Context. Several studies have tried to ascertain whether the increase in abundance of the early-type galaxies (E-S0a's) with time is mainly due to major mergers, but have reached opposite conclusions. Aims: We have tested it directly through semi-analytical modelling, quantifying the possible contribution of the observed major mergers to the

C60 fullerene and pentacene were reacted under mild conditions in toluene, yielding the monoadduct, which was characterized by electronic absorption and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The C60/pentacene adduct was studied by thermogravimetric analysis and its experimental composition was found in line with the theory for a 1:1

We present narrowband imagery and long-slit intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of the multiple-shell planetary nebulae NGC 2438 and NGC 5882. A comparative study of the chemical abundances of the main nebulae and their surrounding halos shows a moderate N/O enrichment of the central regions. The oxygen abundances appear constant throughout the

We present optical and NIR (near infrared) follow up observations of the GRB 001109 from 1 to 300 days after the burst. No transient emission was found at these wavelengths within this GRB's (Gamma Ray Burst) 50 arcsec radius BeppoSAX error box. Strong limits (3σ) are set with: R ⪆ 21, 10.2 h after the GRB; I ⪆ 23, 11.4 h after the GRB; H ⪆ 20.7, 9

The neutron star transient and 11 Hz X-ray pulsar IGR J17480-2446, recently discovered in the globular cluster Terzan 5, showed unprecedented bursting activity during its 2010 October-November outburst. We analyzed all X-ray bursts detected with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and confirmed their thermonuclear origin, despite the fact that many do

According to star formation histories (SFHs), Local Group dwarf galaxies can be broadly classified in two types: those forming most of their stars before z = 2 (fast) and those with more extended SFHs (slow). The most precise SFHs are usually derived from deep but not very spatially extended photometric data; this might alter the ratio of old to