Related papers: Characterizing the Galactic and Extragalactic Back…
We present here the results of cross-correlating the X-ray background measured by Ginga in the 2-10 keV band with several catalogues of extragalactic objects. Positive signals with an amplitude of a few per cent have been found for some…
Detections of transiting planets from the upcoming PLATO mission are expected to face significant contamination from contaminating eclipsing binaries, resulting in false positives. To counter this, a ground-based programme to acquire…
Observational programmes currently underway with both Chandra and XMM-Newton are set to revolutionize our view of our own Galaxy. This is fortunate since the X-ray band can provide crucial diagnostics in the quest to understand the…
High contrast direct imaging of exoplanets can provide many important observables, including measurements of the orbit, spectra that probe the lower layers of the atmosphere, and phase variations of the planet, but cannot directly measure…
For much of human history we have wondered how our solar system formed, and whether there are any other planets like ours around other stars. Only in the last 20 years have we had direct evidence for the existence of exoplanets, with the…
Data are given for 16 extragalactic objects (predominantly AGN) behind the Magellanic Clouds and for 146 quasar candidates behind the nearby galaxies NGC 45, 185, 253, 2366, 2403 and 6822, IC 1613, M31 and M33. The Magellanic Cloud objects…
The interpretation of observations over different wavelength domains, which now exist over a large fraction of the sky, will be used to determine relationships between a nebula and its' illuminating source. The illuminating source of a high…
The cosmic infrared background (CIB) contains emissions accumulated over the entire history of the Universe, including from objects inaccessible to individual telescopic studies. The near-IR (~1-10 mic) part of the CIB, and its…
We report on a campaign to identify the counterparts to the population of X-ray sources discovered at the centre of our Galaxy by Wang et al.(2002) using Chandra. We have used deep, near infrared images obtained on VLT/ISAAC to identify…
Over the past 4 decades, the exploration of planets beyond our solar system has yielded the discovery of over 5600 exoplanets orbiting different stars. Continuous advancements in instrumentation and cutting-edge techniques empower…
The diffuse extragalactic background light consists of the sum of the starlight emitted by galaxies through the history of the Universe, and it could also have an important contribution from the first stars, which may have formed before…
In order to evaluate and develop mission concepts for a search for Terrestrial Exoplanets, we have prepared a list of potential target systems. In this paper we present and discuss the criteria for selecting potential target stars suitable…
We constrain Galactic foreground contamination of the Python V cosmic microwave background anisotropy data by cross correlating it with foreground contaminant emission templates. To model foreground emission we use 100 and 12 $\mu$m dust…
Stellar X-ray and UV radiation can significantly affect the survival, composition, and long-term evolution of the atmospheres of planets in or near their host star's habitable zone (HZ). Especially interesting are planetary systems in the…
Hard X-ray detectors in space are prone to background signals due to the ubiquitous cosmic rays and cosmic diffuse background radiation that continuously bombards the satellites which carry the detectors. In general, the background…
"Diffuse" gamma rays consist of several components: truly diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, the extragalactic background, whose origin is not firmly established yet, and the contribution from unresolved and faint Galactic point…
Synthesis models of the diffuse Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) suggest that it can be resolved into discrete sources, primarily Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). Measuring the CXB accurately offers a unique probe to study the AGN population in…
Exoplanet atmosphere characterization has seen revolutionary advances over the last few years, providing us with unique insights into atmospheric chemistry, dynamics and planet formation mechanisms. However, true solar system analog planets…
In this outlook we describe what could be the next steps of the direct characterization of habitable exoplanets after first the medium and large mission projects and investigate the benefits of the spectroscopic and direct imaging…
Present and upcoming NASA missions will be intensively observing a selected, partially overlapping set of stars for exoplanet studies. Key physical and chemical information about these stars and their systems is needed for planning…