Recent high-resolution and high-cadence observations have surprisingly suggested that prominence barbs exhibit apparent rotating motions suggestive of a tornado-like structure. Additional evidence has been provided by Doppler measurements. The observations reveal opposite velocities for both hot and cool plasma on the two sides of a prominence barb. This motion is persistent for several hours and has been interpreted in terms of rotational motion of prominence feet. Several authors suggest that such barb motions are rotating helical structures around a vertical axis similar to tornadoes on

Galactic globular clusters (GCs) are known to host multiple stellar populations: a first generation (FG) with a chemical pattern typical of halo field stars and a second generation (SG) enriched in Na and Al and depleted in O and Mg. Both stellar generations are found at different evolutionary stages (e.g., the main-sequence turnoff, the subgiant branch, and the red giant branch (RGB)). The non-detection of SG asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in several metal-poor ([Fe/H] < ‑1) GCs suggests that not all SG stars ascend the AGB phase, and that failed AGB stars may be very common in metal

Since 2006, the European Near Earth Asteroids Research (EURONEAR)project has been contributing to the research of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) within a European network. One of the main aims is the amelioration of the orbits of NEAs, and starting in 2014 February we focus on the recovery of one-opposition NEAs using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in La Palma in override mode. As a part of this NEA recovery project, since 2014 June EURONEAR serendipitously started to discover and secure the first NEAs from La Palma using the INT, and thanks to the teamwork including amateurs and students who

Currently, the analysis of transmission spectra is the most successful technique to probe the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. However, the accuracy of these measurements is constrained by observational limitations and the diversity of possible atmospheric compositions. Here, we show the UV-VIS-IR transmission spectrum of Jupiter as if it were a transiting exoplanet, obtained by observing one of its satellites, Ganymede, while passing through Jupiter's shadow, i.e., during a solar eclipse from Ganymede. The spectrum shows strong extinction due to the presence of clouds

The total baryon content in the Universe is a well-defined quantity, in addition to being one of the most important cosmological parameters. A variety of observations (CMB, Ly-alpha forest, Big Bang nucleosynthesis) indicate that all baryons amount to around 4% of the total matter-energy content of the Universe. However, in the local Universe the contribution of all the observed components represents around 2% of the total. Therefore, half of the baryons in the local Universe remain elusive. In this article we have presented measurements of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect in Planck

The planetary nebula (PN) stage is the ultimate fate of stars with mass 1 to 8 solar masses (M⊙). The origin of their complex morphologies is poorly understood, although several mechanisms involving binary interaction have been proposed. In close binary systems, the orbital separation is short enough for the primary star to overfill its Roche lobe as it expands during the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase. The excess material ends up forming a common-envelope (CE) surrounding both stars. Drag forces would then result in the envelope being ejected into a bipolar PN whose equator is