Related papers: V1647 ORIONIS: Keck/Nirspec 2 MICRON Echelle Obser…

Some evolved stars in the pre-planetary nebula phase produce highly-collimated molecular outflows that resemble the accretion-driven jets and outflows from pre-main sequence stars. We show that IRAS 16342-3814 (the Water Fountain Nebula) is…

We report on medium resolution spectrophotometry of the Orion Nebula region, including for the first time the Extended Orion Nebula and the nearby M~43. The 49 long slit observations were divided into 99 smaller samples, which have allowed…

Either by collimating a fast stellar wind or by driving a jet via accretion in the central system, dusty torii or stable disks may be crucial ingredients for the shaping of PNe. We study the dust distribution in the very young…

We present optical observations of a ULX in the nearby spiral galaxy IC 342. This variable source has an average X-ray luminosity of some 10^{40} erg/s. At the position of the source there is an ionized nebula (the "Tooth") having huge…

AX J0049.4-7323 is a Be/X-ray binary that shows an unusual and poorly understood optical variability that consists of periodic and bright optical outbursts, simultaneous with X-ray outbursts, characterised by a highly asymmetric profile.…

We present the result of a systematic search for the iron Kalpha fluorescent line at 6.4 keV among 1616 X-ray sources detected by ultra-deep Chandra observations of the Orion Nebula Cluster and the obscured Orion Molecular Cloud 1…

We report on the ongoing outburst of the young variable V1180 Cas, which is known to display characteristics in common with EXor eruptive variables. We present results that support the scenario of an accretion-driven nature of the…

We announce a recently detected outburst that is currently only a few months old, and probably of FU Orionis type. The progenitor to the outburst was an emission-line, flat-spectrum SED young stellar object located in the W5 region, though…

Because of the intense brightness of the OB-type multiple star system sigma Ori, the low-mass stellar and substellar populations close to the centre of the very young sigma Orionis cluster is poorly know. I present an IJHKs survey in the…

We present the results of deep optical spectroscopic observations using the LRIS spectrograph on the Keck I 10-m telescope of three ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs), Ho IX X-1; M81 X-6; and Ho II X-1. Our observations reveal the…

We present the results obtained from timing and spectral studies of the highly obscured low luminosity active galactic nucleus NGC~4941 using data obtained from the {\it Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array} and the {\it Neil Gehrels…

We present spectroscopy and discuss the photometric history of a previously obscure star in M31. The spectrum of the star is an extremely close match to that of P Cygni, one of the archetypes of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs). The star has…

We present initial results from a survey of the Orion A and B molecular clouds made with the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. This survey encompasses a total of 5.6 square degrees with the sensitivity to…

CK Vul or Nova 1670 is an enigmatic eruptive object which underwent a stellar-merger event recorded by seventeenth-century observers. Its remnant was recently recovered at submillimeter wavelengths, revealing gas of an extraordinary…

We present XMM-Newton observations of the O supergiant Zeta Orionis (O9.7 Ib). The spectra are rich in emission lines over a wide range of ionization stages. The RGS-spectra show for the first time lines of low ion stages such as C VI, N…

We have made the first detection of a near-infrared counterpart associated with the disk around Radio Source "I," a massive protostar in the Kleinmann-Low Nebula in Orion using imaging with laser guide star adaptive optics on the Keck II…

We present Keck LWS images of the Orion BN/KL star forming region obtained in the first multi-wavelength study to have 0.3-0.5" resolution from 4.7 to 22 microns. The young stellar objects designated infrared source-n and radio source-I are…

We present Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) observations of the ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 6946 X-1 and its associated nebula MF 16. This ULX has very similar properties to the famous Holmberg II ULX, the first ULX to show a…

FU Orionis objects (FUors) are eruptive young stars, which exhibit outbursts that last from decades to a century. Due to the duration of their outbursts, and to the fact that only about two dozens of such sources are known, information on…

We present new spectroscopic observations of 13 H II regions in the Local Group spiral galaxy M33. The regions observed range from 1 to 7 kpc in distance from the nucleus. Of the 13 H II regions observed, the [O III] 4363 Angstrom line was…