We present new tools for improving our abilities for disentangling relevant stellar population parameters in early-type galaxies. To develop these tools we use stellar population synthesis models predicting spectra for old and intermediate-aged stellar populations at moderately high resolution. We propose new indices to lift the age/metallicity

We present 45 photoelectric minima observations of 20 eclipsing binaries.

We summarise the current status of our project to identify and study z ˜ 6-10 galaxies thanks to strong gravitational lensing. Building on the detailed work from tet{sch:richard06}, we present results from new follow-up observations (imaging) undertaken with ACS/HST and the Spitzer Space Telescope and compare our results with findings from the

Narrow-band H-alpha images and long-slit spectroscopy of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 985 are presented. Large-scale extended ionized zones are seen to cover a significant fraction of the ring of this object. These ionized zones are responsible for a considerable fraction (greater than 35 percent) of the far-infrared emission of NGC 985. These ionized

The first results of HST NICMOS observations of BL Lacertae objects are presented. Selected target, observed through the F160W filter, are from the HST "snapshot" survey of BL Lacs (Urry, Scarpa et al. 1999), span redshifts up to z=0.6. Observations provide reliable color information for the host galaxy, which in all cases is fully resolved. The

We have obtained HST WFPC2 and NICMOS observations in the nuclear region of the closest powerful active galaxy known, NGC 5128 (Centaurus A). Narrow band imaging in the Paalpha line shows an elongated structure around the nucleus which we interpret as a disk of ionized gas, with a 15 pc radius. The disk does not appear to be perpendicular to the