A chemical evolution model of the Galaxy has been computed to reproduce the O/H gradients from Galactic HII regions. This model solves the C enrichment problem because it fits the C/H and C/O gradients and the C and O histories of the solar vicinity. The model is based on C yields dependent on metallicity (Z) owing to stellar winds. The C yields of

Simulation of encounters of disk galaxies (Barnes 2002, MNRAS, 333, 481) shows that the newly formed disks are often warped, many have rather complex kinematics, and roughly a quarter have counter-rotating or otherwise decoupled central components. Recent integral-field observations of the S0 galaxy NGC 7332 added to broad-band ground-based and

We report the results of a high temporal resolution spectroscopic monitoring of the flare star AD Leo. During 4 nights, more than 600 spectra were taken in the optical range using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and the Intermediate Dispersion Spectrograph (IDS). We observed a large number of short and weak flares occurring very frequently (flare

We will present first results from a recent study of circum-nuclear star formation in nearby spiral galaxies, undertaken with the SINFONI integral-field spectrograph on the VLT. The observations yield R 1500 spectra covering both H- and K-band for a contiguous (8 x 8) sqarcsec field of view. Emission line maps reveal in unprecedented detail the

The nearby brown dwarf LP 944-20 has been monitored for radial velocity variability at optical and near-infrared wavelengths using the VLT/UVES and the Keck/NIRSPEC, respectively. The UVES radial velocity data obtained over 14 nights spanning a baseline of 841 days show significant variability with an amplitude of 3.5 km s-1. The periodogram

Powerful radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars at high redshifts are frequently associated with extended emission-line regions (EELRs). Here we investigate the [O II] EELR around the quasar 3C 196 at z=0.871 using integral field spectroscopy. We also detect extended [Ne II] emission at a distance of about 30 kpc from the core. The emission is