THE active nuclei of Seyfert 1 galaxies are characterized by a small (˜0.03 pc) region of intense broad emission lines, indicative of gas moving at extremely high velocities and ionized by a non-thermal radiation field. These spectral features are usually explained by invoking the presence of a central supermassive black hole. Here we present two

We present high time resolution ULTRACAM optical and NOTCam infrared observations of the edge-on black hole X-ray transient Swift J1357.2-0933. Our data taken in 2012 and 2013 show the system to be at its pre-outburst magnitude and so the system is in quiescence. In contrast to other X-ray transients, the quiescent light curves of Swift J1357.2

We present initial results of a comparative near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic study of the Themis and Veritas asteroid families. These two families are compositionally primitive (mainly Tholen C-types) and likely formed in the same region of the protoplanetary disk. However, their disruption ages are at opposite extremes: 2.5 Gy and 8.3 My

We compare the detailed distributions of H I, H alpha , and 150 nm far-UV (FUV) continuum emission in the spiral arms of M81 at a resolution of 9" (linear resolution 150 pc at 3.7 Mpc distance). The bright H alpha emission peaks are always associated with peaks in the FUV emission. The converse is not always true; there are many regions of FUV

We report high-resolution spectroscopy of the moderately reddened (AV=3) early-type star Cernis 52 located in a region of the Perseus molecular cloud complex with anomalous microwave emission. In addition to the presence of the most common diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) we detect two new interstellar or circumstellar bands coincident to within 0

Stars with masses greater than about ten solar masses are thought to end their lives either in a supernova or in a direct gravitational collapse process, either of which could have a black hole as a remnant. But there is as yet no direct observational evidence to support either gravitational collapse in general or the formation of black hole