We report recent observational results of some ULXs collected with the 8.2m Subaru and with the ESO VLT telescopes. These observations have provided important information on the (inter-) stellar environments and have allowed to detect the optical counterparts of several ULXs. In two cases spectroscopic observations show stellar HeIIλ4686 optical

We present high-resolution spectral observations, covering the entire optical region (3800-9000 Å), of a solar flare observed during a multi-wavelength campaign. The flare, recorded on 2002 January 11, was a medium solar flare event (GOES class C7.5). The spectral observations were carried out using the Hamilton echelle spectrograph on the coudé

We present Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) observations of OH maser and radio continuum emission within a few hundred pc of the core of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) Markarian 231. This is the only known OH megamaser galaxy classed as a Seyfert 1. Maser emission is identified with the 1665- and 1667-MHz

We present near infrared reflectance spectra from 0.8 to 2.5 μm of two asteroids with low Tisserand invariant, 1373 Cincinnati and 2906 Caltech. We compare our spectra with cometary nuclei and other asteroids in their class. Asteroids Cincinnati and Caltech have Tisserand invariant values of 2.72 and 2.97, respectively, values less than 3 are

We present the status of an ongoing study for a high-resolution near-infrared echelle spectrograph for the 10.4-m GTC (Gran Telescopio de Canarias) which will soon start operating at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on the island of La Palma. The main science driver of this instrument, which we have baptized NAHUAL, is to carry out a

We have studied in detail the properties of local active star-forming galaxies from the UCM survey, and in particular their star-formation histories. We have quantified the relative importance of the current episode of star formation in comparison to the underlying older stellar populations. We have also determined the total stellar mass function