The venerable study of cosmic explosions is over a century old. However, until recently, there has existed a glaring six-magnitude luminosity gap between the brightest novae and faintest supernovae. To find optical transients that are fainter, faster, and rarer than supernovae, we designed a systematic search: the Palomar Transient Factory. Theorists predict a variety of mechanisms to produce transients in the gap and observers have the best chance of finding them in the local universe. Here I present discoveries and unique physics of cosmic explosions that bridge this gap between novae and supernovae.

We present XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the born-again planetary nebula A 30. These X-ray observations reveal a bright unresolved source at the position of the central star whose X-ray luminosity exceeds by far the model expectations for photospheric emission and for shocks within the stellar wind. We suggest that a “born-again hot bubble” may be responsible for this X-ray emission. Diffuse X-ray emission associated with the petal-like features and one of the H-poor knots seen in the optical is also found. The weakened emission of carbon lines in the spectrum of the diffuse emission can be interpreted as the dilution of stellar wind by mass-loading or as the detection of material ejected during a very late thermal pulse.

Essential assumptions and features of the Broadening Function (BF) technique are presented. A distinction between BF determination and the BF concept and utilization is made. The BF's can be determined in various ways. The approach based on linear deconvolution involving stellar templates, as used during the DDO program (1999 – 2008) is described, but the LSD technique would also give excellent results. The BF concept to prove and/or verify photometric light-curve solutions has so far been very limited to only a few W UMa-type binaries, with AW UMa giving particularly unexpected results.

We can show that analysis of the (O-C) diagram is a powerful method of detecting new bodies in binary systems. For this purpose we need very symmetric minima with precisely determined shapes. In the case of good covering by observations with high time resolution, it is possible to determine the times of such minima with sufficient accuracy. In the case of V471 Tau, the (O-C) diagram gave us residua which can be explained by the presence of a fourth body with substellar mass in the system.

During the past 20 years, the idea that non-spherical planetary nebulae might need a binary or planetary interaction to be shaped was discussed by various authors. It is now generally agreed that the varied morphologies of planetary nebulae cannot be fully explained solely by single star evolution. Observationally, more binary central stars of planetary nebulae have been discovered, opening new possibilities to understand the connections between binarity and morphology. So far, ≃45 binary central stars of planetary nebulae have been detected, most being close systems detected via flux variability. In order to determine the PN binary fraction, one needs a method that can detect wider binaries. We present here recent results concentrating on binary infrared excess observations aimed at detecting binaries of any separation.

We present the morphology and linear polarization of the 22-GHz H2O masers in the high-velocity outflow of two post-AGB sources, d46 (IRAS 15445–5449) and b292 (IRAS 18043–2116). The observations were performed using The Australia Telescope Compact Array. Different levels of saturated maser emission have been detected for both sources. We also present the mid-infrared image of d46 overlaid with the distribution of the maser features that we have observed in the red-shifted lobe of the bipolar structure. The relative position of the observed masers and a previous radio continuum observation suggests that the continnum is produced along the blue-shifted lobe of the jet. It is likely due to synchrontron radiation, implying the presence of a strong magnetic field in the jet. The fractional polarization levels measured for the maser features of d46 indicate that the polarization vectors are tracing the poloidal component of the magnetic field in the emitting region. For the H2O masers of b292 we have measured low levels of fractional linear polarization. The linear polarization in the H2O maser region of this source likely indicates a dominant toroidal or poloidal magnetic field component.

We present numerical simulations of the hydrodynamical interactions that produce circumstellar shells. These simulations include several scenarios, such as wind-wind interaction and wind-ISM collisions. In our calculations we have taken into account the presence of dust in the stellar wind. Our results show that, while small dust grains tend to be strongly coupled to the gas, large dust grains are only weakly coupled. As a result, the distribution of the large dust grains is not representative of the gas distribution. Combining these results with observations may give us a new way of validating hydrodynamical models of the circumstellar medium.

We investigate the possibility of obscuring supersoft X-ray sources in the winds of companion stars. We derive limits on the amount of circumstellar material needed to fully obscure a ‘canonical’ supersoft X-ray source in the Large Magellanic Cloud, as observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

We present optical integral field spectroscopy analysis of the main components, with the exception of the halo, as well as of the detected small-scale structures of the planetary nebulae NGC 3242. The observations were obtained with the VIMOS instrument attached to VLT-UT3. Spatially resolved maps of the electronic density (N e), temperatures (T e) and chemical abundances, i.e., in a pixel to pixel fashion of the small and large-scales structures of this planetary nebula are determined in this work. These diagnostic and abundance maps represent important constraints for future detailed three dimensional photoionization modeling of the nebula, as well as providing important information on biases introduced by traditional slit observations.

Binary or multiple stars are common in our neighbourhood, and many of the exoplanets we know of belong to a star in such a system. The influence of a second star on planet formation can be probed by comparing properties of planets in binary/multiple-star systems with those of single-star planets. We present some of the results from our Lucky Imaging survey for binary companions to hosts of transiting exoplanets.

We have carried out 2D and 3D numerical simulations (Kaigorodov et al 2010, Fateeva et al. 2011, Sytov et al. 2011) of accretion processes in binary T Tauri stars (TTSs) DQ Tau, UZ Tau E, V4046 Sgr, GW Ori, RoXs 42C using a finite-difference Roe-Osher-Einfeld TVD scheme. The morphology of the flow pattern for UZ Tau E is shown in Fig. 1 (left panel). The flow structure includes accretion disks surrounding the components, bow-shocks in front of both the components, a shock wave (“bridge”) between the circumstellar accretion disks and a gap containing rarefied gas in the inner part of the protoplanetary disk.

AGB stars appear to lose mass spherically, but many PNe resulting from the AGB mass-loss have non-spherical morphologies. Compact disks have been found in some bipolar PNe, but their role in the shaping process remains unknown. Compact Keplerian disks are found to be common around post-AGB binaries, however, these objects may never develop into PNe. Another group of post-AGB stars, known as pre-PNe, are surrounded by collimated nebulae shining by reflected light or shock ionisation. We are observing the inner circumstellar regions of pre-PNe at high angular resolutions with the VLTI. We seek to compare pre-PNe disks to those around other post-AGB stars and PNe. New observations of the pre-PN, IRAS 16279-4757, show evidence for a disk similar to those seen in young PNe.

Mass loss on the AGB removes most of the envelope and leaves a compact remnant to become a white dwarf and perhaps first the central star of a planetary nebula. The envelope mass provides an upper limit on the material available to form the PN, and the terminal mass loss rate plus the small remnant mass left on the core determines how much of that would still be available to form the PN after the star has evolved far enough to the blue. Given a mass loss formula based on observations or models, we can find the deathline where −dM star/dt = (M/L) dL/dt and can find the contours of constant mass loss rate on a plot of M vs. L. From such plots we can derive the mass available for a PN and the lowest mass single star that can produce a PN of a given mass. However, some details important for PN formation remain uncertain, including the maximum mass loss rate achieved and the envelope mass left when AGB mass loss ceases.

Non-spherically symmetric distributions of ejected gas are often observed in classical nova remnants. However, it is unclear if these asymmetries could be produced from nova explosions. Spectra in the nebular phase can provide information on the kinematics of ejected materials. Classical nova KT Eri was discovered on November 2009. It is considered a candidate for a recurrent nova based on the high expansion velocity and rapid decline of its light curve. In order to investigate the velocity field of ejected gas in the system, we performed optical spectroscopic observations from 2010 September to 2010 December at Koyama Astronomical Observatory. We noticed the strong [O III] and He II lines in the spectra on September 1, which suggests that the nova had already entered the nebular phase. It is notable that the [O III] lines showed complex profiles with at least six peaks on September 1. Those features can be de-convolved into four velocity components (−2,000 km s−1, −1,000 km s−1, +700 km s−1, and +1,800 km s−1) of doublet [O III] λ4959 and λ5007.

Our UBV(RI)C CCD photometry of a WZ Sge-type dwarf nova OT J213806.6+261957, discovered on May 6, 2010 at 8.4 mag, is presented. The analysis of our ~ 10000 CCD images, taken at observatories in Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia during May-November 2010, revealed the presence of ordinary and late superhumps. Fast brightness variations (flickering) on a time scale of minutes were also detected.

Herschel, an ESA space observatory equipped with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia with important participation from NASA, was launched on 14 May 2009. With its 3.5m diameter primary mirror, Herschel is the largest space telescope ever launched into space, and carries onboard three science instruments, whose focal plane units are cryogenically cooled inside a superfluid helium cryostat. The PACS and SPIRE instruments provide broadband imaging photometry in six bands centred at 75, 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 microns and imaging spectroscopy over the range 55–672 microns. The HIFI instrument provides very high-resolution heterodyne spectroscopy over the ranges 157–212 and 240–625 microns. The results obtained already in the first year and a half of routine science operations demonstrate that Herschel will have strong impact on all research fields, from Solar System studies to the area of Cosmology, from the analysis of star formation to the mysteries of galaxy formation. In this talk I will review the Herschel highlights in the area of evolved stars in general and of planetary nebulae more in particular, resulting from observations performed with the three instruments onboard Herschel since launch. This will be exemplified by a few observational results, just the tip of the iceberg of what is yet to come in the remaining year and a half of science operations.

We present individual distances to three PNe: NGC 6537, NGC 6781 and NGC 7027, determined by the extinction-distance method. These objects are part of a larger sample (35) of PNe that we observed at ORM. In order to apply this method, and to obtain accurate distances, we determined the spectral type of 40 to 60 stars in the line of sight of each PNe. This implied the necessity of classifying few thousands of stellar spectra with S/N ratio between 10 and 60. To solve such need we developed an ANN system to perform automatic spectral classification which could classify spectra with S/N ratio as low as 20 with an accuracy better than 2 spectral subtypes. In this poster we compare the accuracy of such distances with previous distance determinations using other methods. We conclude that it is possible to use this method to obtain the distance of a large number of PNe with better precision.

Progress in a number of technical areas is enabling imaging and interferometric observations at both smaller angular separations from bright stars and at deeper relative contrast levels. Here we discuss recent progress in several ongoing projects at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. First, extreme adaptive optics wavefront correction has recently enabled the use of very short (i.e., blue) wavelengths to resolve close binaries. Second, phase-based coronagraphy has recently allowed observations of faint companions to within nearly one diffraction beam width of bright stars. Finally, rotating interferometers that can observe inside the diffraction beam of single aperture telescopes are being developed to detect close-in companions and bright exozodiacal dust. This paper presents a very brief summary of the techniques involved, along with some illustrative results.

The multi-epoch YJK s sub-arcsecond photometry of the VMC survey provides a long anticipated deep near-infrared (NIR) window into further understanding the stellar populations of the Magellanic Clouds. The first year of observations consisted of six tiles covering ~9% of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) survey region and contains 102 objects previously classified as planetary nebulae (PNe). A large proportion of the sample were found to be contaminated by non-PNe. These initial results underline the importance of establishing a clean catalogue of LMC PNe before they are applied in areas such as the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) and searches for binary central stars. As the VMC survey progresses it will play a fundamental role in cleaning extant PN catalogues and a complementary role in the discovery of new PNe.

We derive the chlorine abundances in a sample of nearby planetary nebulae (PNe) and H II regions that have some of the best available spectra. We use a nearly homogeneous procedure to derive the abundance in each object and find that the Cl/H abundance ratio shows similar values in H II regions and PNe. This supports our previous interpretation that the underabundance we found for oxygen in the H II regions is due to the depletion of their oxygen atoms into organic refractory dust components. For other elements, the bias introduced by ionization correction factors in their derived abundances can be very important, as we illustrate here for sulfur using photoionization models. Even for low-ionization PNe, the derived sulfur abundances can be lower than the real ones by up to 0.3 dex, and the differences found with the abundances derived for H II regions that have similar S/H can reach 0.4 dex.