Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and ground-based [O II] and [N II] images obtained in the period 1996-1999 reveal a complex, ionized optical nebula around the symbiotic binary CH Cyg extending out to 18" or 5000 AU from the central stars. The observed velocity range of the nebula, derived from long-slit echelle spectra, is 130 km s-1. In spite of its

Radial velocities of 40 intracluster planetary nebulae (ICPNs) in the Virgo Cluster were obtained with the new multifiber FLAMES spectrograph on UT2 at the Very Large Telescope. For the first time, the λ4959 line of the [O III] doublet is seen in a large fraction (50%) of ICPNs spectra, and a large fraction of the photometric candidates with m(5007

Context. The VISTA Variable Survey (VVV) is able to map the Galaxy at l ≤ 0° with an unpaired depth (at least 3 mag deeper than 2MASS), opening new possibilities for studying the inner structure of the Milky Way. Aims: In this paper we concentrate on the exploitation of these data to better understand the spatial disposition and distribution of the

We report the results of a CCD investigation of stars in a selected region near the center of the intermediate age galactic cluster NGC 7789. A CM diagram is presented for a sample of 1122 stars, which should be complete down to V=20. On the ground of recent theoretical evolutionary models, simulations of both the colour-magnitude diagram and the

The origin of the gas in between the Magellanic Clouds (MCs), known as the Magellanic Bridge, has always been the subject of controversy. To shed light into this, we present the results from the MAGellanic Inter-Cloud II (MAGIC II) project aimed at probing the stellar populations in 10 large fields located perpendicular to the main ridge-line of H

Context. The O6 Vn star HD 64315 is believed to belong to the star-forming region known as NGC 2467, but previous distance estimates do not support this association. Moreover, it has been identified as a spectroscopic binary, but existing data support contradictory values for its orbital period. Aims: We explore the multiple nature of this star