The LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area (LCSSPA) at Southern Galactic Cap (SGC), is one of the LAMOST Key Project, designed to complete the spectroscopic observations of all Galactic and extra-galactic sources in two selected fields of 20 degrees2 at SGC, with the limiting magnitude of r = 18.1 mag. The main purposes of the project are focused on the completeness of the LAMOST ExtraGAlactic Surveys (LEGAS), testing the selection methods of galaxies and stars, and obtaining the basic performance parameters of the LAMOST telescope. Meanwhile the scientific studies include galaxies, clusters of galaxies, variable sources (quasars and variable stars), infrared excess stars and luminous infrared galaxies. The project has considerable scientific value since it is the most complete spectral data in LEGAS up to now. The project completed its observation in the early of 2014, and obtained at least 5000 spectra of galaxies and 25000 spectra of stars.

The Magneticum Pathfinder (www.magneticum.org) cosmological, hydro-dynamical simulation (896h -1Mpc)3 follows in detail the thermal and chemical evolution of the ICM as well as the evolution of SMBHs and their associated feedback processes. We demonstrate that assuming cosmological parameters inferred from the CMB, the thermal SZ power spectrum as observed by PLANCK is well matched by the deep light-cones constructed from these cosmological simulations. The thermal SZ prediction from the full SZ maps are significantly exceeding previous templates at large l (e.g., l > 1000) and therefore predict a significantly larger contribution to the signal at l = 3000 compared to previous findings. The excess of positive values within the probability distribution of the thermal SZ signal within the simulated light-cone agrees with the one seen by PLANCK. This excess signal follows a power law shape with an index of roughly -3.2. The bulk of the thermal SZ signal originates from clusters and groups which form between z = 0 and z ≈ 2 where at high redshift (z > 1) significant part of the signal originates from proto-cluster regions, which are not yet virialized. The simulation predicts a mean fluctuating Compton Y value of 1.18 × 10-6 , with a remaining contribution of almost 5 ×10-7 when removing contribution from halos above a virial mass of 1013 M⊙/h.

With the improvements of the observational technology for the new surveys the number of asteroid detections is rapidly increasing. For this reason we must use very efficient methods to compute orbits with these data. We have to identify observations taken in different nights as belonging to the same asteroid. If we do not have an efficient algorithm for that, the unidentified observation database can increase without control, and we risk to detect the same objects multiple times.

Magnetic interactions between a close-in planet and its host star have been postulated to be a source of enhanced chromospheric emissions. We develop three dimensional global models of star-planet systems under the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) approximation to explore the impact of magnetic topology on the energy fluxes induced by the magnetic interaction. We conduct twin numerical experiments in which only the magnetic topology of the interaction is altered. We find that the Poynting flux varies by more than an order of magnitude when varying the magnetic topology from an aligned case to an anti-aligned case. This provides a simple and robust physical explanation for on/off enhanced chromospheric emissions induced by a close-in planet on time-scales of the order of days to years.

We present multi-epoch millarcsecond resolution images of the most compact supernova remnants in the nearby starburst galaxy M82, spanning 25 years of evolution. In particular, we will briefly discuss the new transient source first detected in 2009 as well as the unusual object 41.95+57.5 and its potential as a GRB afterglow.

Star-formation regions in nearby galaxies provide an excellent laboratory to study star formation processes, evolution of massive stars and the properties of the surrounding interstellar medium. A wealth of information can be obtained from their spectral analysis of the emission lines and the stellar continuum. Considering these, we proposed a long-term project “Spectroscopic Observations of the Star Formation Regions in Nearby Galaxies”. The primary goal of this project is to observe spectroscopy of star formation regions in 20 nearby galaxies, with the NAOC 2.16 m telescope and the Hectospec/MMT multifiber spectrograph. With the spectra of a large sample of star formation regions, combining multi-wavelength data from UV to IR, we can investigate, understand and quantify the dust extinction, star formation rate, metal abundance, and the two-dimensional distributions of stellar population properties of nearby galaxies. It will be important for a better understanding of galaxy formation. Here we report on the observations, data reduction, and analysis of the spectra of ~ 400 star formation regions in M33, via multifiber spectroscopy with Hectospec at the MMT.

Based on the New Vacuum Solar Telescope observations, some new results about the solar activities are obtained. (1) In the Hα line, a flux rope tracked by filament activation is detected for the first time. There may exist some mild heating during the filament activation. (2) The direct observations illustrate the mechanism of confined flares, i.e., the flares are triggered by magnetic reconnection between the emerging loops and the pre-existing loops and prevented from being eruptive by the overlying loops. (3) The solid observational evidence of magnetic reconnection between two sets of small-scale loops is reported. The successive slow reconnection changes the conditions around the reconnection area and leads to the rapid reconnection. (4) An ensemble of oscillating bright features rooted in a light bridge is observed and given a new name, light wall. The light wall oscillations may be due to the leakage of p-modes from below the photosphere.

The study of galaxy mergers and supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) is central to our understanding of the galaxy and black hole assembly and (co-)evolution at the epoch of structure formation and throughout cosmic history. Galaxy mergers are the sites of major accretion episodes, they power quasars, grow supermassive black holes (SMBHs), and drive SMBH-host scaling relations. The coalescing SMBBHs at their centers are the loudest sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the Universe, and the subsequent GW recoil has a variety of potential astrophysical implications which are still under exploration. Future GW astronomy will open a completely new window on structure formation and galaxy mergers, including the direct detection of coalescing SMBBHs, high-precision measurements of their masses and spins, and constraints on BH formation and evolution in the high-redshift Universe.

Using the MHD version of Gadget3 (Stasyszyn, Dolag & Beck 2013) and a model for the seeding of magnetic fields by supernovae (SN), we performed simulations of the evolution of the magnetic fields in galaxy clusters and study their effects on the heat transport within the intra cluster medium (ICM). This mechanism – where SN explosions during the assembly of galaxies provide magnetic seed fields – has been shown to reproduce the magnetic field in Milky Way-like galactic halos (Beck et al. 2013). The build up of the magnetic field at redshifts before z = 5 and the accordingly predicted rotation measure evolution are also in good agreement with current observations. Such magnetic fields present at high redshift are then transported out of the forming protogalaxies into the large-scale structure and pollute the ICM (in a similar fashion to metals transport). Here, complex velocity patterns, driven by the formation process of cosmic structures are further amplifying and distributing the magnetic fields. In galaxy clusters, the magnetic fields therefore get amplified to the observed μG level and produce the observed amplitude of rotation measures of several hundreds of rad/m2. We also demonstrate that heat conduction in such turbulent fields on average is equivalent to a suppression factor around 1/20th of the classical Spitzer value and in contrast to classical, isotropic heat transport leads to temperature structures within the ICM compatible with observations (Arth et al. 2014).

Recent UV absorption line studies suggest that a large fraction of missing baryons are in the warm ionized and neutral phases, with about half of Milky Way-mass galaxies containing absorption systems with HI column densities of 1018 cm−2 or greater. This HI gas, which would have been difficult to detect with previous instruments, could be a significant contributor to the missing baryons. The Green Bank Telescope (GBT) presents a unique opportunity to detect this emission. We present results from GBT 21 cm observations of a sample of ten nearby optically luminous spirals, which reveal extended HI gas in half of our sample. The column densities of this extended HI are typically ~ 1 × 1019 cm−2, as measured at distances of 100 kpc from the center of the galaxies.

Multiple stellar populations in the Milky Way globular clusters manifest themselves with a large variety. Although chemical abundance variations in light elements, including He, are ubiquitous, the amount of these variations is different in different globulars. Stellar populations with distinct Fe, C+N+O and slow-neutron capture elements have been now detected in some globular clusters, whose number will likely increase. All these chemical features correspond to specific photometric patterns. I review the chemical+photometric features of the multiple stellar populations in globular clusters and discuss how the interpretation of data is being more and more challenging. Very excitingly, the origin and evolution of globular clusters is being a complex puzzle to compose.

We analyze a sample of 20 absorption systems intrinsic to long duration GRB host galaxies at z > 2 forwhich the metallicities are known. We compare the relation between the metallicity and cold gas velocity width for thissample to that of the Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) in the sight-lines of quasars (QSOs), and find completeagreement. We then compare the redshift evolution of the velocity-metallicity relation of our sample to that of QSODLAsand find that also GRB hosts favour a late onset of this evolution, around a redshift of ~2.6. We compute predicted stellar masses for the GRB host galaxies using the prescription determined from QSO-DLAsamples and compare the measured stellar masses for the four hosts where stellar masses have been determinedfrom SED fits. We find excellent agreement and conclude that, on basis of all available data and tests, long durationGRB-DLA hosts and intervening QSO-DLAs are consistent with being drawn from the same underlying population.

The composition of interstellar matter is driven by environmental parameters and results from extreme interstellar medium physico-chemical conditions. Astrochemists must rely on remote observations to monitor and analyze the interstellar solids composition. They bring additional information from the study of analogues produced in the laboratory, placed in simulated space environments. Planetologists and cosmochemists access and spectroscopically examine collected extraterrestrial material in the laboratory. Diffuse interstellar medium and molecular clouds observations set constraints on the composition of organic solids that can then be compared with collected extraterrestrial materials analyses, to shed light on their possible links.

The article originally published on pages 179 - 183 of the 2016 Astronomy in Focus Volume 11, Issue A29A, purportedly by Wesley and Sheshadri, was mistakenly included in the issue and should not have been published. During the compilation of the issue, the first page of Wesley and Sheshadri's legitimate article (Wesley & Sheshadri 2016) was combined with other pages from a wholly unrelated LaTeX file, and published in error. The content of this pseudo-article makes no sense, and should not be used or cited. Therefore, the pages of this pseudo-article have been removed from the online version of the issue and replaced with blank pages watermarked as ‘WITHDRAWN’. We have decided to remove the article completely to avoid confusion with the correct article by Wesley and Sheshadri, who were not involved in the creation of this error.

We apologise to the authors Wesley and Sheshadri, and to readers for this mistake.

Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) were discovered during the last decade by wide-field surveys. Despite their importance for stellar evolution and mass loss, especially at low metallicities, and their utility as high-redshift probes and possible distance indicators, their nature remains poorly understood. I present here new exciting observations of SLSNe and their host galaxies that offer new clues in the hunt for their progenitors and explosion mechanism. These include constraints on the ages and the metallicities at the SN environments, double peaks revealed by early observations, the presence of H in nebular spectra, and the first evidence on the explosion geometry, through polarimetry.

In this presentation we address issues relating to the astronomical heritage of contemporary aboriginal groups and other minorities. We deal specially with intangible astronomical heritage and its particularities. Also, we study (from ethnographic experience with Aboriginal groups, Creoles and Europeans in the Argentine Chaco) the conflicts referring to the different ways in which the natives' knowledge and practice are categorized by the natives themselves, by scientists, state politicians, professional artists and NGOs. Furthermore, we address several cases that illustrate these kinds of conflicts. We aim to analyze the complexities of patrimonial policies when they are applied to practices and representations of contemporary communities involved in power relations with national states and the global system. The essentialization of identities, the folklorization of representations and practices, and the fossilization of aboriginal peoples are some of the risks of applying the label “cultural heritage” without a careful consideration of each specific case.

In particular we suggest possible ways in which the international scientific community could collaborate to improve the agenda of national states instead of reproducing colonial prejudices. In this way, we aim to contribute to the promotion of respect for ethnic and religious minorities.

We applied GALFIT and STARLIGHT to the r-band images and spectra, respectively, of ~1,100 dwarf galaxies to analyze the structural properties and stellar populations. In most cases, single component with n = 1 ~ 1.5 well describes the luminosity distribution of dwarf galaxies. However, a large fraction of dS0, dEbc, and dEblue galaxies show sub-structures such as spiral arms and rings. There is a bimodal distributions of stellar ages in dS0 galaxies. But other sub-types of dwarf galaxies show a single peak in the stellar distributions.

High–redshift quasars and blazars are among the most powerful sources in the Universe and among the highest luminosity sources, as in optical, so as in X–ray, UV, IR and radio range. We have created a full sample of blazars and high–redshift quasars (z≥2.15). The evolutionary relation of high–redshift quasars and blazars to high–redshift galaxies is discussed using the luminosity evolution.

In the Astronomy in Focus series, volume XXIXB, Focus Meeting 4 was omitted from table 2 of the preface (Benvenuti 2016) on page xxi. The editor apologizes for this error.

We present the results of age, metallicity and radial velocity determination for central massive globular clusters (GCs) in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: KKs3 and ESO269-66. KKS3 is a unique isolated galaxy. ESO269-66 is a close neighbor of the giant S0 Centaurus A. The results contribute to the knowledge about the origin of massive star clusters and their host dSphs. The structure and star formation histories of the two dwarf galaxies look rather similar. Both of them have experienced several star-forming events. The most recent ones occurred 1-2 Gyr ago, and most powerful bursts happened 12-14 Gyrs ago. Our analysis has shown that both GCs appear to be 1-2 Gyr younger and 0.1-0.3 dex more metal-rich than the most ancient metal-poor stars in the host dSphs. We examine signatures of multiple stellar population in the GCs using our data. Since central star-forming bursts were extended in time, the massive clusters might be considered as nuclei of the galaxies.