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Mega-constellations in Low Earth Orbit have the potential to revolutionise worldwide internet access. The concomitant potential of these mega-constellations to impact space sustainability, however, has prompted concern from space actors as…
This article aims to highlight the impact for ground based astronomical observations in different windows of the electromagnetic spectrum coming from the deployment of fleets of telecommunications satellites. A particular attention is given…
Visual photometry, the estimation of stellar brightness by eye, continues to provide valuable data even in this highly-instrumented era. However, the eye-brain system functions differently from electronic sensors and its products can be…
There is a growing concern about an impact of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations on ground-based astronomical observations, in particular, on wide-field surveys in the optical and infrared. The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF),…
We report the discovery of Andromeda X, a new dwarf spheroidal satellite of M31, based on stellar photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Using follow-up imaging data we have estimated its distance and other physical…
We analyze photometric data in SDSS-DR7 to infer statistical properties of faint satellites associated to isolated bright galaxies (M_r<-20.5) in the redshift range 0.03<z<0.1. The mean projected radial profile shows an excess of companions…
The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST) is a 55cm optical survey telescope with a high cadence (25Hz) monitoring of the sky over a wide field of view (~7deg^2). The high frame rate allows detection of sub-second transients…
We extend the method introduced by Cinzano et al. (2000a) to map the artificial sky brightness in large territories from DMSP satellite data, in order to map the naked eye star visibility and telescopic limiting magnitudes. For these…
The number and distribution of dwarf satellite galaxies remain a critical test of cold dark matter-dominated structure formation on small scales. Until recently, observational information about galaxy formation on these scales has been…
The Faint Sky Variability Survey is aimed at finding photometric and/or astrometric variable objects in the brightness range between 16<V<24 on timescales between tens of minutes and years with photometric precisions ranging from 3…
Recent weak lensing observations have pushed the use of 4 meter-class telescopes to the limits of their capabilities with exposure times exceeding several hours. The leading idea is that the surface density of faint galaxies up to very…
Extrapolation of the astrometric motion of the nearby low-mass star VB 10 indicates that sometime in late December 2011 or during the first 2-3 months of 2012, the star will make a close approach to a background point source. Based on…
Strong upper limits are placed on the visual-band brightnesses of galactic hosts for four luminous, radio-quiet quasars with redshifts between $0.16$ and~$0.24$ that were studied with the HST's Wide Field/Planetary Camera-2. Typical upper…
In the era of mega-constellations, the need for accurate and publicly available information has become fundamental for satellite operators to guarantee the safety of spacecrafts and the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space environment. This study…
We report on 13 sub-arcsecond binaries, detected by means of lunar occultations in the near-infrared at the ESO Very Large Telescope. They are all first-time detections, except for the visual binary HD~158122 which we resolved for the first…
We study the abundance of satellites akin to the brightest, classical dwarf spheroidals around galaxies similar in magnitude and isolation to the Milky Way and M31 in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. From a combination of photometric and…
A significant amount of data on the historical and current behaviour of variable stars is derived from visual estimates of brightness using a set of comparison stars. To make optimum use of this invaluable collection one must understand the…
We have studied the performance of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope payload on AstroSat and derived a calibration of the FUV and NUV instruments on board. We find that the sensitivity of both the FUV and NUV channels is as expected from…
Gravitational lenses with anomalous flux ratios are often cited as possible evidence for dark matter satellites predicted by simulations of hierarchical merging in cold dark matter cosmogonies. We show that the fraction of quads with…
In the coming decade, up to 100 000 satellites in large constellations could be launched into low Earth orbit. The satellites will introduce a variety of negative impacts on astronomy observatories and science, which vary from negligible to…