Related papers: Is the physics within the Solar system really unde…
Within the dark matter paradigm, explaining observed orbital dynamics at galactic level through the inclusion of a dominant dark halo, implies also the necessary appearance of dynamical friction effects. Satellite galaxies, globular…
Spectroscopic observations at extreme and far ultraviolet wavelengths have revealed systematic upflows in the solar transition region and corona. These upflows are best seen in the network structures of the quiet Sun and coronal holes,…
A wealth of astronomical data indicate the presence of mass discrepancies in the Universe. The motions observed in a variety of classes of extragalactic systems exceed what can be explained by the mass visible in stars and gas. Either (i)…
The solar atmosphere is full of complicated transients manifesting the reconfiguration of solar magnetic field and plasma. Solar jets represent collimated, beam-like plasma ejections; they are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and…
The present work describes the investigation of the navigation anomaly of Pioneer 10 and 11 probes which became known as the Pioneer Anomaly. It appeared as a linear drift in the Doppler data received by the spacecraft, which has been…
Exoplanet surveys have confirmed one of humanity's (and all teenagers') worst fears: we are weird. If our Solar System were observed with present-day Earth technology -- to put our system and exoplanets on the same footing -- Jupiter is the…
There is compelling evidence that the Universe is undergoing a late phase of accelerated expansion. One of the simplest explanations for this behaviour is the presence of dark energy. A plethora of microphysical models for dark energy have…
The discovery of the first interstellar object passing through the Solar System, 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua), provoked intense and continuing interest from the scientific community and the general public. The faintness of 'Oumuamua, together…
A wide range of large scale observations hint towards possible modifications on the standard cosmological model which is based on a homogeneous and isotropic universe with a small cosmological constant and matter. These observations, also…
The present observational status of neutrino physics is sketched, with emphasis on the hints that follow from solar and atmospheric neutrino observations, as well as dark matter. I also briefly review the ways to account for the observed…
The known extrasolar planets exhibit many interesting and surprising features--extremely short-period orbits, high-eccentricity orbits, mean-motion and secular resonances, etc.--and have dramatically expanded our appreciation of the…
Launched more than thirty years ago and now drifting in space with no further contact, the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft are currently at the center of a small but developing concern: are they under the influence of an anomalous acceleration…
An unexpected secular increase of the Astronomical Unit, the length scale of the Solar System, has recently been reported by three different research groups (Krasinsky and Brumberg, Pitjeva, Standish). The latest JPL measurements amount to…
Understanding the origin and long-term evolution of the Solar System is a fundamental goal of planetary science and astrophysics. This chapter describes our current understanding of the key processes that shaped our planetary system,…
SNO's neutral current measurement has added a new piece to the emerging neutrino physics puzzle. Putting together the presently available experimental information, an essentially unique picture emerges: The solar neutrino anomaly is…
For the past forty years the search for dark matter has been one of the primary foci of astrophysics, although there has yet to be any direct evidence for its existence (Porter et al. 2011). Indirect evidence for the existence of dark…
Modern astrophysical and cosmological models are plagued with two severe theoretical difficulties, namely, the dark energy and the dark matter problems. Relative to the former, high-precision observational data have confirmed with startling…
In this work we study how scalar fields may affect solar observables, and use the constraint on the Sun's central temperature to extract bounds on the parameters of relevant models. Also, a scalar field driven by a suitable potential is…
The inverse square law of gravity is poorly probed by experimental tests at distances of ~ 10 AUs. Recent analysis of the trajectory of the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft have shown an unmodeled acceleration directed toward the Sun which was…
In this talk, I have discussed some issues of recent interest and activity in the field of neutrino astrophysics and cosmology. The topics are: (1)~The origin of high peculiar velocities of pulsars; (2)~Energization of the supernova shock…