The future large telescope for the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos will have a 10 m diameter segmented primary made of hexagonal elements (similar to the Keck I primary). The telescope optical configuration is being selected to achieve excellent image quality and low emissivity out to the mid-IR. The design includes provision for two

We present calculations that account for the infall of matter onto the heart of a starburst, a condition thought indispensable for causing the large accumulation of matter and the large detected rates of star formation. We center our attention on the rapid evolution of the remnant generated by the collective action of strong stellar winds and

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) surface brightness and colour profiles, in bands ranging from U to K, for the disk and bulge components of a complete sample of 30 nearby S0 to Sbc galaxies with inclinations larger than 50 deg. We describe in detail the observations and the determination of colour parameters. Calibrated monochromatic and

Mn-Cr data are reported for chondrules from the Bishunpur and Chainpur LL chondrites. It is shown that variations in Mn/Cr for these chondrules were established during condensation of solids from the solar nebula; the whole-chondrule isochrons should give an upper limit to the time of chondrule formation and an estimate of when the chondrule

Using optical images and spectra of the bipolar nebula M 2-9 we show that, in addition to the well-known bright inner nebula, the object has fast, highly collimated outflows reaching a total extent of 115". These radially opposed and point-symmetric outer lobes are both redshifted, leading us to model the radiation from them in terms of light

Martian meteorite EETA79001 is composed of two distinct magmatic lithologies, astutely named A and B, joined by an igneous contact. Lithology B is a coarse-grained, ferroan basalt, while lithology A is both finer-grained and more magnesian. In addition, lithology A contains xenocrysts and xenoliths of olivine, orthopyroxene and chromite, which are