We present the results of an investigation of a large sample of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), their kinematic and stellar population properties and the relationships between these and the properties of the host clusters. We have obtained high signal-to-noise, long-slit spectra of 49 BCGs in the nearby Universe with the Gemini and WHT

A full understanding of the physical properties of integrated stellar systems demands a multiwavelength approach since each spectral window shows us the contribution of different types of stars. However, most of the observational effort in stellar population studies has been focused on the optical range. Now, the new generation of instruments allow

Context. NGC 404 is a nearly face-on, nearby low-luminosity lenticular galaxy. Probing its characteristics provides a wealth of information on the details of the possible evolution processes of dS0 galaxies, which may not be possible in other, more distant objects. Aims: We study the internal kinematics and the spatial distribution of the star

As GX 339-4 has started to leave the Low/Hard State (ATel #2545), we triggered the 2nd part of our INTEGRAL campaign on GX 339-4 in the declining phase of the hard X-ray band, as well as contemporaneous Swift observations. The source was observed by INTEGRAL for 158 ks between April 15 (01:57 UTC) and 17 (01:04 UTC), while Swift observed it four

In this paper, we present VLT/SINFONI integral field spectroscopy of RCW 34 along with Spitzer/IRAC photometry of the surroundings. RCW 34 consists of three different regions. A large bubble has been detected in the IRAC images in which a cluster of intermediate- and low-mass class II objects is found. At the northern edge of this bubble, an H II

The detection of the transiting extrasolar planet CoRoT-9b has just been reported (Deeg et al. 2010). With a semi-major axis of 0.41 astronomical unit on a quasi-circular orbit, this is the first transiting planet far enough from its parent star to have an extended Hill sphere (3.5 million kilometers in radius), as needed to form and sustain rings