Aims: We attempt to detect starlight reflected from the hot Jupiter orbiting the main-sequence star τ Boo, in order to determine the albedo of the planetary atmosphere, the orbital inclination of the planetary system and the exact mass of the planetary companion. Methods: We analyze high-precision, high-resolution spectra, collected over two half

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The low-mass X-ray binary 4U 0614+091 is a source of sporadic thermonuclear (type I) X-ray bursts. We find bursts with a wide variety of characteristics in serendipitous wide-field X-ray observations by the WATCH on EURECA, the ASM on RXTE, the WFCs on BeppoSAX, the FREGATE on HETE-2, the IBIS/ISGRI on INTEGRAL, and the BAT on Swift, as well as

The data provided by the ESA INTEGRAL mission have revealed the presence of a huge new population of HMXB sources. Among them, an important fraction belong to the fast-growing class of Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXT). We present a summary of our study to characterize the outburst frequency of SFXT using INTEGRAL data corresponding to our on

One problem encountered when establishing the causes of global dimming and brightening is the limited number of long-term solar radiation series with accurate and calibrated measurements. For this reason, the analysis is often supported and extended with the use of other climatic variables such as diurnal temperature range, cloud cover, evaporation

We compare the apparent axial ratio distributions of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and normal ellipticals (Es) in our sample of 75 galaxy clusters from the WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS). Most BCGs in our clusters (69 per cent) are classified as cD galaxies. The sample of cDs has been completed by 14 additional cDs (non