Commission 12 of the International Astronomical Union encompasses investigations of the internal structure and dynamics of the Sun, the quiet solar atmosphere, solar radiation and its variability, and the nature of relatively stable magnetic structures like sunspots, faculae and the magnetic network. The Commission sees participation of over 300 scientists worldwide.

We have searched halo fields of two giant elliptical galaxies: M87, using HST images at 10 kpc from the galactic center, and NGC 5128 (Cen A), using VIMOS VLT images at 65 kpc from the center and archival HST data from 8 to 38 kpc from the center. We have resolved thousands of red-giant-branch (RGB) stars in these stellar halo fields using V and I filters, and, in addition, measured the metallicity using stellar isochrones. The metallicity distribution function (MDF) of the inner stellar halo of M87 is similar to that of NGC 5128's stellar halo.

At the center of the nearest galaxy cluster, the Virgo cluster, lies the massive cD galaxy, M87 (NGC 4486). Using data from the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey, we investigate the relationship between M87, its globular clusters (GCs), and satellite dwarf galaxies. We find that the kinematics of GCs and ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) are different, indicating that UCDs are not simply massive GCs. We also identify a morphological sequence of envelope fraction around UCDs correlated with cluster-centric distance that suggest UCDs are the result of tidal stripping. Lastly, we find that the [α/Fe] abundance ratios of low-mass early-type galaxies in Virgo exhibit a strong negative gradient within ~ 400 kpc of M87, where the galaxies closest to M87 have the highest values. These satellite galaxies are likely the surviving counterparts of accreted dwarfs that contribute stars to the metal-poor, α-rich stellar halos of massive galaxies. Together, these results describe a dense environment that has had a strong and continuing impact on the evolution of its low-mass neighbors.

Large scale surveys of Andromeda's resolved stellar populations have revolutionized our view of this galaxy over the past decade. The combination of large-scale, contiguous photometric surveys and pointed spectroscopic surveys has been particularly powerful for discovering substructure and disentangling the structural components of Andromeda. The SPLASH (Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo) survey consists of broad- and narrow-band imaging and spectroscopy of red giant branch stars in lines of sight ranging in distance from 2 kpc to more than 200 kpc from Andromeda's center. The SPLASH data reveal a power-law surface brightness profile extending to at least two-thirds of Andromeda's virial radius (Gilbert et al. 2012), a metallicity gradient extending to at least 100 kpc from Andromeda's center (Gilbert et al. 2014), and evidence of a significant population of heated disk stars in Andromeda's inner halo (Dorman et al. 2013). We are also using the velocity distribution of halo stars to measure the tangential motion of Andromeda (Beaton et al., in prep).

New solar soft X-ray (SXR) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance observations from NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) provide full coverage from 0.1 to 106 nm and continuously at a cadence of 10 seconds for spectra at 0.1 nm resolution. These observations during flares can usually be decomposed into four distinct characteristics: impulsive phase, gradual phase, coronal dimming, and EUV late phase. Over 6000 flares have been observed during the SDO mission; some flares show all four phases, and some only show the gradual phase. The focus is on the newer results about the EUV late phase and coronal dimming and its relationship to coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These EVE flare measurements are based on observing the sun-as-a-star, so these results could exemplify stellar flares. Of particular interest is that new coronal dimming measurements of stars could be used to estimate mass and velocity of stellar CMEs.

In this review I will discuss the current status on determinations of the dark matter content and distribution in Milky Way dwarf spheroidals, for which the available data-sets allow the application of sophisticated mass modeling techniques.

Water is observed to be a major constituent of planet-forming disks around young stars and its presence likely plays a major role in formation of planets and their atmospheres, including those destined to orbit in a habitable zone. Yet, the path from disks to planets is one fraught with complexity, making it difficult to derive precise theoretical predictions for planetary chemistry. Planet-forming disks are no longer considered uniform well-mixed structures; rather, they are complex worlds with many different heterogenous environments, most of which play some part in determining the composition of planetesimals and planets. Direct observations of atomic and molecular abundances on all size scales are therefore needed for understanding planet formation at a very fundamental level, and for answering the question of how chemically common the Earth is among exoplanets. In the past years, great progress has been made in observing protoplanetary chemistry, in particular in measuring the molecular composition in protoplanetary disks across the planet-forming regions from 1 to 10s of AU. We will present recent observations of water with Herschel, the VLT and Gemini in disks, and we will demonstrate how we retrieve the local abundances and radial distribution of water vapor and ice using detailed radiative transfer models. We find that most of the oxygen is likely bound in water near 1 AU in disks around solar-mass stars and that the disk surface composition at these radii is likely dominated by local gas-phase chemistry rather than by primordial material delivered from the interstellar medium. We discuss how these observations relate to complementary constraints from the solar system. We further discuss the implications for the observed composition of exoplanetary atmospheres.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) operates in the 0.3–240 micron wavelength region, and offers imaging, polarimetric and high-resolution spectroscopic capabilities that can be used for a wide range of observations relevant for stellar physics studies. We summarize the advantages of using SOFIA, list some of the studies related to stellar physics that have been accomplished, and provide an example high-resolution spectrum of a red supergiant.

Magnetic fields are observed on all scales in the Universe (see e.g. Kronberg 1994), but little is known about the origin and evolution of those fields with cosmic time. Seed fields of arbitrary source must be amplified to present-day values and distributed among cosmic structures. Therefore, the emergence of cosmic magnetic fields and corresponding dynamo processes (see e.g. Zel'dovich et al. 1983; Kulsrud et al. 1997) can only be jointly understood with the very basic processes of structure and galaxy formation (see e.g. Mo et al. 2010).

We conducted infrared spectroscopic observations of bright stars in the direction of the molecular clouds W33 and GMC G23.3 − 0.3. We compared stellar spectro-photometric distances with parallactic distances to these regions, and we were able to assess the association of the detected massive stars with these molecular complexes. The spatial and temporal distributions of the detected stars enabled us to locate sources of ionizing radiation and to gather precise information on the star formation history of these clouds. The studied clouds present different distributions of massive stars.

Our knowledge of the formation and early evolution of globular clusters (GCs) has been totally shaken with the discovery of the peculiar chemical properties of their long-lived host stars. Therefore, the interpretation of the observed Colour Magnitude Diagrams (CMD) and of the properties of the GC stellar populations requires the use of new stellar models computed with relevant chemical compositions. In this paper we use the grid of evolution models for low-mass stars computed by Chantereau et al. (2015) with the initial compositions of second-generation stars as predicted by the fast rotating massive stars scenario to build synthesis models of GCs. We discuss the implications of the assumed initial chemical distribution on 13 Gyr isochrones. We build population synthesis models to predict the fraction of stars born with various helium abundances in present day globular clusters (assuming an age of 13 Gyr). With the current assumptions, 61 % of stars on the main sequence are predicted to be born with a helium abundance in mass fraction, Yini, smaller than 0.3 and only 11 % have a Yini larger than 0.4. Along the horizontal branch, the fraction of stars with Yini inferior to 0.3 is similar to that obtained along the main sequence band (63 %), while the fraction of very He-enriched stars is significantly decreased (only 3 % with Yini larger than 0.38).

Flexion is the second order weak gravitational lensing effect responsible for the arclike appearance of sources. It is highly sensitive to dark matter substructure and can greatly increase the resolution of mass maps, but it is very hard to measure. We present an automated flexion measurement pipeline for Hubble Space Telescope data and a preliminary application to the Frontier Fields cluster MACSJ0416.1-2403.

We construct the radially-resolved semi-analytic models of galaxy formation based on the L-Galaxies model framework, which include both atomic and molecular gas phase in ISM. The models run on the halo outputs of ΛCDM cosmology N-body simulation. Our models can reproduce varies observations of HI gas in nearby galaxies, e.g. the HI mass function, the HI-to-star ratio vs stellar mass and stellar surface density, universal HI radial surface density profile in outer disks etc. We also give the physical origin of HI size-mass relation. Based on our model results for local dwarf galaxies, we show that the “missing satellite problem” also exists in the HI component, i.e., the models over-predict dwarf galaxies with low HI mass around the Milky Way. That is a shortcoming of current ΛCDM cosmology framework. Future survey for HI gas in local dwarf galaxies (e.g. MeerKAT, SKA & FAST) can help to verify the nature of dark matter (cold or warm).

Star formation and interstellar medium (ISM) structure were investigated in the Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and California (TAP) nearby star forming regions. Properties of the cold ISM was derived using AKARI FIR all sky maps, the Osaka-1.85m CO survey focusing to the all-sky Planck catalogue of Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCC). As many as 1041 infrared point sources were classified as young stellar object (YSO) based on multiband photometric data, and 384 of those are associated to a PGCC object. About 30% of the TAP PGCC clumps have associated YSOs.

We present the first results from SWAN: “Survey of Water and Ammonia in Nearby galaxies”. Nearby galaxies are conveniently located to probe molecular gas properties on scales of 10 to 200 pc, which are appropriate for the study of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs). The resolution of the Very Large Array in D and C configurations corresponds to a few 10s of parsecs in these galaxies. To advance studies of galaxy evolution it is paramount to understand how processes in the molecular Interstellar Medium(ISM) and star formation are linked on these scales. We have observed the metastable transitions of ammonia and the 22GHz water maser line in four nearby galaxies: NGC 253, IC 342, NGC 2146, and NGC 6946 using the VLA. These galaxies were chosen to span an order of magnitude in star formation rate, and a range of galactic ecosystems. We use the ammonia transitions to derive kinetic temperatures, which exposes the heating and cooling balance of the ISM. We then aim to relate these conditions to energetic feedback from star formation as indicated by water masers.

Currently, our analysis is focused on NGC 253. NGC 253 is a barred spiral starburst galaxy with a nucleated star formation rate (SFR) of ≈ 3M⊙ per year. We use a distance of 3.9Mpc for analysis. We have observed ammonia transitions (1,1) to (5,5) and the 22GHz water maser line with a resolution of ≈63pc. We have identified nine regions across the nucleated starburst for study. The ammonia (3,3) line appears to be masing in the centermost 200pc. We have identified two regions of water maser emission. The first region is a minor axis extension, about the center of the galaxy, and is very close to the outflow. By means of these measurements, we gain an understanding of the molecular ISM associated with the nucleated starburst environment in NGC 253.

We analyze the dynamics and activity observed in bodies approaching the Earth (perihelion distances q < 1.3 au) in short-period orbits (P < 20 yr), which essentially are near-Earth Jupiter Family Comets (NEJFCs) and near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). In the general definition, comets are “active”, i.e. they show some coma, while asteroids are “inactive”, i.e. they only show a bare nucleus. Besides their activity, NEJFCs are distinguished from NEAs by their dynamical evolution: NEJFCs move on unstable orbits subject to frequent close encounters with Jupiter, whereas NEA orbits are much more stable and tend to avoid close encounters with Jupiter. However, some JFCs are found to move on stable, asteroidal-type orbits, so the question arises if these objects are asteroids that have become active, perhaps upon approach to the Sun. In this sense they may be regarded as the counterparts of the main-belt comets (Hsieh & Jewitt 2006). On the other hand, some seemingly inert NEAs move on unstable, comet-type orbits, so the question about what is a comet and what is an asteroid has become increasingly complex.

Studies of high-redshift galaxies behind the cores of mass clusters require the correction of gravitational lensing effects. We present our approach to estimate shapes, magnitudes, and the selection effect of high-redshift galaxies in the image plane, which allows us to include not only lensing magnifications but also lensing distortions and image multiplications. For this purpose we construct new mass models for the Frontier Fields clusters using the public software glafic. We present some results on faint-end slopes of the luminosity function and the size evolution of high-redshift galaxies from the analysis of Frontier Fields clusters.

The bright-end cutoff of the [O III] λ5007 planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) is insensitive to population age and metallicity, making it an excellent extragalactic standard candle. We review our knowledge of the function and discuss the challenges related to modeling it. We show that, while there has been a great deal of progress in understanding the nuances of its shape, there is still no solid theory which explains the luminosity of the PNLF cutoff in old stellar populations. This is an extremely serious problem, as it affects a myriad of astrophysical issues, from the determination of the stellar masses of galaxies to our understanding of alternative channels of stellar evolution.

Massive stars at low metallicity are strong candidates for two of the most energetic explosions in the Universe: long duration gamma-ray bursts and superluminous supernovae. But what is the reason these explosions prefer low metallicity environments? To answer this question, we investigate how massive stellar evolution proceeds in low metallicity environments.

We present here the last results we obtained on the spatial resolved analysis of the ionized gas of disk-dominated galaxies based on CALIFA data. CALIFA is an ongoing IFS survey of galaxies in the Local Univese (0.005 < z < 0.03) that has already obtained spectroscopic information up to ~2.5r e with a spatial resolution better than ~1 kpc for a total number of an statiscal sample of galaxies of different morphological types, covering the CM-diagram up to Mr<−18 mag. With nearly 2000 spectra obtained for each galaxy, CALIFA offer one of the best IFU data to study the starformation histories and chemical enrichment of galaxies. In this article we focus on the main results based on the analysis of the oxygen abundances based on the study of ionized gas in H ii regions and individual spaxels, and their relations with the global properties of galaxies. In summary we have found that: (1) the $\mathcal{M}$ -Z relation does not present a secondary relation with the star-formation rate, when the abundance is measured at the effective radius; (2) the oxygen abundance present a strong correlation with the stellar surface density (Σ-Z relation); (3) the oxygen abundance profiles present three well defined regimes, (a) an overall negative radial gradient, between 0.5-2 r e , with a characteristic slope of αO/H ∼-0.1 dex/r e , (b) an universal flatenning beyond >2r e and (c) an inner drop at <0.5r e which presence depends on the mass. All these results indicates that disk-galaxies present an overall inside-out growth, although with clear deviations from this simple scenario.