We have obtained the best fit to the light profiles of a luminosity- limited sample of elliptical and S0 galaxies with a power law r^1/n^, letting the exponent remain free rather than keeping it fixed at 1/n = 1/4 as in the well-known de Vaucouleurs formula. The introduction of a free parameter in the fitting formula (ranging from n = 0.5 for (r_e_

We present new evidence against the universality of the de Vaucouleurs r^1/4^ law, considered to be the best empirical formula for fitting the light profiles of elliptical galaxies, through the analysis of the properties of the (D_n_/A_e_)-_e_ diagram for a volume-limited sample of early-type galaxies that are members of the Virgo and Fornax

The N2 index ([N II] λ6584/Hα) is used to determine emission line galaxy metallicities at all redshifts, including high redshift, where galaxies tend to be metal-poor. The initial aim of this work was to improve the calibrations used to infer oxygen abundance from N2 by employing updated low-metallicity galaxy databases. We compare N2 and the

{ We have studied high-resolution optical spectra of the peculiar B[e] star HD 45677 (FS CMa) observed during 3 nights in October 1995. The main results of our analysis can be summarized as follows: (1) The complex and variable profiles of Hβ indicate the presence of matter outflow. Three blue-shifted absorption components have been detected. (2)

Emission lines in the spectra of WC9 stars have been studied. It is shown that there are clear differences between the spectra of BD + 30 3639 and the central star of He2-99. It is argued that there are no systematic spectral differences between the WC9 CSPN and the Pop.I WC9 stars: both kinds of WC9 stars show a substantial and overlapping range