The XO project aims at detecting transiting exoplanets around bright stars from the ground using small telescopes. The original configuration of XO (McCullough et al. 2005) has been changed and extended as described here. The instrumental setup consists of three identical units located at different sites, each composed of two lenses equipped with

The OSIRIS‐REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission is the third mission in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s New Frontiers Program and is the first U.S. mission to return samples from an asteroid to Earth. The most important decision ahead of the OSIRIS‐REx team is the selection of a prime sample‐site on the surface of asteroid

This chapter reviews our current knowledge of metal-poor ultracool dwarfs with spectral types later than M7. The current census of M, L, and T subdwarfs is explored. The main color trends of subdwarfs from the optical to the mid-infrared are described and their spectral features presented, which led to a preliminary and tentative spectral

The impact of exoplanet science at the beginning of the twenty-first century is studied from two different approaches: the impact in astronomical science both by professionals and citizen scientists and through public outreach. The impact of exoplanetology on the scientific community as well as on the informed public is presented by several

The star 55 Cancri was one of the first known exoplanet hosts and each of the planets in this system is remarkable. Planets b and c are in a near 1:3 resonance. Planet d has a 14.5 year orbit, and is one of the longest known orbital periods for a gas giant planet. Planet e has a mass of 8 M? and transits this bright star, providing a unique case

ESPRESSO (Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations) is a VLT ultra-stable high-resolution spectrograph that will be installed in Paranal Observatory in Chile at the end of 2017 and offered to the community by 2018. The spectrograph will be located at the Combined Coudé Laboratory of the VLT and will be able to