Related papers: New Observing Techniques
This thesis focuses on the detection of extrasolar planets via the transit method, and more specifically addresses issues relevant to the preparation of upcoming space missions such as CoRoT, Kepler, Eddington, aiming to detect terrestrial…
We review some aspects of the current state of data-intensive astronomy, its methods, and some outstanding data analysis challenges. Astronomy is at the forefront of "big data" science, with exponentially growing data volumes and data…
The Hipparcos mission has made it possible to constrain the positions of nearby field stars in the colour-magnitude diagram with very high accuracy. These positions can be compared with the predictions of stellar evolutionary calculations…
Since 2008 we have run an observational program to accurately measure the characteristics of known exoplanet systems hosting close-in transiting giant planets, i.e. hot Jupiters. Our study is based on high-quality photometric follow-up…
Nowadays there is no field research which is not flooded with data. Among the sciences, Astrophysics has always been driven by the analysis of massive amounts of data. The development of new and more sophisticated observation facilities,…
We use the new reduction of the Hipparcos data (van Leeuwen 2007) and a self-consistent distance determination technique for Lutz-Kelker limited samples to obtain distances to the massive stars in the solar vicinity. The distance…
Two major advantages of the STAR detector - uniform azimuthal acceptance complementing extended pseudo-rapidity coverage, and the ability to identify a wide variety of the hadron species in almost all kinematic ranges - have allowed us to…
Stars exhibit a bewildering variety of variable behaviors ranging from explosive magnetic flares to stochastically changing accretion to periodic pulsations or rotations. The principal LSST surveys will have cadences too sparse and…
The singular way of scheduling at major observatories has favored certain types of astronomy. This has led to the discrimination of certain types of observations which could not be accommodated. It is the goal of future operations to open…
Our knowledge of the presence and the strength of magnetic fields in massive O and B-type stars remains very poor. Recent observations indicate that the presence of magnetic fields is responsible for a wide range of phenomena observed in…
The International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite has made a tremendous contribution to the study of hot-star winds. Its long lifetime has resulted in the collection of ultraviolet spectra for a large sample of OB stars. Its unique…
We present preliminary results of a 3-month campaign carried out in the framework of the Mons project, where time-resolved Halpha observations are used to study the wind and circumstellar properties of a number of OB stars.
We highlight recent theoretical and observational progress in several areas of neutron star astrophysics, and discuss the prospect for advances in the next decade.
The changing heavens have played a central role in the scientific effort of astronomers for centuries. Galileo's synoptic observations of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus starting in 1610, provided strong refutation of Ptolemaic…
The fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics are technology limited, where the advent and application of new technologies to astronomy usher in a flood of discoveries altering our understanding of the Universe (e.g., recent cases include LIGO…
We report the main results of our six year long intensive optical monitoring on blazars ON 231 (W Com), BL Lac, and 3C 273. Intensive optical monitoring is an indispensable tool to obtain well sampled light curves and thus to understand the…
Exoplanets which are detected using the radial velocity technique have a well-known ambiguity of their true mass, caused by the unknown inclination of the planetary orbit with respect to the plane of the sky. Constraints on the inclination…
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…
Aims: We compare the apparent difference in timing of transiting planets (or eclipsing binaries) that are observed from widely separated locations (parallactic delay). Methods: A simple geometrical argument allow us to show that the…
We are still in the early days of exoplanet discovery. Astronomers are beginning to model the atmospheres and interiors of exoplanets and have developed a deeper understanding of processes of planet formation and evolution. However, we have…