We are conducting a study on the energetics and dynamical evolution of the final stages of intermediate and massive stars. Our project includes the study of the ionization structure of the haloes of MSPNe and WRNe, and the detection of a possible shock-heated gas component. We present here the set of observations so far obtained, and preliminary

The DIMM is a widely accepted and often used instrument for seeing measurements. Nevertheless, its incorrect use may give rise to errors in seeing values. A detailed analysis of the parameters involved in the seeing calculation is being undertaken and the effect of saturation of the spots in particular is analyzed in this contribution. Our results

Site selection is, no doubt, one of the most important preliminary studies in any telescope project since the image quality of the telescope will be limited by the site quality. Traditionally, geotechnical studies have had relatively little importance, normally being carried out once the site was already selected. However, with the increase of the

The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is, being assembled at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) in the island of La Palma. First light is expected for early 2005 with the first science observations late in 2005. The GTC, being a segmented primary mirror telescope, could be employed for testing several technological aspects relevant to

An overview is given of the type I X-ray burst properties of the transient KS 1731-260. These characteristics appear to be proto-typical for all type I X-ray bursters, and stable helium burning occuring at high mass accretion rates could explain them.

We present new observations of the field surrounding the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7603, where four galaxies with different redshifts - NGC 7603 (z=0.029), NGC 7603B (z=0.057) and two fainter emission line galaxies (z=0.245 and z=0.394) - are apparently connected by a narrow filament, leading to a possible case of anomalous redshift. The observations