Previous analyses of large databases of Milky Way stars have revealed the stellar disk of our Galaxy to be warped and that this imparts a strong signature on the kinematics of stars beyond the solar neighborhood. However, due to the limitation of accurate distance estimates, many attempts to explore the extent of these Galactic features have

We discuss the observed pulsation properties of Type II Cepheids (TIICs) in the Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. We found that period (P) distributions, luminosity amplitudes, and population ratios of the three different sub-groups (BL Herculis [BLH, P < 5 days], W Virginis [WV, 5 ≤ P < 20 days], RV Tauri [RVT, P > 20 days]) are quite similar

Forthcoming large photometric surveys for cosmology require precise and accurate photometric redshift (photo-z) measurements for the success of their main science objectives. However, to date, no method has been able to produce photo-zs at the required accuracy using only the broad-band photometry that those surveys will provide. An assessment of

The ESPRESSO spectrograph is a high resolution, super stable echelle cross-dispersed fibre-fed spectrograph, installed in the ESO-VLT Combined Coudé Laboratory of the ESO-VLT in Cerro Paranal. In the framework of the Fiber-Link (FL) recovery project, which was necessary to meet the throughput requirement of the instrument, we redesigned and build

ESPRESSO is a high resolution, super stable fiber-fed echelle spectrograph, installed at the ESO-VLT Combined Coudé Laboratory of the Paranal Observatory. The main instrument subsystems are: Coudé Path, Fiber Link (FL) and Spectrograph. After installation and verification, the FL subsystem flux efficiency did not fully meet the requirements. We

HIRES is the high-resolution spectrograph of the European Extremely Large Telescope at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. It consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs providing a wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 µm (goal 0.35-2.4 µm) at a spectral resolution of 100,000. The fibre-feeding allows HIRES to have several, interchangeable observing