We report on the discovery of a fourth component in the HD 221356 star system, previously known to be formed by an F8V, a slightly metal poor primary ([Fe/H] = -0.26), and a distant M8V+L3V pair. In our ongoing common proper motion search based on Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Hemisphere Survey (VHS) and Two Micron All

Despite over 35 years of constant satellite-based measurements of cloud, reliable evidence of a long-hypothesized link between changes in solar activity and Earth’s cloud cover remains elusive. This work examines evidence of a cosmic ray cloud link from a range of sources, including satellite-based cloud measurements and long-term ground-based

In this thesis we study the effect that minor mergers have on the evolution of galaxies. We focus on three topics: the size evolution of massive elliptical galaxies, metallicity gradients in elliptical galaxies, and the formation of the thick disc. To study if, in a ¿CDM universe, cosmological dry merger histories can generate the observed size

Aims: We analyze a set of full Stokes profile observations of the flaring active region NOAA 10808. The region was recorded with the Vector-Spectromagnetograph of the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun facility. The active region produced several successive X-class flares between 19:00 UT and 24:00 UT on September 13, 2005 and we

Aims: We present basic atmospheric parameters (Teff, log g, vt, and [Fe/H]) as well as luminosities, masses, radii, and absolute radial velocities for 348 stars, presumably giants, from the ~1000 star sample observed within the Penn State-Toruń Centre for Astronomy Planet Search with the High Resolution Spectrograph of the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly

Aims: The association of Type Ic supernovae (SNe) with long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is well established. We endeavor, through accurate ground-based observational campaigns, to characterize these SNe at increasingly high redshifts. Methods: We obtained a series of optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the Type Ic SN 2012bz