The AKARI and Spitzer satellites provided an unique opportunity to observe a variety of stars, which are considered as departing from the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and have started their post-AGB evolution recently. Most of these stars are absent optically and are bright in the mid-IR wavelength range. Spectra of close to 200 objects have been

The MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes underwent a major upgrade in 2011 and 2012. A new 1039-pixel camera and a larger area digital trigger system were installed in MAGIC-I, making it essentially identical to the newer MAGIC-II telescope. The readout systems of both telescopes were also upgraded, with fully programmable receiver boards and DRS4-chip-based

An analysis is performed of multicolour observations of OJ 287 carried out during the OJ-94 Project. It is found that in the optical region the variable sources have the same power-law spectrum (F_nu ~ nu (-1.5) ) irrespective of flux level. In the IR the spectrum flattens during the flare possibly because of synchrotron self-absorption. The

We report near-infrared and optical follow-up observations of the afterglow of the GRB 000418 starting 2.5 days after the occurrence of the burst and extending over nearly 7 weeks. GRB 000418 represents the second case for which the afterglow was initially identified by observations in the near-infrared. During the first 10 days its R-band

An identification list is presented for the visible spectra of Pi Cet (B7 V), 36 Lyn (B8 IIIp), and 134 Tau (B9 IV). Equivalent widths are measured on medium dispersion plates of 7.0 and 12.4 A/mm, and the photographic plates are digitized using a PDS 1010A microdensiometer. The effective temperature and gravity of the three stars are estimated

Context. The 30 Doradus (30 Dor) region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, also known as the Tarantula nebula, is the nearest starburst region. It contains the richest population of massive stars in the Local Group, and it is thus the best possible laboratory to investigate open questions on the formation and evolution of massive stars. Aims: Using