We present results on low-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) spectra of 70 IR-luminous galaxies obtained with the infrared spectrograph (IRS) onboard Spitzer. We selected sources from the European Large Area Infrared Survey with S15 > 0.8 mJy and photometric or spectroscopic z > 1. About half of the samples are quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) in the

We present an adaptation of the rotation-corrected, m-averaged spectrum technique designed to observe low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), low-frequency solar p-modes. The frequency shift of each of the 2l + 1 m spectra of a given (n, l) multiplet is chosen that maximizes the likelihood of the m-averaged spectrum. A high S/N can result from combining

High-resolution spectra of 123 red giant stars in the globular cluster M13 and 64 red giant stars in M92 were obtained with Hectochelle at the MMT telescope. Emission and line asymmetries in Hα and Ca II K are identified, characterizing motions in the extended atmospheres and seeking differences attributable to metallicity in these clusters and M15

These are introductory notes to the field of loop quantum gravity based on the lectures presented at the XIII Brazilian School of Cosmology and Gravitation, Rio de Janeiro, July 2008.

Results of observations of the Galactic bulge X-ray source GX 9+9 by the All-Sky Monitor (ASM) and Proportional Counter Array (PCA) onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer are presented. The ASM results show that the 4.19 hr X-ray periodicity first reported by Hertz and Wood in 1987 was weak or not detected for most of the mission prior to late

The AGILE gamma-ray burst GRB 080514B was the first detected to have emission at energies above 30 MeV and an optical/NIR afterglow. Here we summarize the main results of our observing campaign based on optical/NIR follow-up observations of this event at several observatories, including the multi-channel imager GROND on La Silla and Swift UVOT. The