We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) as an archetypal mid-scale program, including the technical, scientific, and organizational aspects underpinning its success over the last twenty years. Based on the SDSS experience, we present six recommendations that the funding mechanisms for mid-scale programs should be designed to ensure.

We study the behaviour of the dynamical and stellar mass inside the effective radius of early-type galaxies (ETGs) as a function of environment considering Newtonian dynamics, different surface-brightness profiles, different initial mass functions (IMF), and different redshift ranges. We use several samples of ETGs - ranging from 19 000 to 98 000

The MASCARA/bRing network consists of four separate observatories, located in La Palma, La Silla, Sutherland, and Siding Springs, and searches for exoplanet transits around bright stars. The three southern hemisphere stations allow for near continuous observations between the declination range of -30 to -90 degrees. These stations are sensitive to

The Magellanic Clouds (MCs) are the most massive gas-bearing systems falling into the Galaxy at the present epoch. They show clear signs of interaction, manifested in particular by the Magellanic Stream, a spectacular gaseous wake that trails from the MCs extending more than 150° across the sky. Ahead of the MCs is the `Leading Arm' usually

The present work aims to characterize some of the possible sources of near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu, targets of the sample-recovery missions OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2, respectively. The characterization of the sources of these NEAs will enhance the scientific results of the missions, helping to understand how these objects reach their current

Context. In the era of large high-resolution spectroscopic surveys such as Gaia-ESO and APOGEE, high-quality spectra can contribute to our understanding of the Galactic chemical evolution by providing abundances of elements that belong to the different nucleosynthesis channels, and also by providing constraints to one of the most elusive