The stellar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has been studied in the last decade and has been found to be an important factor to determine the habitability of planetary surfaces. It is known that UVR can be a constraint for life. However, most of the studies of UVR and habitability have missed some fundamental aspects: i) Accurate estimation of the planetary atmospheric attenuation, ii) The biological inferences used to represent the impact of the stellar UVR on life are theoretical and based on the action spectrum (for DNA or microorganisms) or considering parameters as the “lethal dose” obtained from non-astrobiological experiments. Therefore, the conclusions reached by previous studies about the UVR habitability of planetary bodies may be inaccurate. In this work, we propose how to address these studies in a more accurate way through an interdisciplinary approach that combines astrophysics, microbiology, and photobiology and by the use of specially designed laboratory experiments.

We developed a method to identify potential astro-tourism sites by considering parameters characteristically relevant to astronomical observation such as air quality, dark sky quality, annual average cloud coverage, as well as terrain feature. Applying this method on Indonesia by perusing data from Geographic Information System and applying Multi Criteria Decision Analysis we identify a number of potential astro-tourism sites. We cross correlate this with Indonesia Tourist Destination to produce a list of recommended sites. Fulfilling the astrotourism criteria is one sure way towards sustainable tourism.

Blue compact dwarf galaxies(BCDs) are galaxies undergoing violent burst of star formation in compact regions. They are often thought of being an evolutionary stage of dwarf galaxies and thus can provide a unique window to study the formation and evolution of dwarf galaxies. We selected a sample of 48 BCDs from the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey (MPL-7) and separated the starburst(SB) components from their underlying hosts with a new algorithm. Combining the structural properties of the BCDs, we further explore the physical connections between the SB components and theirs hosts.

Pleione is a classical Be star well known for its cyclic transitions between Be-, shell- and normal B spectral phases. Its nature as a binary system was discussed by McAlister et al. (1989), Gies et al. (1990), Luthardt & Menchenkova (1994) and Nemravova et al (2010). We present the results that trace the evolution of the dimensions of the circumstellar disk of Pleione that are related to the binary system.

We report long-term observations of H2O and OH maser emission sources at wavelengths of 1.35 and 18 cm associated with star-forming regions. Strong quasi-periodic flares of maser emission have been observed. Several sources (in particular, G25.65+1.05, IRAS 16293−2422, Cep A) have displayed strong flares in the H2O line, when their peak flux density raised by a few orders of magnitude above the quiet state. Possible causes of this are discussed.

In recent years dedicated observations have uncovered star formation at extremely low rates in dwarf galaxies, tidal tails, ram-pressure stripped gas clouds, and the outskirts of galactic disks. At the same time, numerical simulations of galaxy evolution have advanced to higher spatial and mass resolutions, but have yet to account for the underfilling of the uppermost mass bins of stellar initial mass function (IMF) at low star-formation rates. In such situations, simulations may simply scale down the IMF, without realizing that this unrealistically results in fractions of massive stars, along with fractions of massive star feedback energy (e.g., radiation and SNII explosions). Not properly accounting for such parameters has consequences for the self-regulation of star formation, the energetics of galaxies, as well as for the evolution of chemical abundances. Here we present numerical simulations of dwarf galaxies with low star-formation rates allowing for two extreme cases of the IMF: a “filled” case with fractional massive stars vs. a truncated IMF, at which the IMF is built bottom-up until the gas reservoir allows the formation of a last single star at an uppermost mass. The aim of the study is to demonstrate the different effects on galaxy evolution with respect to self-regulation, feedback, and chemistry. The case of a stochastic sampled IMF is situated somewhere in between these extremes.

Determining the star formation history (SFH) is key to understand the formation and evolution of dwarf galaxies. Recovering the SFH in resolved galaxies is mostly based on deep colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs), which trace the signatures of multiple evolutionary stages of their stellar populations. In distant and unresolved galaxies, the integrated light of the galaxy can be decomposed, albeit made difficult by an age–metallicity degeneracy. Another solution to determine the SFH of resolved galaxies is based on evolved stars; these luminous stars are the most accessible tracers of the underlying stellar populations and can trace the entire SFH. Here we present a novel method based on long period variable (LPV) evolved asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and red supergiants (RSGs). We applied this method to reconstruct the SFH for IC1613, an irregular dwarf galaxy at a distance of 750 kpc. Our results provide an independent confirmation that no major episode of star formation occurred in IC1613 over the past 5 Gyr.

Thousands of new asteroids are discovered every year and the rate of discovery is by far larger than the determination rate of their physical properties. In 2015 a group of researchers and students of several Mexican institutions have established an observational program to study asteroids photometrically. The program, named Mexican Asteroid Photometry Campaign, is aiming to derive rotation periods of asteroids based on optical photometric observations. Since then four campaigns have been carried out. The results obtained throughout these campaigns, as well as future work, are presented.

The study of the resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies and star clusters through the analysis of colour-magnitude diagrams provides the most detailed and quantitative determination of the star formation histories of these systems. The properties of different age populations provide an insight into distinct physical processes taking place during the entire history of the stellar system. The detection of the oldest main sequence turn-offs is currently restricted to stellar systems within the Local Group due to the limitations in spatial resolution and flux sensitivity of available telescopes. Individual stars need to be detected and accurately distinguished from their neighbours. To improve this situation we need to build new telescopes with larger primary mirrors that can deliver a very stable image quality at the diffraction limit. Over the next decade we can look forward to new larger telescope in space: the James Webb Space Telescope, currently scheduled to be launched in 2021; and several large telescope projects, the largest of which is the 39m ESO extremely large telescope on Cerro Armazones in Chile, currently scheduled to start operations in 2024.

The time evolution of the radial metallicity gradient is one of the most important constraints for Milky Way chemical and chemo-dynamical models. In this talk we reviewed the status of the observational debate and presented a new measurement of the age dependence of the radial abundance gradients, using combined asteroseismic and spectroscopic observations of red giant stars. We compared our results to state-of-the-art chemo-dynamical Milky Way models and recent literature results obtained with open clusters and planetary nebulae, and propose a new method to infer the past history of the Galactic radial abundance profile.

Migration of dense gaseous clumps that form in young protostellar disks via gravitational fragmentation is investigated to determine the likelihood of giant-planet formation. We show that gaseous clumps that form in the outer regions of the disk (> 100 au) through disk fragmentation often migrate toward the central star on timescales from a few thousand to few tens of thousands of years. The tidal mass loss helps the clumps to significantly slow down or even halt their inward migration at a distance of a few tens of AU from the protostar.

The stellar winds of hot stars have an important impact on both stellar and galactic evolution, yet their structure and internal processes are not fully understood in detail. One of the best nearby laboratories for studying such massive stellar winds is the O4I(n)fp star ζ Pup. After briefly discussing existing X-ray observations from Chandra and XMM, we present a simulation of X-ray emission line profile measurements for the upcoming 840 kilosecond Chandra HETGS observation. This simulation indicates that the increased S/N of this new observation will allow several major steps forward in the understanding of massive stellar winds. By measuring X-ray emission line strengths and profiles, we should be able to differentiate between various stellar wind models and map the entire wind structure in temperature and density. This legacy X-ray spectrum of ζ Pup will be a useful benchmark for future X-ray missions.

A constraint on Solar System formation is the high 26Al/27Al abundance ratio, 17 times higher than the average Galactic ratio, while the 60Fe/56Fe value was lower than the Galactic value. This challenges the assumption that a nearby supernova was responsible for the injection of these short-lived radionuclides into the early Solar System. We suggest that the Solar System was formed by triggered star formation at the edge of a Wolf-Rayet (W-R) bubble. We discuss the details of various processes within the model using numerical simulations, and analytic and semi-analytic calculations, and conclude that it is a viable model that can explain the initial abundances of 26Al and 60Fe. We estimate that 1%-16% of all Sun-like stars could have formed in such a setting.

Recent observations have emphasized the importance of the formation and evolution of magnetized filamentary molecular clouds in the process of star formation. Theoretical and observational investigations have provided convincing evidence for the formation of molecular cloud cores by the gravitational fragmentation of filamentary molecular clouds. In this review we summarize our current understanding of various processes that are required in describing the filamentary molecular clouds. Especially we can explain a robust formation mechanism of filamentary molecular clouds in a shock compressed layer, which is in analogy to the making of “Sushi.” We also discuss the origin of the mass function of cores.

The article discusses the physical conditions in the early Solar system and on Earth, determining the origin, selection and development of the first living systems. The role of the young Sun dynamics, cosmic rays, magnetic fields and other protective shells of the Earth in the formation of the biosphere is emphasized. The selection of a single genetic code, ancient methods of long-term storage of energy and adaptive technologies of the first living systems occurred under the influence of cosmological and geophysical factors. A hypothesis was suggested that the accumulation of energy in polyphosphates without the participation of solar radiation could have ensured the survival of the primary biosphere in the conditions of the low luminosity of the young Sun.

Magnetic fields play a key role during the gravitational collapse of dense protostellar cores. In recent years mm and sub-mm observations of dust polarized emission have been used to unveil the morphology of the magnetic field, but this method relies on the assumption that non-spherical dust grains are well aligned with the magnetic field.

Using non-ideal MHD numerical simulations, we study the evolution of the magnetic field during the gravitational collapse. We use the state-of-the-art radiative transfer code POLARIS to compute the Stokes parameters and produce synthetic observations of mm/submm polarized dust emission. We compare the results obtained using the radiative torques (RAT) mechanism to the results obtained by assuming that grains are perfectly aligned to constrain how well polarized dust emission traces the magnetic field orientation.

The complexity of the magnetic field produces a mild depolarization. The depolarization observed in the inner regions is rather caused by a decrease of the dust alignment efficiency and it cannot be reproduced by just scaling down the polarisation degree obtained for a uniform efficiency. We find that the magnetic field orientation is well constrained by the polarized dust emission as long as its 3D topology remains organized.