Does a merging event always precede AGN activity? In this starting PhD project, we will try to address this question by quantifying the distortions and interaction signatures that can be detected on a sample of AGN galaxies from the ACS-COSMOS survey. In order to do this, we will investigate and combine all the different available galaxy

We propose the ultimate survey of the distribution of stellar structure in the nearby universe using IRAC's 3.6 and 4.5 micron channels. Deep observations of the stellar mass distribution, down to 0.1 Msun per sq. pc for a sample of ~2,300 nearby (d

We derive the fundamental plane (FP) relation for a sample of 1430 early-type galaxies in the optical (r band) and the near-infrared (K band), by combining SDSS and UKIDSS data. With such a large, homogeneous data set, we are able to assess the dependence of the FP on the wave band. Our analysis indicates that the FP of luminous early-type galaxies

A general overview of the physical properties of the HII regions is presented here, emphasizing the various general models made to explain their structure and behaviour. The Lyman continuum effective extinction, representing a measure of the extinguished or lost fraction of the ionizing flux, is explained briefly, and the results of a study

We present observations of the magnetic landscape of the polar region of the Sun that are unprecedented in terms of spatial resolution, field of view, and polarimetric precision. They were carried out with the Solar Optical Telescope aboard Hinode. Using a Milne-Eddington inversion, we find many vertically oriented magnetic flux tubes with field

Context: Over the past decade there have been a series of results supporting the hypothesis of the existence of a long thin bar in the Milky Way with a half-length of 4.5 kpc and a position angle of around 45°. This is apparently a very different structure from the triaxial bulge of the Galaxy, which is thicker and shorter and dominates the star