The dissolution of fullerene C60 in oleum (fuming sulphuric acid 20 % free SO3) was followed simultaneously with ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) and NIR (Near Infrared Spectroscopy). It is shown that the intensity of the ESR signal associated to the formation of C60 radical cation (C60+•) follows the same kinetics as the NIR absoption band at about

During our recent observing run at La Silla (April 26-28, 1996), we had the chance to experiment successfully a previously unexplored capability of the NTT: high-dispersion spectroscopy using the full slit length of EMMI.

M31 has been monitored by a Chandra GTO program, which used both the HRC and ACIS from 1999 to 2001 and a GO program, which used ACIS-S during 2000-2001. We report here the lightcurves of X-ray sources in M31 during the past two years. X-ray sources in M31, like in our Galaxy, exhibit variability on long timescales (days to months). Some sources

Aims: We study the multi-band variability and correlations of the TeV blazar Mrk 421 on year timescales, which can bring additional insight on the processes responsible for its broadband emission. Methods: We observed Mrk 421 in the very high energy (VHE) γ-ray range with the Cherenkov telescope MAGIC-I from March 2007 to June 2009 for a total of

{A high-resolution, high signal-to-noise HIRES-Keck spectrum of APM 08279+5255 reveals a feature in the HI Lyalpha profile of the z_abs=3.514 absorber at the expected position of the corresponding DI Lyalpha line. The absorber shows a relatively simple velocity structure, with a major component detected in several metallic lines including CII, CIV

This is a progress report on a project to characterize the surface composition (and other properties such as radius, albedo and thermal inertia) of a sample of low perihelion Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), using spec-troscopy in the 0.3 to 2.5 micron region (groundbased) and in the 7 to 14 micron region (Spitzer). NEAs with low perihelion distances