Related papers: M33's Variable A -- A Hypergiant Star More Than 35…
The characterization of exoplanets, their formation, evolution, and chemical changes is tightly linked to our knowledge of their host stars. In particular, stellar X-rays and UV emission have a strong impact on the dynamical and chemical…
Non-variable OH/IR stars are thought to have just left the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase. In this conventional picture, they must still show strong circumstellar extinction caused by the dust ejected during the AGB phase, and the…
We present HR Diagrams for the massive star populations in M31 and M33 including several different types of emission-line stars: the confirmed Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), candidate LBVs, B[e] supergiants and the warm hypergiants. We…
The interaction between supernova ejecta and circumstellar matter, arising from previous episodes of mass loss, provides us with a means with which to constrain the progenitors of supernovae. Radio observations of a number of supernovae…
In late 2003, the young eruptive variable star V1647 Orionis optically brightened by over 5 magnitudes, stayed bright for around 26 months, and then decline to its pre-outburst level. In August 2008 the star was reported to have…
We present observations of the massive transitional star W243 in Westerlund 1. We find an apparent spectral type of early-mid A from our data, in contrast to an earlier classification of B2I, made from data obtained in 1981. The concurrent…
M31-RV was an extraordinarily luminous (~10^6 Lsun) eruptive variable, displaying very cool temperatures (roughly 1000 Kelvins) as it faded. The photometric behavior of M31-RV (and several other very red novae, i.e. luminous eruptive red…
We suggest that the gap observed at 20,000 K in the horizontal branches of several Galactic globular clusters is caused by a small amount of extra mass loss which occurs when stars start to "peel off" the red giant branch (RGB), i.e., when…
We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT), of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 (Triangulum). The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the…
We present photometry and moderate-resolution spectroscopy of the luminous red variable [HBS2006] 40671 originally detected as a possible nova in the galaxy M33. We found that the star is a pulsating Mira-type variable with a long period of…
Using data from the (intermediate) Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF), we characterize the time variability of ~500 massive stars in M31. Our sample is those stars which are spectrally typed by Massey and collaborators, including Luminous…
We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the emission-line star MWC 930 (V446 Sct) during its long-term optical brightening in 2006--2013. Based on our earlier data we suggested that the object has features found in Luminous…
We use a hydro-and-radiative-transfer code to explore the behavior of a very massive star (VMS) after a giant eruption -- i.e., following a supernova impostor event. Beginning with reasonable models for evolved VMSs with masses of…
The paper presents the results of long-term homogeneous spectroscopic studies of the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 141569A obtained in the optical range. We detect spectral variability on timescales of months to years, including changes in the…
We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT), of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 (Triangulum). The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the…
We present a comprehensive analysis of 20 years worth of multi-color photometric light curves, multi-epoch optical spectra, and X-ray data of an off-nuclear variable object SDSS1133 in Mrk 177 at $z=0.0079$. The UV-optical light curves…
The planetary nebula (PN) called the Stingray (PN G331.3$-$12.1) suddenly turned on in the 1980s, and its central star (V839 Ara) started a fast evolution with large amplitudes in magnitude, surface temperature, and surface gravity, perhaps…
We present deep GALEX images of NGC 5128, the parent galaxy of Centaurus A. We detect a striking "weather ribbon" of Far-UV and H$\alpha$ emission, which extends more than 35 kpc northeast of the galaxy. The ribbon is associated with a…
In this series of papers we have presented the results of a spectroscopic survey of luminous and variable stars in the nearby spirals M31 and M33. In this paper, we present spectroscopy of 132 additional luminous stars, variables, and…
Massive stars are rare but of paramount importance for their immediate environment and their host galaxies. They lose mass from their birth through strong stellar winds up to their spectacular end of their lives as supernovae. The mass loss…