Astronomy and space science education had been given least importance by Nepalese government in the past. The modern astronomy movement is believed to have started when an official observation programme of Haley's comet was organized by Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST) in 1986. Following the huge pressure from the scientific community, the Nepal government (Kingdom of Nepal at that time) established B.P. Koirala Memorial Planetarium, Observatory and Science Museum Development Board in 1992. Initiatives of the project started with observatory set up and the development of astrophysics syllabus for university students. Astrophysics is included as an elective paper in the Physics masters course. The lead astrophysicist of Nepal Dr. Binil Aryal is running a research group in Tribhuvan University since 2005 which has a significant number of international publications. The developing government initiatives and achievements will be discussed.

In 2007, a group of astronomy enthusiastic students along with amateurs working independently in past established Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO), which surprisingly increased the amateur activities and inspired other amateur groups to revive. During IYA 2009, more than 80 outreach and observation events were organized solely by NASO. NASO was able to collaborate with many international programmes and projects like GHOU/GTTP, EurAstro, AWB, UNAWE, SGAC, Star Peace, TWAN etc during and beyond IYA2009. Currently Nepal is recognized as the most eventful country of outreach and astronomy education among the amateur community. The success story of the astronomy movement and the local difficulties while organizing the events will be explained.

We take as dynamical model for extrasolar planetary systems a central star like our Sun and two giant planets m1 and m2 like Jupiter and Saturn. We change the mass ratio μ=m2/m1 of the two large planets for a wide range of 1/16 < μ < 16. We also change the ratio between the initial semi-major axes (ν=a2/a1) in the range of 1.2 < ν < 3 to model the different architecture of extrasolar planetary systems hosting two giant planets. The results for possible Trojans (Trojan planets) in the equilateral equilibrium points of the inner planet m1 and the outer planet m2 were derived with the aid of numerical integration. It turned out that in many configurations – depending on the mass ratios μ and the semi-major axes ratio ν – giant planets may host Trojans.

In the last decades, the experimental study of dynamo action has made great progress. However, after the dynamo experiments in Karlsruhe and Riga, the von-Kármán-Sodium (VKS) dynamo is only the third facility that has been able to demonstrate fluid flow driven self-generation of magnetic fields in a laboratory experiment. Further progress in the experimental examination of dynamo action is expected from the planned precession driven dynamo experiment that will be designed in the framework of the liquid sodium facility DRESDYN (DREsden Sodium facility for DYNamo and thermohydraulic studies).

In this paper, we briefly present numerical models of the VKS dynamo that demonstrate the close relation between the axisymmetric field observed in that experiment and the soft iron material used for the flow driving impellers. We further show recent results of preparatory water experiments and design studies related to the precession dynamo and delineate the scientific prospects for the final set-up.

Modelling stellar populations in galaxies is a key approach to gain knowledge on the still elusive process of galaxy formation as a function of cosmic time. In this review, after a summary of the state-of-art, I discuss three aspects of the modelling, that are particularly relevant to massive galaxies, the focus of this symposium, at low and high-redshift. These are the treatment of the Thermally-Pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch phase, evidences of an unusual Initial Mass Function, and the effect of modern stellar libraries on the model spectral energy distribution.

Resonances play an important role in the evolution of the disks of spiral galaxies, and in particular in the chemical abundance evolution. The dominant effect is that of corotation; this effect can be even used as a tool to estimate the age of the present spiral arm pattern, which are usually found to be long-lived, contrary to a recent common belief. We investigated a sample of galaxies for which the corotation radius is known and for which there are available in the literature measurements of abundance gradients for Oxygen. A very good correlation is found between corotation radii and the radii at which there is a break in the slope of the gradients. The gradients are usually decreasing in the inner regions and become flat or rising at larger radii. In several galaxies, including the Milky Way, one observes not only a change in the slope of the abundance gradient, but also an abrupt step in metallicity, at corotation. This step is due to the fact that corotation separates the disk of a galaxy in two regions (inside corotation and outside corotation) which are isolated one from the other, so that the two sides evolve in an independent way. The barrier between the two regions is produced by the flow of gas in opposite directions in the two sides and by the ring-shaped void of gas observed at corotation. Besides this, an independent effect of corotation is a minimum of star formation associated with the minimum velocity at which the spiral arms (seen as potential wells) are fed with interstellar gas. Still another effect is the scattering of stars by the resonance, which causes their migration to different galactic radii. Other resonances, like 4:1, have properties almost opposite to corotation; they stimulate star-formation, and tend to gather the stars in the resonant orbit, instead of scattering them out, as shown by numerical simulations. Due to this property, one can see arms which have the shape of resonant stellar orbits, which depart from logarithmic spirals.

Magnetic field relaxation is determined by both the field's geometry and its topology. For relaxation processes, however, it turns out that its topology is a much more stringent constraint. As quantifier for the topology we use magnetic helicity and test whether it is a stronger condition than the linking of field lines. Further, we search for evidence of other topological invariants, which give rise to further restrictions in the field's relaxation. We find that magnetic helicity is the sole determinant in most cases. Nevertheless, we see evidence for restrictions not captured through magnetic helicity.

There is a major opportunity for the KDUST 2.5 m telescope to carry out the next generation IR survey. A resolution of 0.2 arcsec is obtainable from Dome A over a wide field. This opens a unique discovery space during the 2015–2025 decade.

A next generation 2μm survey will feed JWST with serendipitous targets for spectroscopy, including spectra and images of the first galaxies.

The ultraviolet (UV) color-color relation of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the nearby universe (0.05 < z < 0.12) is re-examined with the latest GALEX GR6 and SDSS DR7 data. By drawing the FUV – NUV (as a measure of UV temperature) versus FUV – r (as a measure of UV amplitude) color-color diagram for the morphologically-cleaned, spectroscopically-cleaned sample of ~3700 quiescent ETGs, we find that the “old and dead“ ETGs consist of a well-defined sequence in UV colors, the “UV red sequence”, so that the stronger UV excess galaxies should have a harder UV spectral shape systematically. However, the observed UV spectral slope is too steep to be reproduced by the canonical models in which the UV flux is mainly controlled by age or metallicity parameters. The observed data support the helium enhancement scenario in which the UV spectral shape of UV upturn (FUV – NUV < 0.9; FUV – r ~ 6) galaxies may be governed by the minority population of helium-enhanced horizontal-branch (HB) stars.

Though there are many forklore concerning meteorite falls, a few genuine meteorites have been identified. One of them, the Nogata meteorite is related to the oldest recorded meteorite fall (A.D. 861) (Shima et al., 1983).

The GHOSTS survey is the largest study to date of the resolved stellar populations in the outskirts of disk galaxies (Radburn-Smith et al.2011). The sample currently consists of 16 nearby disk galaxies, whose outer disks and halos are imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). I will present new results obtained from the study of 19 GHOSTS fields in M81's outermost part. The observed fields probe the stellar halo of M81 out to projected distances of ~50 kpc, an unprecedented distance for halo studies outside the Local Group. The 50% completeness levels of the color magnitude diagrams are typically at 2.5 mag below the tip of the red giant branch. When considering only fields located at galactocentric radius R > 15 kpc, we detect no color gradient in the stellar halo of M81. We compare these results with model predictions for the colors of stellar halos formed purely via accretion of satellite galaxies (Bullock & Johnston 2005). When we analyze the cosmologically motivated models in the same way as the HST data, we find that they predict no color gradient for the stellar halos, in good agreement with the observations (see Fig. 1).

In our contribution we show the effects of environmental evolution on cluster and field dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs), presenting the first large-scale integral-field spectroscopic data for this galaxy class. Our sample con sists of 12 galaxies and no two of them are alike. We find that the level of rotation is not tied to flattening; we observe kinematic twists; we discover large-scale kinematically-decoupled components; we see varying gradient s in line-strength maps: from nearly flat to strongly peaked in the center. The great variety of morphological, kinematic, and stellar population parameters seen in our data supports the claim that dEs are defunct dwarf spiral/irregular galaxies and points to a formation scenario that allows for a stochastic shaping of galaxy properties. The combined influence of ram-pressure stripping and harassment fulfills these requirements, still, the exact impact of the two is not yet understood. We further investigate the properties of our sample by performing a detailed comprehensive analysis of its kinematic, dynamical, and stellar population parameters. The combined knowledge of the dynamical properties and star-formation histories, together with model predictions for different formation mechanisms, will be used to quant itatively determine the actual transformation paths for these galaxies.

An overview of astronomy development in Serbia in view of the goals envisaged by the IAU Strategic Plan is given. Due attention is paid to the recent reform of education at all levels. In the primary schools several extra topics in astronomy are introduced in the physics course. Attempts are made to reintroduce astronomy as a separate subject in the secondary schools. Special emphasis is put to the role and activities of the Petnica Science Center the biggest center for informal education in SE Europe, and to a successful participation of the Serbian team in International astronomy olympiads. Astronomy topics are taught at all five state universities in Serbia. At the University of Belgrade and Novi Sad students can enroll in astronomy from the first study year. The students have the training at the Ondrejov Observatory (Czech Republic) and at the astronomical station on the mountain Vidojevica in southern Serbia. Astronomy research in Serbia is performed at the Astronomical Observatory, Belgrade and the Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade. There are about 70 researchers in astronomy in Serbia (and about as many abroad) who participate in eight projects financed by the Ministry of Education and Science and in several international cooperations and projects: SREAC, VAMDC, Belissima (recruitment of experienced expatriate researchers), Astromundus (a 2-year joint master program with other four European universities), LSST. One of the goals in near future is twinning between universities in the SEE region and worldwide. The ever-increasing activities of 20 amateur astronomical societies are also given.

Bars are strong drivers of secular evolution in disk galaxies. Bars themselves can evolve secularly through angular momentum transport, producing different boxy/peanut and X-shaped bulges. Our Milky Way is an example of a barred galaxy with a boxy bulge. We present a self-consistent N-body simulation of a barred galaxy which matches remarkably well the structure of the inner Milky Way deduced from star counts. In particular, features taken as signatures of a second “long bar“ can be explained by the interaction between the bar and the spiral arms of the galaxy (Martinez-Valpuesta & Gerhard 2011). Furthermore the structural change in the bulge inside l = 4° measured recently from VVV data can be explained by the high-density near-axisymmetric part of the inner boxy bulge (Gerhard & Martinez-Valpuesta 2012). We also compare this model with kinematic data from recent spectroscopic surveys. We use a modified version of the NMAGIC code (de Lorenzi et al. 2007) to study the properties of the Milky Way bar, obtaining an upper limit for the pattern speed of ~ 42 km/sec/kpc. See Fig. 1 for a comparison of one of our best models with BRAVA data (Kunder et al. 2012).

The environments surrounding nine Wolf-Rayet stars were studied in molecular emission. Expanding shells were detected surrounding these WR stars (see left panels of Figure 1). The average masses and radii of the molecular cores surrounding these WR stars anti-correlate with the WR stellar wind velocities (middle panels of Figure 1), indicating the WR stars has great impact on their environments. The number density of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) is enhanced in the molecular shells at ∼5 arcmin from the central WR star (lower-right panel of Figure 1). Through detailed studies of the molecular shells and YSOs, we find strong evidences of triggered star formation in the fragmented molecular shells (Liu et al. 2010).

Cool neutral gas provides the raw material for all star formation in the Universe, and yet, from a survey of the hosts of high redshift radio galaxies and quasars, we find a complete dearth of atomic (Hi 21-cm) and molecular (OH, CO, HCO+ & HCN) absorption at redshifts z ≳ 3 (Curran et al. 2008). Upon a thorough analysis of the optical photometry, we find that all of our targets have ionising (λ ≤ 912 Å) ultra-violet continuum luminosities of LUV ≳ 1023 W Hz−1. We therefore attribute this deficit to the traditional optical selection of targets biasing surveys towards the most ultra-violet luminous objects, where the intense radiation excites the neutral gas to the point where it cannot engage in star formation (Curran & Whiting 2010). However, this hypothesis does not explain why there is a critical luminosity, rather than a continuum where the detections gradually become fewer and fewer as the harshness of the radiation increases. We show that by placing a quasar within a galaxy of gas there is always a finite ultra-violet luminosity above which all of the gas is ionised. This demonstrates that these galaxies are probably devoid of star-forming material rather than this being at abundances below the sensitivity limits of current radio telescopes.

Active neutron stars – SGRs, reveal the high-quality QPOs at the ‘pulsating tail’ phase. We suggest diagnostics of the trapped fireball plasma, the source of high-frequency pulsations, using coronal seismology. The trapped fireball is represented as a set of current-carrying loops - equivalent of electric circuits. Our approach gives the following magnetosphere parameters in SGRs: an electric current of (2−8) × 1019 A, magnetic field of (0.6−2.7) × 1013 G, and electrons density of (1.3−6.0) × 1016 cm−3. We show high-frequency QPOs can be self-excited for a smaller electric current than the maximum current and/or due to the parametric resonance.

We have performed state-of-the-art high resolution simulations of early-type galaxies with bars, including (multi-phase) gas, star formation and feedback. The aim of this programme is to better understand the observed morphology, kinematical structures, (2D) metallicity distribution, observed in fast rotators with bars. Our simulations were designed via a newly developed code allowing us to build a library of initial conditions closely mimicking barred galaxies in the Atlas3D sample. We will present the role and importance of bars on the gas fueling, redistribution of angular momentum, and overall secular evolution of fast rotators. These results are compared with actual observations (IFU, CO maps, stellar population distributions) obtained in the course of the Atlas3D project. The results from these “early-type“ simulations will also be compared in the context of recently conducted simulations of later-type barred galaxies, including one of a Milky-Way type object with a resolution down to 0.05 parsec.

The tidal interactions between galaxies are believed to be the main mechanism responsible for Wolf-Rayet (WR) phases in galaxies. The HI 21 cm-line is the best tracer for detecting tidal features in galaxies. We are studying WR galaxies in the HI line using GMRT and in the Hα line using Devasthal Optical telescope. Signatures of tidal interactions in Mrk 996 and Mrk 005, previously believed to be in non-interacting environment, have been detected using both HI and Hα images.

Previous studies of the molecular gas excitation in high-redshift galaxies have focused on galaxy-wide averages of CO line ratios. However, it is possible that these averages hide spatial variation on sub-galactic scales, disguising the true distribution and conditions of the molecular gas within star-forming galaxies. Even in the pre-ALMA era we have begun to see evidence for spatial variation of CO excitation in both rest-UV selected and submillimeter-selected galaxies at z > 2, aided both by the increased frequency coverage of the Jansky Very Large Array (allowing high-resolution observations of the CO(1–0) line, the best tracer for the coldest molecular gas) and by the benefits of gravitational lensing for spatially extended sources. We show new results for multiple high-redshift systems that reveal spatial and/or spectral variations in CO excitation, including an early-stage merger that has different conditions in its two components, thereby illustrating the need for high spatial and spectral resolution mapping in order to accurately characterize the molecular ISM in high-z galaxies.

We use samples of local main-sequence stars to show that the radial gradient of [Fe/H] in the thin disk of the Milky Way decreases with mean effective stellar temperature. We use the angular momentum of each star about the Galactic center to eliminate the effects of epicyclic motion, which would otherwise blur the estimated gradients. We use the effective temperatures as a proxy for mean age, and conclude that the decreasing gradient is consistent with the predictions of radial mixing due to transient spiral patterns. We find some evidence that the trend of decreasing gradient with increasing mean age breaks to a constant gradient for samples of stars whose main-sequence life-times exceed the likely age of the thin disk.