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

We present two geometrical methods to analyse the cosmic microwave background data along a strip in the sky. These methods are motivated by the fact that the temperature fluctuation field, on large angular scales, is not ergodic on the cosmic photosphere. This property is examined in the context of different experimental configurations. The methods

We present a procedure for obtaining the mean density of clusters and their associated structures in a very general type of distribution. We first consider the one-dimensional case, and then use it to develop the procedure according to the d-dimensional case. These procedures require the probability that a randomly placed body should contain no

The distance of the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy is discussed in the light of new, deep photometry of the resolved stars taken in the bands V, R, and I of the Johnson-Cousins system. The tip of the red giant branch is identified beyond doubt. From its position, a distance modulus of (m - M)0 = 24.9 +/- 0.1 is derived, in disagreement with the

The polarization spectrum of OJ287 was obtained during the 1993/94 observing campaign within the OJ-94 International Collaboration. Data were taken on December 17-18-19/1993, an on Januarty 11-12/1994. Between both periods of observations, OJ287 showed minor flare activity, where brightness raised from V=15.75 to V=15.25, and the polarization

We combine a number of powerful mathematical techniques to produce an effective method for treating multidimensional radiative transfer problems in complex atomic models without assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The approach is so efficient that multilevel two-dimensional (2D) modeling can now be performed with no more than a