We present near-infrared long-slit spectroscopy of matched samples of nearby Seyfert and normal spiral galaxies. The central molecular content in Seyferts type 1 and 2 will be discussed in view of AGN unified models. The nuclear and radial stellar population content and star formation properties in the Seyferts and spirals will be compared. Finally

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We present accurate multiwavelength UBVI time series data of the LMC cluster Reticulum. Data cover a time interval of ~ 6 yr and have been collected with SUSI1/2 and SOFI at NTT/ESO. For each band we collected approximately 30 short/long exposures and the total exposure times range from roughly 3500 (U, B), 6000s (V) to 8300s (I). The observing

We describe the first results of a program to extend the Landolt calibration standards to at least V=19 mag and to calibrate fields separated from the celestial equator. This program is one of several coordinated efforts to find faint type AV and KIII stars suitable for the mid-IR calibration of the 10~m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS. We have obtained

We present new observations of Mrk 1087 that indicate this galaxy is experiencing a strong star formation event due to the interaction with -at least- two nearby galaxies, one of them is a star-forming dwarf. We also discover that some of the surrounding non-stellar objects are tidal dwarfs hosting weak starbursts.