstruction of interferometric observations. Centimeter-radio wavelength, infrared and ultraviolet images reveal a few bright hot spots in the photosphere and chromosphere that possess characteristics different from sunspots. Large photospheric spots on Betelgeuse appear to result from convective motions, consistent with radiative hydrodynamic modeling; the chromospheric hot spots may be produced by shock waves in the chromosphere excited by the convective motions or pulsation in the photosphere. Bright chromospheric spots that cluster around the pole of Betelgeuse could be a natural result of shock breakout in a rotating star.

We present radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the collapse of massive pre-stellar cores. We treat frequency dependent radiative feedback from stellar evolution and accretion luminosity at a numerical resolution down to 1.27 AU. In the 2D approximation of axially symmetric simulations, it is possible for the first time to simulate the whole accretion phase of several 105 yr for the forming massive star and to perform a comprehensive scan of the parameter space. Our simulation series show evidently the necessity to incorporate the dust sublimation front to preserve the high shielding property of massive accretion disks. Our disk accretion models show a persistent high anisotropy of the corresponding thermal radiation field, yielding to the growth of the highest-mass stars ever formed in multi-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations. Non-axially symmetric effects are not necessary to sustain accretion. The radiation pressure launches a stable bipolar outflow, which grows in angle with time as presumed from observations. For an initial mass of the pre-stellar host core of 60, 120, 240, and 480⊙ the masses of the final stars formed in our simulations add up to 28.2, 56.5, 92.6, and at least 137.2⊙ respectively.

Scaling relations are salient ingredients of galaxy evolution and formation models. I summarize results from the IMAGES survey, which combines spatially-resolved kinematics from FLAMES/GIRAFFE with imaging from HST/ACS and other facilities. Specifically, I will focus on the evolution of the stellar mass and baryonic Tully-Fisher Relations (TFR) from z = 0.6 down to z = 0. We found a significant evolution in zero point and scatter of the stellar mass TFR compared to the local Universe. Combined with gas fractions derived by inverting the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation, we derived for the first time a baryonic TFR at high redshift. Conversely to the stellar mass TFR, the baryonic relation does not appear to evolve in zero point, which suggests that most of the reservoir of gas converted into stars over the past 6 Gyr was already gravitationally bound to galaxies at z = 0.6.

The relatively recent detections of the first three transiting super-Earths mark the beginning of a subfield within exoplanets that is both fruitful and challenging. The first step into characterizing these objects is to infer their composition given the degenerate character of the problem. The calculations show that Kepler-10b has a composition between an Earth-like and a Mercury-like (enriched in iron) composition. In contrast, GJ 1214b is too large to be solid, and has to have a volatile envelope. Lastly, while three of the four reported mass estimates of CoRoT-7b allow for a rocky composition, one forbids it and can only be reconciled with significant amounts of water vapor. In addition to these three transiting low-mass planets, there are now more than one thousand Kepler planets with only measured radius. Even without a mass measurement (“transiting-only”) it is still possible to place constraints on the amount of volatile content of the highly-irradiated planets, as their envelopes, if present, are flared. Using Kepler-9d as an example, we estimate its water vapor, or hydrogen and helium content to be less than 50% or 0.1% by mass respectively.

We present the effects of introducing results of 3D MHD simulations of buoyant magnetic fields in the solar convection zone in 2D mean-field Babcock-Leighton models. In particular, we take into account the time delay introduced by the rise time of the toroidal structures from the base of the convection zone to the solar surface. We find that the delays produce large temporal modulation of the cycle amplitude even when strong and thus rapidly rising flux tubes are considered. The study of a reduced model reveals that aperiodic modulations of the solar cycle appear after a sequence of period doubling bifurcations typical of non-linear systems. We also discuss the memory of such systems and the conclusions which may be drawn concerning the actual solar cycle variability.

We present preliminary results for our study of mutual phenomena of the Galilean satellites performed at radio wavelengths with the Medicina and Noto antennas of the Istituto di Radioastronomia - INAF, and with the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope of the Max-Planck-Institute for Radioastronomy, Bonn. Measurements of the radio flux density variation during the mutual occultations of Io by Europa and Ganymede were carried out during the PHEMU09 campaign at 22 GHz and 43 GHz. Flux density variations observed at radio wavelengths are consistent with the typical optical patterns measured when partial occultations occur.

Nowadays the interest for space weather and solar wind forecasting is increasing to become a main relevance problem especially for telecommunication industry, military, and for scientific research. At present the goal for weather forecasting reach the ultimate high ground of the cosmos where the environment can affect the technological instrumentation. Some interests then rise about the correct prediction of space events, like ionized turbulence in the ionosphere or impacts from the energetic particles in the Van Allen belts, then of the intensity and features of the solar wind and magnetospheric response. The problem of data prediction can be faced using hybrid computation methods so as wavelet decomposition and recurrent neural networks (RNNs). Wavelet analysis was used in order to reduce the data redundancies so obtaining representation which can express their intrinsic structure. The main advantage of the wavelet use is the ability to pack the energy of a signal, and in turn the relevant carried informations, in few significant uncoupled coefficients. Neural networks (NNs) are a promising technique to exploit the complexity of non-linear data correlation. To obtain a correct prediction of solar wind an RNN was designed starting on the data series. As reported in literature, because of the temporal memory of the data an Adaptative Amplitude Real Time Recurrent Learning algorithm was used for a full connected RNN with temporal delays. The inputs for the RNN were given by the set of coefficients coming from the biorthogonal wavelet decomposition of the solar wind velocity time series. The experimental data were collected during the NASA mission WIND. It is a spin stabilized spacecraft launched in 1994 in a halo orbit around the L1 point. The data are provided by the SWE, a subsystem of the main craft designed to measure the flux of thermal protons and positive ions.

The business meeting of Commission 45 was held on Friday, 7 August. It was attended by the Vice-President of the Commission (who chaired the meeting in the absence of the President) as well as nine other members of the Commission. Attendance was limited, as usual, by the unavoidable occurrence of parallel sessions.

We review the status of a long-term program to search for stellar magnetospheres in Bp stars. A few new σOri E analogues discovered during the course of this investigation are briefly discussed and other stars that may be worthy of further study are noted.

One of the most intriguing open questions of today's astrophysics is the jet physical properties and the location and the mechanisms for the production of MeV, GeV, and TeV gamma-rays in AGN jets. M87 is a privileged laboratory for a detailed study of the properties of jets, owing to its proximity, its massive black hole, and its conspicuous emission at radio wavelengths and above. We started on November 2009 a monitoring program with the e-EVN at 5 GHz. We present here results of these multi-epoch observations and discuss the two episodes of activity at energy E>100 GeV that occured in this period. One of these observations was obtained at the same day of the first high energy flare. We added to our results literature data obtained with the VLBI and VLA. A clear change in the proper motion velocity of HST-1 is present at the epoch ~2005.5. In the time range 1998 – 2005.5 the apparent velocity is subluminal, and superluminal (~2.7c) after 2005.5.

We conduct 3D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations in order to test the stability of the magnetic equilibrium configuration described by Duez & Mathis (2010). This analytically-derived configuration describes the lowest energy state for a given helicity in a stellar radiation zone. The necessity of taking into account the non force-free property of the large-scale, global field is here emphasized. We then show that this configuration is stable. It therefore provides a useful model to initialize the magnetic topology in upcoming MHD simulations and stellar evolution codes taking into account magneto-rotational transport processes.

By the beginning of 2010 the total number of natural satellites and multiple systems in the Solar System was equal to 350, including: 168 satellites of large planets, 119 multiple asteroids (including main-belt and near-Earth asteroids, Mars-crossers and Jupiter Trojan asteroids) and 63 multiple transneptunian and Kuiper-belt objects. Meanwhile, we cannot count precisely how many moons in total have been discovered to date due to the deficiency of accepted definitions.

The time evolution of protostellar disks in the embedded phase of star formation (EPSF) is reviewed based on numerical hydrodynamics simulations of the gravitational collapse of two cloud cores with distinct initial masses. Special emphasis is given to disk, stellar, and envelope masses and also mass accretion rates onto the star. It is shown that accretion is highly variable in the EPSF, in agreement with recent theoretical and observational expectations. Protostellar disks quickly accumulate mass upon formation and may reach a sizeable fraction of the envelope mass (~35%) by the end of the Class 0 phase. Systems with disk-to-star mass ratio ξ≈0.5 are common but systems with ξ≥1.0 are rare because the latter quickly evolve into binary or multiple systems. Embedded disks are characterized by radial pulsations, the amplitude of which increases with growing core mass.

GJ 1214b is one of the first discovered transiting planets having mass (6.55 M⊕) and radius (2.678 R⊕) smaller than Neptune. To account for its low average density (1870 kg m−3), GJ 1214b must have a significant gas component. We use interior structure models to constrain GJ 1214b's gas envelope mass, and to explore the conditions needed to achieve within the planet pressures and temperatures conducive to liquid water. We consider three possible origins for the gas layer: direct accretion of gas from the protoplanetary nebula, sublimation of ices, and outgassing from rocky material. Despite having an equilibrium temperature below 647 K (the critical temperature of water) GJ 1214b does not have liquid water under most conditions we consider. Even if the outer envelope is predominantly sublimated water ice, in our model a low intrinsic planet luminosity (less than 2 TW) is needed for the water envelope to pass through the liquid phase; at higher interior luminosities the outer envelope transitions from a vapor to a super-fluid then to a plasma at successively greater depths.

This paper discusses nonlinear dynamos where the nonlinearity arises directly via the Lorentz force in the Navier-Stokes equation, and leads to a situation where the Lorentz force and the velocity and the magnetic field are in direct competition over substantial regions of the flow domain. Filamentary and non-filamentary dynamos are contrasted, and the concept of Alfvénic dynamos with almost equal magnetic and kinetic energies is reviewed via examples. So far these remain in the category of toy models; the paper concludes with a discussion of whether similar dynamos are likely to exist in astrophysical objects, and whether they can model the solar cycle.

Strong and variable radiation detected over all accessible energy bands in blazar arises from a relativistic, Doppler-boosted jet pointing close to our line of sight. Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar 3C 279 was one of the brightest γ-ray blazars in the sky at the time of the discovery with EGRET. Since the successful launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space telescope in 2008, we have organized extensive multi-band observational campaign of 3C 279 from radio to γ-ray bands, also including optical polarimetric observations. The uninterrupted monitoring in the γ-ray band by Fermi-LAT together with the multi-band data provide us with new insights of the relativistic jet of blazar. Here, we present the results of the first-year multi-band campaign of 3C 279 including the discovery of a γ-ray flare event associated with a dramatic change of the optical polarization - as well as a discovery of an “orphan” X-ray flare, unassociated with prominent outbursts in other bands.

A time-latitude diagram where spotgroups are given proportional relevance to their area is presented. The diagram reveals that the spotted area distribution is higly dishomogeneous, most of it being concentrated in few, small portions (“knots”) of the Butterfly Diagram; because of this structure, the BD may be properly described as a cluster of knots. The description, assuming that spots scatter around the “spot mean latitude” steadily drifting equatorward, is challenged. Indeed, spots cluster around at as many latitudes as knots; a knot may appear at either lower or higher latitudes than previous ones, in a seemingly random way; accordingly, the spot mean latitude abruptly drifts equatorward or even poleward at any knot activation, in spite of any smoothing procedure. Preliminary analyses suggest that the activity splits, in any hemisphere, into two or more distinct “activity waves”, drifting equatorward at a rate higher than the spot zone as a whole.

The meeting of the Working Group on Active B Stars consisted of a business session followed by a scientific session containing nine talks. The titles of the talks and their presenters are listed below. We plan to publish a series of articles containing summaries of these talks in Issue No. 40 of the Be Star Newsletter. This report contains an account of the announcements made during the business session, an update on a forthcoming IAU Symposium on active B stars, a report on the status of the Be Star Newsletter, the results of the 2009 election of the SOC for the Working Group for 2009-12, a listing of the Working Group bylaws that were recently adopted, and a list of the scientific talks that we presented at the meeting.

Selection effects in the submillimeter/far-infrared inhibit detailed analysis of extreme starbursts in the early Universe. Submillimeter Galaxy (SMG) detection and characterization biases against warm temperature SEDs Tdust ~50 K, against the highest redshift ULIRGs z > 3, and has so far been limited to a small sample of ~100 sources that have reliably identified optical or radio counterparts and spectroscopic redshifts. Recent observations by Herschel ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ and ⋅ ⋅ ⋅⋅ ⋅ in the ~70–500 μm wavelength range provide a more complete census of high-z ULIRG activity than previous SMG surveys. However, source confusion and lack of spectroscopic identification of reliable counterparts limit the analysis of extreme ULIRGs to the most basic calculations, frought with a priori assumptions (e.g. Tdust/(1+z) degeneracy, far-IR/radio relation, confusion boosting factors, etc). Herein I address the biases on conclusions of SMG work and I demonstrate the need for thorough, spectroscopic follow-up of high-z ULIRGs in order to infer their physical conditions.

The studies about the Sun rise a strong interest regarding modifications caused by the solar activity on the Earth. For almost a century in literature was discussed the problem of forecasting and analysis of the space weather, which in his definition covers both the near-earth space and the biospheric affection due to the environmental interaction with the Sun. In particular in the last years increased the attention for magnetospheric response in conjunction with the technological infrastructure and the biosphere itself. This to prevent i.e. spacecraft failures or possible treats to human health. Since the main effect of the activity of the Sun is the solar wind, rises the aim to found a correlation between itself and the localized variations induced on the magnetosphere being the purpose to predict long-term variation of the magnetic field from solar wind time series. As recently proposed for solar wind forecasting, an hybrid approach will be here used than joining the wavelet analysis with the prediction capabilities of recurrent neural networks with an adaptive amplitude activation function algorithm in order to avoid the need to standardize or rescaling the input signal and to match the exact range of the activation function.