Recent progress in astrochemistry of low-mass protostellar sources is reviewed. In particular, we focus on disk formation processes and associated chemical changes at a 50 au scale, which is extensively being studied with ALMA. A small scale chemical differentiation sensitively reflects changes in physical conditions, and hence, it provides us with unique opportunities of chemical diagnostics of disk-forming regions. Complex physical and chemical pictures of disk formation revealed by observations are summarized, and future prospects are discussed.

All recent models of solar magnetic cycle behaviour assume that the Ω-effect stretches an existing poloidal magnetic field into a toroidal field using differential rotation (Featherstone and Miesch 2015). The α-effect recycles the toroidal field back to a poloidal field by convection and rotation and this is repeated throughout the cycle. Computer simulations based on that conceptual model still leave many questions unanswered. It has not resolved where the solar dynamo is located, what it is or what causes the differential rotation which it takes for granted. Does this paradigm need changing? The conceptual model presented here examines the sun in horizontal sections, analyses its internal structure, presents new characterizations for the solar wind and structures found and shows how their interaction creates rotation, differential rotation, the solar dynamo and the magnetic cycle.

International scientific institutions are preferred settings to explore prominent topics in the transnational approaches to the recent history of science. These include: the dichotomy between universalism and contextualism in the historical evolution of exact sciences; the historical transformation of the ideals of scientific internationalism; the tensions between these historically changing ideals and scientists’ national allegiances; the balance between scientific and diplomatic activities of such institutions; and the issue of how the complex ideological, socio-political roles these institutions play affected the actual evolution of science.

Inspired by these overreaching themes, the paper presents a conceptual framework for pursuing a comparative analysis of IAU and IUPAP. A bird’s-eye view of the parallel historical developments of these two unions shows that, in spite of their common origins in the highly politicized context of the post-WWI reconstruction of international cooperation, IAU and IUPAP followed diverging trajectories in many respects. It is argued that a deeper study of these differences might give important insights to properly understand the relevance of specific disciplines’ scientific needs in the way the ideals and practices of scientific internationalism were actualized through the 20th century.

Superposed epoch analysis (SPEA) is commonly used to determine some basic structure in a collection of geophysical time series. The present study tries to analyze ionospheric Joule heating response at high latitudes, to the prevailing solar wind and IMF conditions on the basis of SPEA. Major geomagnetic storms (CME driven) over three consecutive solar cycles (SC 22, 23 and 24) have been selected. Ascending phase, solar maximum, and declining phase are investigated separately, for each solar cycle, to find out crucial controlling parameters for the generation of high-latitude ionospheric Joule heating. SPEA results show that, IMF parameters such as IMF By, IMF Bz, IMF clock angle and solar wind parameters such as dynamic pressure and proton density influence Joule heating production rate significantly. Meanwhile, the relentlessness of the other parameters such as IMFBt and solar wind bulk speed show that they have poor impact on Joule heating.

We report progress on research relating to 36.2 GHz extragalactic class I methanol masers, including a review of published work and new observations at high angular resolution. These observations reveal that extragalactic class I masers are excited in shocked gas and maybe associated with starbursts, galactic-scale outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) feedback, or the inner-end region of the galactic bar. The current observational results suggests that extragalactic class I methanol masers provide a new probe for starbursts and feedback in active galaxies.

Molecular oxygen, O2, was recently detected in comet 67P by the ROSINA instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft with a surprisingly high abundance of 4% relative to H2O, making O2 the fourth most abundant in comet 67P. Other volatile species with similar volatility, such as molecular nitrogen N2, were also detected by Rosetta, but with much lower abundances and much weaker correlations with water. Here, we investigate the chemical and physical origin of O2 and other volatile species using the new constraints provided by Rosetta. We follow the chemical evolution during star formation with state-of-the-art astrochemical models applied to dynamical physical models by considering three origins: i) in dark clouds, ii) during forming protostellar disks, and iii) during luminosity outbursts in disks. The models presented here favour a dark cloud (or “primordial”) grain surface chemistry origin for volatile species in comets, albeit for dark clouds which are slightly warmer and denser than those usually considered as solar system progenitors.

In this short overview we summarize our knowledge of twenty five pulsars showing GPS characteristics. Especially, we will focus on two objects. The first is PSR B1800–21 - a Vela-like GPS pulsar with a variable spectrum. The second is PSR J1740+1000 - a pulsar that shows high frequency turnover based on our most recent observations using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope and the Green Bank Telescope.

The OCCASO survey targets intermediate-age and old OCs visible from the Northern hemisphere. OCCASO provides homogeneous radial velocities, atmospheric parameters, and individual abundances from high-resolution spectroscopy (R>65,000) of Red Clump stars. We present a first insight into the homogeneously analyzed chemical abundances obtained fror 18 Northern OCs from OCCASO data. Our sample includes an interesting inner disk OC, NGC 6705, analyzed in the literature with inconclusive results about its α abundances. From OCCASO data this is an α-enhanced OC from the analysis of Si, Ca, Ti, Mg and O, despite its young age.

The chemical evolution of a star- and planet-forming system begins in the prestellar phase and proceeds across the subsequent evolutionary phases. The chemical trail from cores to protoplanetary disks to planetary embryos can be studied by comparing distant young protostars and comets in our Solar System. One particularly chemically rich system that is thought to be analogous to our own is the low-mass IRAS 16293-2422. ALMA-PILS observations have made the study of chemistry on the disk scales (<100 AU) of this system possible. Under the assumption that comets are pristine tracers of the outer parts of the innate protosolar disk, it is possible to compare the composition of our infant Solar System to that of IRAS 16293-2422. The Rosetta mission has yielded a wealth of unique in situ measurements on comet 67P/C-G, making it the best probe to date. Herein, the initial comparisons in terms of the chemical composition and isotopic ratios are summarized. Much work is still to be carried out in the future as the analysis of both of these data sets is still ongoing.

Stars observed in the field of an open cluster are ideal for a controlled test of chemical tagging. Using chemical tagging, one should identify the cluster members, i.e., those stars of similar chemical composition, if their composition is indeed different from that of all the non-member stars of the field. Moreover, the abundance-based membership can be checked against membership based on radial velocities and proper motions. Here, I report preliminary results of such an experiment using data from the Gaia-ESO Survey. Although the three membership criteria usually agree, a few interesting examples of discrepant membership classification have been found. In addition, the mean composition of each open cluster was compared to a sample of 1 600 Gaia-ESO field stars. Some cases of field stars with abundances matching those of the open clusters were identified. This experiment suggests that open clusters do not necessarily have unique abundance patterns that set them apart from all other clusters.

Over the last decade or so, it has become clear that pulsars exhibit sudden and significant changes in their spin properties. At the same time, a better understanding of the geometry of young and older pulsars, is providing clues about the long-term evolution of the magnetic inclination angle. In this talk, we present a simple simulation of the pulsar population that takes into account current observational facts. We show how, with very few assumptions, the observed P-Ṗ diagram can be reproduced for a synthesized population. The implications are interesting and testable.

The Czech astronomer František Nušl (1867–1951) was professor of mathematics, practical astronomy and geometrical optics at Prague Charles University. His scientific contribution to astronomy consisted mainly of inventing and constructing of new astronomical and geodetical instruments. Together with his friend Josef Jan Frič, founder of the Ondřejov Observatory, he developed and improved the circumzenithal telescope (1899–1903–1906–1922–1932), a portable instrument with a mercury horizon for determining the geodetic position using the Gauss method of equal altitudes. This instrument won the gold medal at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris in 1937. Nušl, independently of Ernst Öpik, invented the wobbling mirror for determining the velocity of meteors by visual observation, and constructed an unique guiding system for the Ondrejov astrograph etc. The organizational activities of Frantisek Nušl were considerably rich, too: He was one of the founders of the Czech Astronomical Society in 1917, in the years 1922–1948 he served as its president. From 1918 until his retirement in 1937 he was the director of the Ondrejov Observatory, 40 km south of capital city of Prague, lectured astronomy at the Prague university and held many popular lectures including regular courses in radio broadcasting. František Nušl was member of several commisions of international scientific unions; he organized the 3rd General Assembly of IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) in Prague 1927, and in IAU (International Astronomical Union) he was elected as Vice-President in the years 1928–1935. One can conclude that he was the main person who formed the Czech astronomy in the interwar period.

Solar wind kinetic energy gets transferred into the Earth’s magnetosphere as a result of dynamo action between magnetosphere and solar wind. Energy is then dissipated among various dissipation channels in the MI system. In the present study, energetics of 59 intense geomagnetic storms are analyzed for the period between 1986 and 2015, which covers the three consecutive solar cycles SC 22, 23 and 24. The average solar wind energy impinging the MI system is estimated using Epsilon parameter, the coupling function. Moreover, the relative importance of different energy sinks in the MI system are quantified and is found that more than 60% of solar wind energy is dissipated in the form of ionospheric Joule heating.

The current solar wind is well studied from remote observations and in situ measurements. However, we have very little information of the solar wind as it has evolved. We investigate the evolution of the solar wind by modeling the winds of solar analogues. By using X-ray temperatures as proxies for wind temperatures, we find that a break in behaviour occurs. At 2 Gyr there is a sharp decline in coronal temperatures, which results in a steep decay in mass loss rates for older stars. As the wind is responsible for stellar spin down, through angular momentum loss due to magnetised winds, our results suggest a decline in angular momentum loss for older stars. This agrees with recent observations which find anomalously high rotation rates in older stars. We also find that this evolution in the wind has adverse effects on the Earth’s magnetosphere, with an Earth aged 100 Myr having a magnetosphere 3 Earth radii in size.

We have detected maser emission from the 36.2 GHz (4−1 → 30E) methanol transition towards NGC 4945. This emission has been observed in two separate epochs and is approximately five orders of magnitude more luminous than typical emission from this transition within our Galaxy. NGC 4945 is only the fourth extragalactic source observed hosting class I methanol maser emission. Extragalactic class I methanol masers do not appear to be simply highly-luminous variants of their galactic counterparts and instead appear to trace large-scale regions where low-velocity shocks are present in molecular gas.

After the foundation of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), it took nearly 32 years until Germany became a national member of the IAU. This unfortunate delay was due to both international politics and discussions within Germany (e.g. about the future role of the Astronomische Gesellschaft). The first Statutes of the IAU of 1919 excluded Germany, Austria and other countries from membership for political reasons. When the IAU Statutes were revised in 1931, Germany’s membership was possible, but could not be realized because of financial problems. In the mean time, German astronomers (as individuals) were often able to attend General Assemblies of the IAU as invited participants and to work in IAU Commissions as members. After World War II, Germany became a member of the IAU in 1951, Austria in 1955. In 1962, East Germany was accepted as an additional member. The reunification of Germany in 1990 clarified this situation. Member of the IAU is now one unified Germany.

Almost all stars in the Milky Way, including the Sun, will end their lives as white dwarfs. Their relatively peaceful transition off of the main sequence implies that most of their planetary systems will survive engulfment during the deaths of their host stars. These remnant planetary systems remain detectable for many Gyr through the occasional metal-contamination of the white dwarf photospheres by tidally disrupted planetesimals. Spectral analysis of these “metal-polluted” white dwarfs therefore provides a direct method for measuring the chemical compositions of extrasolar material. Here we present our sample of 230 cool white dwarfs with metal-rich photospheres, explore the diverse range of compositions of the accreted matter, and discuss two extreme systems which have respectively accreted planetesimals consistent with crust-like and core-like planetary material.

Our back-tracing code (GeoMagSphere) reconstructs the cosmic ray trajectories inside the Earth’s magnetosphere. GeoMagSphere gets the incoming directions of particles entering the magnetopause and disentangles primary from secondary particles (produced in atmosphere) or even particles trapped inside the Earth’s magnetic field. The separation of these particle families allows us to evaluate the geomagnetic rigidity cutoff. The model can be used considering the internal symmetric (IGRF-12) magnetic field only, or adding the asymmetric external one (Tsyganenko models: T89, T96 or TS05). A quantitative comparison among these models is presented for quiet (solar pressure Pdyn < 4 nPa) and disturbed (Pdyn > 4 nPa) periods of solar activity, as well as during solar events like flares, CMEs. In this analysis we focused our attention on magnetic field data in magnetosphere, from Cluster, and simulated cosmic rays for a generic detector on the ISS as for example AMS-02. We found that high solar activity periods, like a large fraction of the period covering years 2011-2015, are better described using IGRF+TS05 model. Results, i.e. the average vertical rigidity cutoff at the ISS orbit, are shown in geographic maps of 2° × 2° cells.

1E 161348-5055 (1E 1613), the source at the center of the supernova remnant RCW 103, has defied any easy classification since its discovery, owing to its long-term variability (a factor of ~ 100 in flux on time scales from months to years) and a periodicity of 6.67 hr with a variable light curve profile across different flux levels. On June 2016, 1E 1613 emitted a magnetar-like millisecond burst of hard X-rays accompanied with a factor ~ 100 brightening in the persistent soft X-ray emission. The duration and spectral decomposition of the burst, the discovery of a hard X-ray tail in the spectrum, and the long-term outburst history suggest that 1E 1613 is an isolated magnetar and the periodicity of 6.67 hr is the rotational spin period, making 1E 1613 the slowest neutron star ever detected.

The dwarf galaxies in the Local Group (LG) reveal a surprising amount of spatial structuring. In particular, almost all non-satellite dwarfs belong to one of two planes that show a very pronounced symmetry. In order to determine if these structures in the LG are dynamically stable or, alternatively, if they only represent transient alignments, proper motion measurements of these galaxies are required. A viable method to derive proper motions is offered by VLBI studies of 22-GHz water (and 6.7-GHz methanol) maser lines in star-forming regions.

In 2016, in the framework of the Early Science Program of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), we have conducted an extensive observational campaign to map the entire optical body of all the LG dwarf galaxies that belong to the two planes, at C and K band, in a search for methanol and water maser emission.

Here, we outline the project and present its first results on 3 targets, NGC 6822, IC 1613, and WLM. While no luminous maser emission has been detected in these galaxies, a number of interesting weaker detections has been obtained, associated with particularly active star forming regions. In addition, we have produced deep radio continuum maps for these galaxies, aimed at investigating their star forming activity and providing an improved assessment of star formation rates in these galaxies.