The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS) has secured mid-resolution spectra of over 300 O-type stars in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. A homogeneous analysis of such a large sample requires automated techniques, an approach that will also be needed for the upcoming analysis of the Gaia surveys of the Northern and Southern

We report the discovery of the ultracompact hot subdwarf (sdOB) binary OW J074106.0–294811.0 with an orbital period of {P}{orb}=44.66279+/- 1.16× {10}-4 minutes, making it the most compact hot subdwarf binary known. Spectroscopic observations using the VLT, Gemini and Keck telescopes revealed a He-sdOB primary with an intermediate helium abundance

We present multiband optical/IR photometry of V4580 Sgr, the optical counterpart of the accretion-powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658, taken during the 1998 X-ray outburst of the system. The optical flux is consistent with emission from an X-ray-heated accretion disk. Self-consistent modeling of the X-ray and optical emission during the

Context: Eight accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs) are known to date. Although these systems are well studied at high energies, very little information is available for their optical/NIR counterparts. Up to now, only two of them, SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J00291+5934, have a secure multi-band detection of their optical counterparts in

The two Fanaroff & Riley classes of radio galaxies are defined by radio morphology, and the distinction may arise from a combination of environmental conditions and central engine power. Several studies have suggested that powerful, FR II, radio galaxies are on average 0.5 mag fainter optically (i.e., are smaller) than weak, FR I, radio galaxies

The behavior of the light curve of 3C 345 is analyzed using all B magnitudes available in the literature, thus extending the number of points in the compiled light curve of this object by a factor of more than 50 percent and the coverage by about 7 yrs, in comparison with the light curve compiled by Kidger and Beckman (1986). In addition, a new and