We analyse the stellar content of almost 300deg^2 of the sky close to the Galactic plane by directly comparing the predictions of the SKY model (Cohen and Wainscoat et al.) with star counts taken from the Two Micron Galactic plane Survey (TMGS: Garzón et al.). Through these comparisons we can examine discrepancies between counts and model and

11 years of low degree helioseismic data collected by the IRIS++ network (International Research of the Interior of the Sun) have been analyzed. The epoch covered (mid-1989 to end-1999) spans the maximum and the falling phase of solar cycle 22 and the rising phase of the current solar cycle 23. Annual timeseries with an overlap of 6 months are used

Context. To understand the formation and evolution of galaxies, it is important to have a full comprehension of the role played by metallicity, star formation rate (SFR), morphology, and color. The interplay of these parameters at different redshifts will substantially affect the evolution of galaxies and, as a consequence, their evolution provides

The detection of spatially extended line emission in multiply imaged QSOs offers a new possibility to study the properties (kinematics and structure) of the ionized gas in the host galaxies of high-redshift QSOs. We have studied the arc of extended emission detected in Q2237+0305, finding that it arises from the core of the C III] λ1909 emission

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The requirements for excellent image quality of current large and future very large telescopes demand a proper knowledge of atmospheric turbulence. Thus several projects are already pursuing this aim. The precise characterization of the turbulence above a particular site requires long-term monitoring. In this sense, due to the lack of long-term