We confirm the nova nature of the possible nova M31 2009-08d, discovered by Rafael Ferrando on UT 2009 Aug 15.0950 (discovery image at http://www.pla-de-arguines.com/NOVA-M31D.jpg) . Koichi Itagaki reported the same discovery on UT 2009 Aug 15.981 (http://www.supernovae.net/novae.html ). A single, filterless image of 20-s exposure time taken on UT

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Context: Individual stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies around the Milky Way Galaxy have been studied both photometrically and spectroscopically. Extremely metal-poor stars among them are very valuable because they should record the early enrichment in the Local Group. However, our understanding of these stars is very limited because detailed

Aims: We present data to improve the known parameters of the HD 17156 system (peculiar due to the eccentricity and long orbital period of its transiting planet) and constrain the presence of stellar companions. Methods: Photometric data were acquired for 4 transits, and high precision radial velocity measurements were simultaneously acquired with

Invited Review of the book: Foudations of New World Cultural Astronomy : a Reader with Commentary edited by a. Aveni (Univeristy Press of Colorado, boulder, 2008)

Current projects for large telescopes demand a proper knowledge of atmospheric turbulence to design efficient adaptive optics systems in order to reach large Strehl ratios. However, the proper characterization of the turbulence above a particular site requires long-term monitoring. Because of the lack of long-term information on turbulence, high