We study the rotation rates and electric dipole emission of hydrogenated icosahedral fullerenes under the physical conditions of the dark cloud (DC) LDN 1622. The abundance of fullerenes is estimated by fitting theoretical photoabsorption spectra to the characteristics of the ultraviolet (UV) bump extinction in DCs. The UV bump appears to be well

We present the results of first spectropolarimetric observations made with the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) at the NSO/Dunn Solar Telescope. The use of narrowband imaging and post-facto reconstruction techniques allows for observations close to the diffraction limit of the vector magnetic field. We will show observations of the

We present high resolution optical spectroscopic observations of IRAS 09425-6040, a peculiar, extremely red, C-rich AGB star showing prominent O-rich dust features in its ISO infrared spectrum attributed to crystalline silicates. Our analysis shows that IRAS 09425-6040 is indeed a C-rich star slightly enriched in lithium ({log (Li/H) + 12} ˜ 0.7)

We are currently developing the calibration programme for GTC using techniques similar to the ones use for the space telescope calibration (Hammersley et al. 1998, A&AS, 128, 207; Cohen et al. 1999, AJ, 117, 1864). We are planning to produce a catalogue with calibration stars which are suitable for a 10-m telescope. These sources will be not

Using hydrodynamical simulations in a cosmological Λ-CDM model, we investigate the role played by mergers and interactions in the regulation of star formation (SF) activity and other internal properties of galaxies.

FRIDA has been conceived as the first science instrument for the adaptive optics system of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). It is designed to be installed at the Nasmyth A platform, behind the GTC adaptive optics system. FRIDA will be a diffraction limited, near infrared imager and integral field spectrograph sensitive from 0.9 to 2.5 μm. It may