We present bidimensional, long-slit spectroscopic mapping of the prototypical low-metallicity dwarf galaxy I Zw 18. A total of eight spaced slit positions were observed, covering most of the body of the galaxy and part of the extended envelope of the diffuse ionized halo seen in deep Hα images of I Zw 18. Spectroscopic maps of the galaxy have been

We have used photometric images of 10 barred galaxies in the B and I bands to infer geometric and dynamical parameters of their bars: their lengths, their strengths, and their corotation radii. The bar length, R_bar, is measured as the radius at which the odd Fourier components of the I image show a rise, accompanied by a blue peak in the B-I

We present optical spectroscopy and optical and infrared photometry of the neutron star soft X-ray transient Aql X-1 during its X-ray outburst of 1997 August. By modelling the X-ray, optical and IR light curves, we find a 3-d delay between the IR and X-ray rise times, analogous to the UV-optical delay seen in dwarf novae outbursts and black hole X

To preserve the exceptional sky quality of the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, the Spanish Government has subsidized the cost of a programme of streetlighting adaptation on La Palma aimed at minimizing potential light pollution. New non-polluting light fixtures and low-pressure sodium vapour lamps have been used to modified existing lighting

We present high-quality (subarcsecond) optical narrowband CCD images of the planetary nebula NGC 6881, which reveal a highly collimated bipolar structure. A careful examination of the [N II] image and of the [N II]/[O III] and [N II]/Hα ratio images shows that NGC 6881 is a quadrupolar planetary nebula, that is, a twice bipolar planetary nebula

Since the launch of SOHO, the Solar Heliospheric Orbital Observatory, the helioseismic observations are nearly uninterrupted. The GOLF instrument (A. Gabriel et al., 1997) measures the mean velocity integrated over the disk. The autocorrelation function of this velocity shows two main features: Firstly, the initial decrease of the peak amplitudes