In order to address the "cosmic downsizing problem," or the underpopulation of highly massive quasars in the current epoch, we are exploring a correlation between the pitch angle of a galaxy's spiral arms and the mass of its central supermassive black hole (SMBH). The goal is to generate a census of SMBH masses using only photographic images. This

The metallicities implied by collisionally excited lines (CELs) of heavy elements in H II regions are systematically lower than those implied by recombination lines (RLs) by factors of ~2, introducing uncertainties of the same order in the metallicities inferred for the interstellar medium of any star-forming galaxy. Most explanations of this

A global network of small automated telescopes, the Taiwan Automated Telescope (TAT) network, dedicated to photometric measurements of stellar pulsations, is under construction. Two telescopes have been installed in Teide Observatory, Tenerife, Spain and Maidanak Observatory, Uzbekistan. The third telescope will be installed at Mauna Loa

The origin of supersonic infrared and radio recombination nebular lines often detected in young and massive superstar clusters is discussed. We suggest that these arise from a collection of repressurizing shocks (RSs), acting effectively to re-establish pressure balance within the cluster volume and from the cluster wind which leads to an even

We summarize our results based on observations with the NIRI camera on the Gemini North telescope of three Hii galaxies (Mrk 36, UM 408 and UM 461), obtained to identify and determine the ages and masses of the elementary components (the star cluster population) of the starburst regions in compact Hii galaxies. Our preliminary results indicate that

Super star clusters (SSCs) are young massive objects typically observed in starburst galaxies. They consist of millions of stars occupying volumes only several parsecs across. Recent infrared observations of SSCs reveal strong emission lines with moderately supersonic widths (FWHM ~ 50 - 100 km s-1). An additional, much broader and weaker line