Related papers: The supergiant B[e] star LHA 115-S 18 - binary and…
ASAS, MACHO, OGLE and SAAO JHKL light curves of 13 stars, that have at some time been classified as D-type symbiotics, are analysed. Most of the near-IR light-curves that have been monitored over many years show long-term changes due to…
30$\%$--50$\%$ of the luminous pulsating red-giant stars show light variations of a longer period than the pulsation periods. Those periods are called long secondary periods (LSP). There has been debated for many years but the origin of the…
We report the discovery of a circular mid-infrared shell around the emission-line star Wray 16-137 using archival data of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Follow-up optical spectroscopy of Wray 16-137 with the Southern African Large Telescope…
Our purpose is to study the effect of binary companions located within the first 10 stellar radii from the primary AGB star. In this work, we target the mass-losing carbon star V Hydrae (V Hya), looking for signatures of its companion in…
The star CD-42o11721 is a curious B[e] star sometimes pointed as an evolved B[e] supergiant and sometimes as a young HAeBe star, due to very uncertain or even unknown stellar parameters, especially the distance. In this paper, we present…
Fourteen stars from a sample of Magellanic Cloud objects selected to have a mid-infrared flux excess have been found to also show TiO bands in emission. The mid-infrared dust emission and the TiO band emission indicate that these stars have…
Symbiotic binaries are long period interacting binaries consisting of a white dwarf (WD) accreting material from a cool evolved giant star via stellar winds. In this paper we study the symbiotic binary LIN 358 located in the SMC. We have…
We have spectroscopically monitored the galactic Luminous Blue Variable HD 160529 and obtained an extensive high-resolution data set that covers the years 1991 to 2002. During this period, the star evolved from an extended photometric…
We report and discuss JHKs photometry for Sgr dIG, a very metal-deficient galaxy in the Local Group, obtained over 3.5 years with the Infrared Survey Facility in South Africa. Three large amplitude asymptotic giant branch variables are…
Helium-rich subdwarf B (He-sdB) stars represent a small group of low-mass hot stars with luminosities greater than those of conventional subdwarf B stars, and effective temperatures lower than those of subdwarf O stars. By measuring their…
Classical Be stars are hot non-supergiant stars surrounded by a gaseous circumstellar disk that is responsible for the observed infrared (IR) excess and emission lines. The influence of binarity on these phenomena remains controversial. We…
We present an analysis of the optical and near-infrared properties of SN 2022lxg, a bright ($\rm M_{g\, \mathrm{peak}}=-19.41$ mag) and rapidly evolving SN. It was discovered within a day of explosion, and rose to peak brightness in 10 d.…
Blue supergiants (BSGs) are key objects for understanding the evolution of massive stars. However, discrepancies between theoretical predictions and empirical observations have opened up important questions yet to be answered. Studying…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients are a class of Galactic High Mass X-ray Binaries with supergiant companions. Their extreme transient X-ray flaring activity was unveiled thanks to INTEGRAL/IBIS observations. The SFXTs dynamic range, with…
Photometric observations of the supersoft X-ray source 1E 0035.4-7230 obtained during two years reveal that the very blue optical counterpart (V (maximum)=20.2, B-V=-0.15, U-B=-1.06) undergoes nearly sinusoidal variations with a period of…
SU Lyn is a binary system composed of a white dwarf and a red giant star. Although it is known to be bright and variable at X-ray wavelengths, the optical counterpart of the source appeared as a single red giant without prominent emission…
A fast moving infrared excess source (G2) which is widely interpreted as a core-less gas and dust cloud approaches Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) on a presumably elliptical orbit. VLT K_s-band and Keck K'-band data result in clear continuum…
Photometric and spectral variability of brown dwarfs probes heterogeneous temperature and cloud distribution and traces the atmospheric circulation patterns. We present a new 42-hr Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 G141…
The existence of dynamically young and metal-rich RR Lyrae stars challenges conventional notions of these variable stars. One possible scenario for their formation and evolution is via binary channels involving mass transfer. This study…
(Abridged) Stars more massive than $20-30M_{\odot}$ are so luminous that the radiation force on the cooler, more opaque outer layers can balance or exceed the force of gravity. These near or super-Eddington outer envelopes represent a long…