Pairs of asteroids sharing similar heliocentric orbits, but not bound together, were found recently. Backward integrations of their orbits indicated that they separated gently with low relative velocities, but did not provide additional insight into their formation mechanism. A previously hypothesized rotational fission process may explain their

After the discovery of more than 400 planets beyond our Solar System, the characterization of exoplanets as well as their host stars can be considered as one of the fastest growing fields in space science during the past decade. The characterization of exoplanets can only be carried out in a well coordinated interdisciplinary way which connects

We present observations and analysis of the broad-band afterglow of Swift GRB071025. Using optical and infrared (RIYJHK) photometry, we derive a photometric redshift of 4.4 z 5.2; at this redshift our simultaneous multicolour observations begin at ~30 s after the gamma-ray burst trigger in the host frame, during the initial rising phase of the

During our detailed study of the kinematics of the know exoplanets hots stars (Montes et al. 2010, Caballero et al. 2010) we have identified possible members of the classical moving groups with ages between 10 and 600 Myr (e.g. Local Association, Castor, Ursa Majoris, IC 2391, Hyades). In order to constraint their actual youth and possible

The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) discovered a new gamma-ray source near the Galactic plane, Fermi J0109+6134, when it flared brightly in 2010 February. The low Galactic latitude (b = -1fdg2) indicated that the source could be located within the Galaxy, which motivated rapid multi-wavelength follow-up including radio, optical, and X-ray

The effect of the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) flux on Earth's climate is highly uncertain. Using a novel sampling approach based around observing periods of significant cloud changes, a statistically robust relationship is identified between the rate of GCR flux and the most rapid mid-latitude (60°-30° N/S) cloud decreases operating over daily