I will present new results on the star formation history of 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud based on the panchromatic imaging survey Hubble Tarantula Treasury Project (HTTP). Here the focus is on the starburst cluster NGC2070. The star formation history is derived by comparing the deepest ever optical and NIR color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) with state-of-the-art synthetic CMDs generated with the latest PARSEC models, which include all stellar phases from pre-main sequence to post-main sequence. For the first time in this region we are able to measure the star formation using intermediate and low mass stars simultaneously. Our results suggest that NGC2070 experienced a prolonged activity. I will discuss the detailed star formation history, initial mass function and reddening distribution.

Type Ib/c supernovae (SNe Ib/c) are characterized by the lack of prominent hydrogen lines in thespectra, implying that their progenitors have lost most of their hydrogen envelopes by the time of the iron corecollapse. Binary interactions provide an important evolutionary chanel for SNe Ib/c, and recent observations indicatethat the inferred ejecta masses of SNe Ibc are more consistent with the prediction of the binary scenario than that ofthe single star scenario that invokes mass loss as the key evolutionary factor for SNe Ib/c progenitors. So far,theoretical predictions on the detailed properties of SNe Ib/c progenitors in binary systems have been made mostlywith models using solar metallicity. However, unlike the single star scenario, where SNe Ib/c are expected only forsufficiently high metallicity, hydrogen-deficent SN progenitors can be produced via binary interactions at anymetallicity. In this talk, I will discuss theoretical predictions on the metallicity dependence of the SNe Ib/c progenitorstructure, based on evolutionary models of massive binary stars. Sepefically, I will address how the ejecta masses ofSNe Ib and Ic and the ratio of SN Ib/c to SN IIb as well as SN Ib to SN Ic would systematically change as a function ofmetallicity, and which new types of SNe are expected in binary systems at low metallicity.

During the declining phase of the Solar cycle 24, a new peak appeared on January 7, 2014. The release of x-class flares, with the high energetic particles, were found to be more intense than that occurred during the main peak of the same cycle. Few X-class flares were released, lately, during the year 2014. We note that during the last 5 solar cycles, a new peak has appeared, releasing high energetic particles and X-class solar flares, which are called the secondary peak or the double peak of solar cycle. The aim of this descriptive study is to follow the morphological and magnetic changes of the active region before, during, and after the production of X-class flares according to data analysis. Furthermore, the causes of the release of such eruptive storms have been discussed for the period, year 2014, during the double peak of the solar cycle 24.

High-mass stars usually form in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) as part of a young stellar cluster, but some isolated O/B stars are observed. What are the initial conditions that lead to the formation of these objects? The aim of this study is to measure the distribution and basic physical properties of the neutral gas associated with isolated intermediate- and high-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

As part of the SAGE Spitzer Legacy program for the LMC, we have identified and confirmed YSOs using Spitzer IRAC photometry and IRS spectroscopy. By examining the spatial coincidence between the YSOs and 12CO(1–0) emission detected by the NANTEN mapping survey, we identified more than one hundred intermediate/massive YSOs in the LMC that appear to be isolated, i.e. not associated with CO emission. Deeper follow-up CO observations by our team with the higher resolution by Mopra Telescope (beam=30”) detected CO emission at the YSO positions for ~80% of the isolated LMC YSOs. We obtained ALMA data of some of the targets during Cycle 2. We targeted a small but representative (in terms of their association with neutral gas tracers) sample of the isolated high-mass YSOs that we have been studying in the LMC. All of our 12 targets are separated by more than 200 pc from known CO clouds. Our analysis of the ALMA data shows that a compact molecular cloud whose mass is a few thousand solar masses or smaller is associated with most of the YSOs.

The two Pan-STARRS telescopes, located on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, are 1.8-meter diameter telescopes equipped with 1.4 Gigapixel cameras that deliver 7 square degree fields-of-view. The first of these telescopes, Pan-STARRS1, is conducting a search for Near Earth Objects, and is currently the leading discoverer of Near Earth Objects. The second telescope, Pan-STARRS2, is nearing the end of its commissioning, and is becoming more productive.

Pan-STARRS has become the leading survey for Near Earth Objects, responsible for approximately half of the NEO discoveries to date in 2015. Pan-STARRS is also the leading discoverer of new comets.

Athena is the second large mission selected in the ESA Cosmic Vision plan. With its large collecting area, high spectral-energy resolution (X-IFU instrument) and impressive grasp (WFI instrument), Athena will truly revolutionise X-ray astronomy. The most prodigious sources of high-energy photons are often transitory in nature. Athena will provide the sensitivity and spectral resolution coupled with rapid response to enable the study of the dynamic sky. Potential sources include: distant Gamma-Ray Bursts to probe the reionisation epoch and find missing baryons in the cosmic web; tidal disruption events to reveal dormant supermassive and intermediate-mass black holes; and supernova explosions to understand progenitors and their environments. We illustrate Athenas capabilities and show how it will be able to constrain the nature of explosive transients including gas metallicity and dynamics.

The superbubble (SB) 30 Dor C with the strong non-thermal X-ray emission is one of the best targets for study of the cosmic-ray (CR) acceleration. We investigated X-ray spectral properties of the SB with a high spatial resolution of ~10 pc. Consequently, the spectra in the east regions can be described with a combination of absorbed thermal and non-thermal models while the spectra in the west regions can be fitted with an absorbed non-thermal model. We found that the observed photon index and intensity in 2-10 keV show variations of 2.0-3.5 and (0.6-8.0) × 10−7 erg s−1 cm−2 str−1, respectively. The results are possibly caused by the spatial variation of the CR acceleration efficiency and/or the circumstellar environment.

In my talk I reviewed observations of the dark matter and total mass profiles in massive ETGs and clusters and their implications for ΛCDM. In this brief proceedings, I have extracted just a subset of material from my talk due to space limitations.

If able to coalesce in a Hubble time, Supermassive Black hole (SMBH) binaries are very promising sources of gravitational waves (GW). Our earlier studies have shown that SMBH binaries coalesce in post-merger galactic nuclei having triaxial or axisymmetric geometry in a few billion years. In this study, we model the complete evolution of SMBH binaries formed as a result of galaxy mergers having central density profiles that vary from shallow to very steep including a stellar mass function. Energy and angular momentum loss due to GW emission is taken into account using the post-Newtonian approximation. We carry out ten such simulations for each central density profile. The eccentricity of the SMBH binaries remain very high in shallow cusps and decrease systematically for steeper cusps. The coalescence times range from 0.6 to 1.5 Gyr with shorter times for steeper profiles. Typical coalescence times less than a Gyr strengthen our expectation that SMBH binaries should be very promising sources of GW radiation over a wide redshift range.

The dynamics of massive black holes (BHs) in galaxy mergers is a rich field of research that has seen much progress in recent years. In this contribution we briefly review the processes describing the journey of BHs during mergers, from the cosmic context all the way to when BHs coalesce. If two galaxies each hosting a central BH merge, the BHs would be dragged towards the center of the newly formed galaxy. If/when the holes get sufficiently close, they coalesce via the emission of gravitational waves. How often two BHs are involved in galaxy mergers depends crucially on how many galaxies host BHs and on the galaxy merger history. It is therefore necessary to start with full cosmological models including BH physics and a careful dynamical treatment. After galaxies have merged, however, the BHs still have a long journey until they touch and coalesce. Their dynamical evolution is radically different in gas-rich and gas-poor galaxies, leading to a sort of “dichotomy” between high-redshift and low-redshift galaxies, and late-type and early-type, typically more massive galaxies.

In 1964, Sjur Refsdal first considered the possibility that the light from a background supernova could traverse multiple paths around a strong gravitational lens towards us. He showed that the arrival times of the supernova's light would depend on the cosmic expansion rate, as well as the distribution of matter in the lens. I discussed the discovery of the first such multiply imaged supernova, which exploded behind the MACS J1149.6+2223 galaxy cluster. We have obtained Hubble Space Telescope grism and ground-based spectra of the four images of the supernova, which form an Einstein Cross configuration around an elliptical cluster member. These spectra as well as rest-frame optical light curves have allowed us to learn about the properties of the peculiar core-collapse supernova explosion, which occurred 4.3 Gyr after the Bang Bang, and contain information about the lenses matter distribution as well as their stellar populations. A delayed image of the supernova is expected close to the galaxy cluster center as early as this Fall, and will serve as an unprecedented probe of the potential of a massive galaxy cluster.

We discuss the stellar halos of massive elliptical galaxies, as revealed by our ambitious integral-field spectroscopic survey MASSIVE. We show that metallicity drops smoothly as a function of radius out to ~ 2.5 Re, while the [α/Fe] abundance ratios stay flat. The stars in the outskirts likely formed rapidly (to explain the high ratio of alpha to Fe) but in a relatively shallow potential (to explain the low metallicities). This is consistent with expectations for a two-phase growth of massive galaxies, in which the second phase involves accretion of small satellites. We also show some preliminary study of the gas content of these most MASSIVE galaxies.

We re-evaluate the CO dipole moment function in order to obtain more accurate isotope ratios for the solar photosphere using previous infrared observations. We used a new set of dipole moments from HITEMP which were accurately determined by both semi-empirical and ab initio methods. Preliminary values of isotope ratios using the new dipole moments are in better agreement with the inferred photosphere values from Genesis, showing that the solar photosphere is isotopically similar to primitive inclusions in meteorites.

We present results from the LCOGT Supernova Key Project, a three year program to obtain lightcurves and spectra of 600 supernovae. The Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network is a network of eleven robotic 1m and 2m telescopes located at 5 sites around the world. With this facility long term monitoring of transient phenomena is possible, as are nearly instantaneous observations. We report on both core-collapse and thermonuclear supernovae observed within days of explosion, allowing insight into their progenitor stars.

Massive luminous red galaxies (LRGs) are believed to be evolving passively and can be used as cosmic chronometers to estimate the Hubble constant (the differential age method). However, different LRGs may be located in different environments. We investigate the environmental and mass dependence of the formation of ‘quiescent’ LRGs by using the population synthesis software STARLIGHT. We derive the stellar populations in each LRG, and obtain the mean age distribution and the mean star formation history (SFH) of those LRGs. We find that there is no apparent dependence of the mean age and the SFH of quiescent LRGs on their environment, while the ages of these quiescent LRGs depend weakly on their mass. We also evaluate the possible uncertainties in estimating the Hubble constant by the differential age method when using LRGs as cosmic chronometers.

We have modeled two mid-infrared imaging photometry data sets to determine the spatial distribution of physical conditions in the BN/KL infrared complex. We observed the BN/KL region using the 10-m Keck I telescope and the LWS in the direct imaging mode, over a 13” × 19” field (Figure 1, left). We also modeled images obtained with COMICS (Kataza et al. 2000) at the 8.2-m SUBARU telescope, over a total field of view is 31” × 41” (Figure 1, right), in a total of nine bands: 7.8, 8.8, 9.7, 10.5, 11.7, 12.4, 18.5, 20.8 and 24.8 μm with ~1 μm bandwidth interference filters.

Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) which consists of three identical 1.6 m wide-field telescopes with 18k × 18k CCDs, is the first optical survey system of its kind. The combination of fast optics and the mosaic CCD delivers seeing limited images over a 4 square degrees field of view. The main science goal of KMTNet is the discovery and characterization of exoplanets, yet it also offers various other science applications including DEep Ecliptic Patrol of SOUTHern sky (DEEP-South). The aim of DEEP-South is to discover and characterize asteroids and comets, including Near Earth Objects (NEOs). We started test runs last February after commissioning, and will return to normal operations in October 2015. A summary of early results from the test runs will be presented.

The diffuse extended outer regions of galaxies are hard to study because they are faint, with typical surface brightness of 1% of the dark night sky. We can tackle this problem by using resolved star tracers which remain visible at large distances from the galaxy centers. This article describes the use of Planetary Nebulae as tracers and the calibration of their properties as indicators of the star formation history, mean age and metallicity of the parent stars in the Milky Way and Local Group galaxies. We then report on the results from a deep, extended, planetary nebulae survey in a 0.5 deg2 region centered on the brightest cluster galaxy NGC 4486 (M87) in the Virgo cluster core, carried out with SuprimeCam@Subaru and FLAMES-GIRAFFE@VLT. Two planetary nebulae populations are identified out to 150 kpc distance from the center of M87. One population is associated with the M87 halo and the second one with the intracluster light in the Virgo cluster core. They have different line-of-sight velocity and spatial distributions, as well as different planetary nebulae specific frequencies and luminosity functions. The intracluster planetary nebulae in the surveyed region correspond to a luminosity of four times the luminosity of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The M87 halo planetary nebulae trace an older, more metal-rich, parent stellar population. A substructure detected in the projected phase-space of the line-of-sight velocity vs. major axis distance for the M87 halo planetary nebulae provides evidence for the recent accretion event of a satellite galaxy with luminosity twice that of M33. The satellite stars were tidally stripped about 1 Gyr ago, and reached apocenter at a major axis distance of 60–90 kpc from the center of M87. The M87 halo is still growing significantly at the distances where the substructure is detected.

While one of the IAU's missions is to “serve as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them” (†), the participation of the public in the naming of celestial objects has been a little-known, but decade-long tradition of the IAU.