Related papers: Distance to the Centaurus cluster and its subcompo…
Only a small number of exoplanets has been identified in stellar cluster environments. We initiated a high angular resolution direct imaging search using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and its NICMOS instrument for self-luminous giant…
Studies of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in nearby clusters have revealed a sub-population of extremely diffuse galaxies with central surface brightness $\mu_{0,g'}$ > 24 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ and effective radius between 1.5 kpc <…
The distance to NGC 5128, the central galaxy of the Centaurus group and the nearest giant elliptical to us, has been determined using two independent distance indicators: the Mira period-luminosity (PL) relation and the luminosity of the…
We present internal velocity dispersion determinations from high-resolution spectroscopic observations of a sample of nine globular clusters in M31. Comprehensive numerical simulations are used to show that the typical uncertainty of our…
We present magnitudes and profile fits for 180 galaxies in the central field of the massive lensing cluster Abell 1689 using very deep imaging with the ACS/HST in the F814W bandpass. Previous work revealed an exceptionally large number of…
The discovery of a large population of intra-cluster star clusters in the central region of the Hydra I and Centaurus galaxy clusters is presented. Based on deep VLT photometry (V,I), many star clusters have been identified not only around…
We have detected, for the first time, Cepheid variables in the Sculptor Group SB(s)m galaxy NGC 55. From wide-field images obtained in the optical V and I bands during 77 nights in 2002-2003, we have found 143 Cepheids with periods ranging…
As part of a large Hubble Space Telescope investigation aiming at reaching the faintest stars in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6752, an ACS/WFC field was the subject of deep optical observations reaching magnitudes as faint as V~30. In…
We have used the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain deep photometry of the NGC 300 spiral galaxy in the Sculptor group. The results have been used to derive an accurate distance determination based on…
We present this paper in conjuction with the following as the first results in the CFHT Open Star Cluster Survey. This survey is a large BVR imaging data set of 19 open star clusters in our Galaxy. This data set was taken with the CFH12K…
The B,V CCD photometry of 916 stars in the field of the high galactic latitude intermediate age open cluster NGC 1245 is presented. The cluster parameters were estimated with the help of V vs (B-V) colour-magnitude diagram (CMD). After…
We present the analysis of the velocity structure of the intracluster gas near the core of Abell 3526 obtained with two off-center Chandra observations, specifically designed to eliminate errors due to spatial variations of the instrumental…
We report the results of a systematic photometric survey of the peripheral regions of a sample of fourteen globular clusters in the outer halo of the Milky Way at distances d_GC>25 kpc from the Galactic centre. The survey is aimed at…
To enlarge the sample of known low-surface brightness (LSB) galaxies and to try to provide clues about their nature, we report the detection of eight of this type of objects ($\mu_{{eff}, g'} \simeq 27$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$) towards the group…
We report the discovery of three large (R29 >~ 1 arcminute) extremely low surface brightness (mu_(V,0) ~ 27.0) galaxies identified using our deep, wide-field imaging of the Virgo Cluster from the Burrell Schmidt telescope. Complementary…
We report the discovery of three new star clusters in the halo of the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822. These clusters were found in the deep images taken with the MegaPrime at the CFHT, covering a total field of 2 deg x 2 deg.…
The properties of globular cluster systems (GCSs) in the core of the nearby galaxy clusters Fornax and Hydra I are presented. In the Fornax cluster we have gathered the largest radial velocity sample of a GCS system so far, which enables us…
Accurate distances are fundamental to interpreting many measured properties of galaxies. Surprisingly, many of the best-studied spiral galaxies in the Local Volume have distance uncertainties that are much larger than can be achieved with…
Intracluster gas velocity gradients have been recently detected by the authors in the Centaurus cluster (Abell 3526) using the Doppler shift of X-ray spectral lines with ASCA Solid-state Imaging Spectrometers. The velocity gradient was…
In the last few years many globular clusters (GCs) have revealed complex color-magnitude diagrams, with the presence of multiple main sequences (MSs), broaden or multiple sub-giant branches (SGBs) and MS turn offs, and broad or split red…