Infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) are potential sites of massive star formation, dark in the near-infrared, but in many cases already with indications of active star-formation from far-infrared and submm observations. They are an ideal test bed to study the role of internal and external heating on the structure of the molecular cloud material.

Accurate synthetic telluric spectra are required for efficient use of telescope time, in particular, with large telescopes and high-resolution NIR spectroscopy: (i) In the preparation of observations, are the telluric features at the same wavelength as spectroscopic features of scientific interest? Since water vapor is the molecule whose abundance varies most in the atmosphere, what values of precipitable water vapor are suitable to carry out successful observations? Are the observations of a telluric star required? Or better, can telluric features in the science spectrum be accurately represented by an appropriate synthetic spectrum? This point is also very important in the planning of telescope time, as observations of a telluric star may sometimes take longer than the one of the science target. (ii) In the analysis of the observations, how do telluric lines affect the scientifically interesting features in the observed spectrum? Is it possible to recover the useful information when telluric star observations could not be obtained, do not have sufficient SNR, or suffer from a significant change in instrumental or observing conditions?

Astrobiology emerged as a scientific discipline in Kazakhstan more than half-a-century ago and flourished for many years under the leadership of Gavriil A. Tikhov, the oldest Pulkovian astrophysicist, member of the Academy of Sciences of the KazSSR (ASKSSR), and corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

In recent years, the local helioseismology has become a highly effective tool for investigating subphotospheric layers of the Sun, which can yield fairly detailed distributions of the subphotospheric temperatures and large-scale plasma flows based on the spectra of the oscillations observed at the photospheric layers and the observed peculiarities of propagation of magnetoacoustic waves in this medium (Zhao et al. (2001), Kosovichev (2006)). Unfortunately, the effects of temperature and the magnetic field on the wave propagation speed have not yet been separated Kosovichev (2006), so that the structure of the sunspot magnetic field in deep layers, beneath the photosphere, remains a subject of purely theoretical analysis. In his analysis of some theoretical models of the subphotospheric layers of sunspots based on recent helioseismological data, Kosovichev (2006) concluded that Parker's (“spaghetti”) cluster model Parker (1979) is most appropriate. In this model, the magnetic flux in the sunspot umbra is concentrated into separate, strongly compressed, vertical magnetic flux tubes that are interspaced with plasma that is almost free of magnetic field; the plasma can move between these tubes.

Geophysical fluids have a major impact on the Earth's rotation. Tidal variations within the oceans are the predominant cause of subdaily length-of-day (lod) variations while those within the solid body of the Earth are a major source of longer period variations; tidal dissipation within the solid Earth and oceans cause a secular change in lod. Fluctuations of the atmospheric winds are the predominant cause of nontidal lod variations on sub-decadal time scales while decadal variations are caused by interactions between the fluid core and mantle.

The values of the fundamental physical constants determine the nature of our universe from the height of mountains on earth to the evolution of the universe over its history. One of these constants is μ = MP/Me the ratio of the proton to electron mass. Astronomical observations provide a determination of this ratio in the early universe through observations of molecular absorption and emission lines in distant objects. Observations of molecular hydrogen in distant damped Lyman Alpha clouds provide a measurement of μ at a time when the universe was only 20% of its present age. To date there is no evidence for a change in μ at the level of 1 part in 105. This limit produces an observational constraint on quintessence theories for the evolution of the universe and Super Symmetric theories of elementary particles.

We present an analysis of glitches detected at Urumqi from 2000 to 2008. Statistics based on all known glitches, for example post glitch behavior were investigated.

The space-time around Neutron Stars is indeed an extreme environment. Whether they are in accreting binary systems, isolated or in non-accreting binaries (perhaps with another Neutron Star), Neutron Stars provide a window onto physical processes not accessible by other means. In particular, the study of their time variability: pulsations, quasi-periodic oscillations, thermonuclear X-ray bursts, flares and giant-flares, pulsar glitches and pulse period variations, constitutes a valuable instrument to unveil those very same physical processes. Here we briefly summarize the most important results presented at Joint Discussion 3 of the XXVII IAU General Assembly.

We study the structure of the Galaxy in the hard X-ray energy band (¿20 keV) using data from the INTEGRAL observatory. The increased sensitivity of the survey and the very deep observations performed during six years of the observatory operation allow us to detect about a hundred new sources. This significantly enlarges the sample of hard X-ray sources in the Galactic disk and bulge in a comparison with the previous studies.

Hyperfine structure (HFS) line of 14N VII ion with rest frequency of ν = 53.04 GHz should be detectable from the interstellar medium in some of the densest and coolest cores of elliptical galaxies at redshifts exceeding 0.15 or so.

We present a comprehensive survey of B abundances in diffuse interstellar clouds from HST/STIS observations along 56 Galactic sight lines. Our sample is the result of a complete search of archival STIS data for the B II λ1362 resonance line, with each detection confirmed by the presence of absorption from other dominant ions at the same velocity. The data probe a range of astrophysical environments including both high-density regions of massive star formation as well as low-density paths through the Galactic halo, allowing us to clearly define the trend of B depletion onto interstellar grains as a function of gas density. Many extended sight lines exhibit complex absorption profiles that trace both local gas and gas associated with either the Sagittarius-Carina or Perseus spiral arm. Our analysis indicates a higher B/O ratio in the inner Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm than in the vicinity of the Sun, which may suggest that B production in the current epoch is dominated by a secondary process. The average gas-phase B abundance in the warm diffuse ISM [log ϵ(B) = 2.38±0.10] is consistent with the abundances determined for a variety of Galactic disk stars, but is depleted by 60% relative to the solar system value. Our survey also reveals sight lines with enhanced B abundances that potentially trace recent production of 11B either by cosmic-ray or neutrino-induced spallation. Such sight lines will be key to discerning the relative importance of the two production routes for 11B synthesis.

The Kepler Mission successfully launched March 6, 2009, beginning its 3.5-year mission to determine the frequency of Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of late-type stars. The brightnesses of over 100,000 stars are currently being monitored for transit events with an expected differential photometric precision of 20 ppm at V=12 for a 6.5-hour transit. The same targets will be observed continuously over the mission duration in order to broaden the detection space to orbital periods comparable to that of Earth. This paper provides an overview of the selection and prioritization criteria used to choose the stars that Kepler is observing from the > 4.5 million objects in the 100 square degree field of view. The characteristics of the Kepler targets are described as well as the implications for detectability of planets in the habitable zone smaller than 2R⊕.

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is the only space geodetic technique which is capable of estimating the Earth's phase of rotation, expressed as Universal Time UT1, over time scales of a few days or longer. Satellite-observing techniques like the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are suffering from the fact that Earth rotation is indistinguishable from a rotation of the satellite orbit nodes, which requires the imposition of special procedures to extract UT1 or length of day information. Whereas 24 hour VLBI network sessions are carried out at about three days per week, the hour-long one-baseline intensive sessions (‘Intensives’) are observed from Monday to Friday (INT1) on the baseline Wettzell (Germany) to Kokee Park (Hawaii, U.S.A.), and from Saturday to Sunday on the baseline Tsukuba (Japan) to Wettzell (INT2). Additionally, INT3 sessions are carried out on Mondays between Wettzell, Tsukuba, and Ny-Alesund (Norway), and ultra-rapid e-Intensives between E! urope and Japan also include the baseline Metsähovi (Finland) to Kashima (Japan). The Intensives have been set up to determine daily estimates of UT1 and to be used for UT1 predictions. Because of the short duration and the limited number of stations the observations can nowadays be e-transferred to the correlators, or to a node close to the correlator, and the estimates of UT1 are available shortly after the last observation thus allowing the results to be used for prediction purposes.

We use data from 58 strong lensing events surveyed by the Sloan Lens ACS Survey to estimate the projected galaxy mass inside their Einstein radii by two independent methods: stellar dynamics and strong gravitational lensing. We perform a joint analysis of both estimates examining the galaxy-lens density profile (that we approximate by a power law), the anisotropy of the velocity distribution (represented by an effective constant parameter), and a possible line-of-sigh (l.o.s.) mass contamination (which is suggested by various independent works in the literature). For each model, a likelihood analysis is performed to find the parameters that produce the best agreement between the dynamical and lensing masses, and the parameter confidence levels. The Bayesian evidence is calculated to allow a comparison among the models. We find a degeneracy among the slope of the density profile, the anisotropy parameter and the l.o.s. mass contamination. For a density profile close to isothermal, a l.o.s. mass contamination of the order of a few percent is possible, being less probable with larger anisotropy.

We present results of a project aimed at establishing a set of 12 spectro-photometric standards over a wide wavelength range from 320 to 2500 nm. Currently no such set of standard stars covering the near-IR is available. Our strategy is to extend the useful range of existing well-established optical flux standards (Oke 1990, Hamuy et al. 1992, 1994) into the near-IR by means of integral field spectroscopy with SINFONI at the VLT combined with state-of-the-art white dwarf stellar atmospheric models (TMAP, Holberg et al. 2008). As a solid reference, we use two primary HST standard white dwarfs GD71 and GD153 and one HST secondary standard BD+17 4708. The data were collected through an ESO “Observatory Programme” over ~40 nights between February 2007 and September 2008.

The search for life in the universe relies on defining the limits for life and finding suitable conditions for its origin and evolution elsewhere. From the biological perspective, a conservative approach uses life on earth to set constraints on the environments in which life can live. Conditions for the origin of life, even on earth, cannot yet be defined with certainty. Thus, we will describe what is known about conditions for the origin of life and limits to life on earth as a template for life elsewhere, with a particular emphasis on such physical and chemical parameters as temperature, pH, salinity, desiccation and radiation. But, other life forms could exist, thus extending the theoretical possibility for life elsewhere. Yet, this potential is not limitless, and so constraints for life in the universe will be suggested.

The ionization balances for HI, OI and DI being locked together by charge exchange, the deuterium-to-oxygen ratio is considered to be a good proxy for the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio, in particular within the interstellar medium. As the DI and OI column densities are of similar orders of magnitude for a given sight line, comparisons of the two values are generally less subject to systematic errors than comparisons of DI and HI. Moreover, D/O is additionally sensitive to astration, because as stars destroy deuterium, they should produce oxygen. D/O measurements are now available for tens of lines of sight in the interstellar medium, most of them from FUSE observations. The D/H and D/O ratios show different pictures, D/H being clearly more dispersed than D/O. The low, homogeneous D/O ratio measured on distant lines of sight suggests a deuterium abundance representative of the present epoch that is about two times lower than this measured within the local interstellar medium.

In the past few years gravitational lensing has allowed astrophysicists to make great progress in the understanding of the internal structure of early-type galaxies. By taking advantage of accurate photometric and spectroscopic measurements, the luminous and dark matter content of lens galaxies can in principle be disentangled (e.g., Grillo et al. 2008, 2009). SDSS J1538+5817 is an extraordinary strong lensing system composed of an elliptical galaxy and two equally-distant sources located, respectively, at redshifts 0.143 and 0.531 (Grillo et al., submitted to ApJ). The sources are lensed into two and four images with an almost complete Einstein ring, covering a rather large region on the lens plane. By using HST/ACS and WFPC2 imaging and NOT/ALFOSC spectroscopy, we have investigated the lens total mass distribution within one effective radius. Then, we have fitted the SDSS multicolor photometry of the galaxy with composite stellar population models to obtain its luminous mass. By combining lensing and photometric measurements, we have estimated the lens mass in terms of luminous and dark matter components and studied the global properties of the dark matter halo. The exceptional lensing configuration of this system has allowed us to conclude that the galaxy dark matter density distribution is shallower and more diffused than the luminous one and the former starts exceeding the latter at a distance of approximately 1.5 times the effective radius. Extending these results to a larger number of lenses would help us to decipher the processes that rule galaxy formation and evolution in the LCDM scenario.

The Galactic deuterium abundance gradient has been determined from observations of DCN in Galactic molecular clouds. This is the only way to observe D throughout the Galaxy because the molecular clouds are not limited to the 2 kpc region around the Sun observed with FUSE and from DI. We used an astrochemistry model and the DCN/HCN ratios to estimate the underlying D/H ratios in 16 molecular clouds including five in the Galactic Center. The resulting positive Galactic D gradient and reduced Galactic Center D/H ratio imply that there are no significant Galactic sources of D, there is continuous infall of low-metallicity gas into the Galaxy, and that deuterium is cosmological.

High-resolution (HR) near-IR spectroscopy is opening new windows in our understanding of several hot topics of modern planet, stellar and extragalactic astrophysics, and it will have a huge impact in the JWST and ALMA era and beyond. The much reduced extinction at these wavelengths allows to pierce the dust embedding those objects which are heavily obscured in the optical. Moreover, at high redshifts several spectral features, commonly exploited when studying local galaxies, are shifted into the near-IR. However, despite its scientific potential, the field of HR IR spectroscopy and its related science is developing very slowly, because of the lack of optimized instruments with the necessary combination of spectral resolution and coverage.