V341 Ara was recently recognized as one of the closest (d ≃ 150 pc) and brightest (V ≃ 10) nova-like cataclysmic variables. This unique system is surrounded by a bright emission nebula, likely to be the remnant of a recent nova eruption. Embedded within this nebula is a prominent bow shock, where the system's accretion disc wind runs into its own

We study structural properties of spectroscopically confirmed massive quiescent galaxies at z ≍ 3 with one of the first sizeable samples of such sources, made of ten 10.8 < log (M ⋆/M ☉) < 11.3 galaxies at 2.4 < z < 3.2 in the COSMOS field whose redshifts and quiescence are confirmed by Hubble Space Telescope (HST) grism spectroscopy. Although

MAXI J1659-152 is a 2.4 h orbital period X-ray dipping transient black hole candidate. We present spectroscopy of its I ≍ 23 quiescent counterpart, where we detect Hα emission with full width half maximum (FWHM) of 3200 ± 300 km s -1. Applying the correlation between the Hα FWHM and radial velocity semi-amplitude of the donor star for quiescent X

We use semi-analytical methods to obtain detailed chemical evolution models (CEMs) for the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy Tucana. Published star formation rates and the age-metallicity relationship are used to constrain the observables. The results show that Tucana: (i) behaved like a closed box for 75 per cent of its life, (ii) had either a

We have detected a broad interstellar absorption band centred close to 7700 Å and with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 176.6 ± 3.9 Å. This is the first such absorption band detected in the optical range and is significantly wider than the numerous diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). It remained undiscovered until now because it is partially