Related papers: The Galactic Extinction Horizon with Present and F…
The characterisation of the extinction curve in the near infrared (NIR) is fundamental to analyse the structure and stellar population of the Galactic centre (GC), whose analysis is hampered by the extreme interstellar extinction ($A_V\sim…
A new view on our Galaxy has recently emerged, with large consequences on its formation scenarios. Not only new dwarf satellites have been detected, still orbiting and tidally disrupting, but also a multitude of stellar streams or tidal…
Due to the foreground extinction of the Milky Way, galaxies appear increasingly fainter the closer they lie to the Galactic Equator, creating a "zone of avoidance" of about 25% in the distribution of optically visible galaxies. A…
The formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the great outstanding problems of astrophysics. Within the broad context of hierachical structure formation, we have only a crude picture of how galaxies like our own came into existence. A…
The bulge is a region of the Galaxy of tremendous interest for understanding galaxy formation. However measuring photometry and kinematics in it raises several inherent issues, such as severe crowding and high extinction in the visible.…
The new multi-epoch near-infrared VVV survey (VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea) is sampling 562 sq. deg of the Galactic bulge and adjacent regions of the disk. Accurate astrometry established for the region surveyed allows the VVV data to…
We review cosmological inference from galaxy surveys at low and high redshifts, with emphasis on new Southern sky surveys. We focus on several issues: (i) The importance of understanding selection effects in catalogues and matching Northern…
I present an overview of the science goals and achievements of ongoing spectroscopic surveys of individual stars in the nearby Universe. I include a brief discussion of the development of the field of Galactic Archaeology - using the fossil…
Extinction in ultraviolet is much more significant than in optical or infrared, which can be very informative to precisely measure the extinction and understand the dust properties in the low extinction areas. The high Galactic latitude sky…
New and forthcoming deep-wide surveys, from instruments like the HSC, LSST and EUCLID, are poised to revolutionize our understanding of galaxy evolution, by revealing aspects of galaxies that are largely invisible in past wide-area…
Dust and stars in the Milky Way create a ``Zone of Avoidance'' (ZOA) in the distribution of optically visible galaxies of about 25% of the sky. To reduce this gap, optical searches for partially obscured galaxies have been performed. The…
The discovery of new clear windows in the Galactic plane using the VVV near-IR extinction maps allows the study of the structure of the Milky Way (MW) disk. The ultimate goal of this work is to map the spiral arms in the far side of the MW,…
Our knowledge of the Galaxy is being revolutionised by a series of photometric, spectroscopic and astrometric surveys. Already an enormous body of data is available from completed surveys, and data of ever increasing quality and richness…
Selected results obtained in major observational sky surveys (DSS, 2MASS, 2dF, SDSS) and deep field observations (HDF, GOODS, HUDF, etc.) are reviewed. Modern surveys provide information on the characteristics and space distribution of…
The origin of the galaxies represents an important focus of current cosmological research, both observational and theoretical. Its resolution involves a comprehensive understanding of star formation, galaxy dynamics, the cosmology of the…
A detailed map of the distribution of dust at high Galactic latitudes is essential for future cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiments because the dust, while diffuse, remains a significant foreground in these regions. We…
Galaxies represent the visible fabric of the Universe and there has been considerable progress recently in both observational and theoretical studies. The underlying goal is to understand the present-day diversity of galaxy forms, masses…
Weak gravitational lensing surveys measure the distortion of the image of distant sources due to the deflections of light rays by the fluctuations of the gravitational potential along the line of sight. Since they probe the non-linear…
Upcoming next generation galactic surveys, such as GAIA and HERMES, will deliver unprecedented detail about the structure and make-up of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, and promise to radically improve our understanding of it. However, to…
The bulge is a region of the Galaxy which is of tremendous interest for understanding Galaxy formation. However, measuring photometry and kinematics in it raises several inherent issues, like high extinction in the visible and severe…