X-ray transients provide the best evidence for the existence of stellar-mass BHs, with 20 confirmed cases based on dynamical studies. However, these are only the tip of iceberg of an estimated population of a few thousand BH binaries, which slowly reveal themselves through secular X-ray outbursts. Therefore, new strategies aimed at unveiling this

A significant fraction of ultraluminous X-ray sources appear to be embedded in observable ionized nebulæ that take the form of large, several 100 pc diameter interstellar bubbles. Here we review optical observations of these bubbles, their importance for our understanding of the nature of ULXs, the energetics involved and their formation and

Recent observations with the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope display an active region prominence whose fine threads oscillate in the vertical direction as they move along a path parallel to the photosphere. A seismological analysis of this event is carried out by taking advantage of the small radius of these structures compared to the total length

We report on the spectroscopic transit of the massive hot-Jupiter CoRoT-Exo-2b observed with the high-precision spectrographs SOPHIE and HARPS. By modeling the radial velocity anomaly occurring during the transit due to the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect, we determine the sky-projected angle between the stellar spin and the planetary orbital axis

Context: The CoRoT mission, a pioneer in exoplanet searches from space, has completed its first 150 days of continuous observations of ~12 000 stars in the galactic plane. An analysis of the raw data identifies the most promising candidates and triggers the ground-based follow-up. Aims: We report on the discovery of the transiting planet CoRoT-Exo

Context: The pioneer space mission for photometric planet searches, CoRoT, steadily monitors about 12 000 stars in each of its fields of view. Transit candidates can be detected early in the processing of the data and before the end of a run of observation. Aims: We report the detection of the first planet discovered by CoRoT and characterizing it