Central cluster galaxies are the largest and most massive galaxies in the Universe. Although they host very old stellar populations, several studies found the existence of blue cores in some BCGs indicating ongoing star formation. We analyse VLT/X-Shooter stacked spectra of 6 nearby massive central galaxies with high central velocity dispersions (σ

Context. The detection and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is currently one of the main drivers pushing the development of new observing facilities. In this context, high-resolution spectrographs are proving their potential and showing that high-resolution spectroscopy will be paramount in this field. Aims: We aim to make use of ESPRESSO

Context. Stellar bars are known to gradually funnel gas to the central parts of disk galaxies. It remains a matter of debate why the distribution of ionized gas along bars and in the circumnuclear regions varies among galaxies. Aims: Our goal is to investigate the spatial distribution of star formation (SF) within bars of nearby low-inclination

The ubiquitous presence of Galactic cirri in deep optical images represents a major obstacle to study the low surface brightness features of extragalactic sources. To address this issue, we have explored the optical properties of cirri using g, r, i, and z bands in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe82 region. Using state-of-the-art, custom

Context. Most of our current knowledge on planet formation is still based on the analysis of main sequence, solar-type stars. Conversely, detailed chemical studies of large samples of M dwarfs hosting planets are still missing. Aims: Correlations exist between the presence of different types of planets around FGK stars and metallicity, individual

The persistent low-luminosity neutron star X-ray binary 4U 1812-12 is a potential member of the scarce family of ultra-compact systems. We performed deep photometric and spectroscopic optical observations with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias in order to investigate the chemical composition of the accreted plasma, which is a proxy for the donor