The results of a UBVR photometric study in the field of the open cluster IC 1311 are presented. A comparison with previously published results on NGC 7044, based on measurements secured during the same observing run, leads to a self-consistent constraints to the parameters of the cluster. The location of selected samples of giant and unevolved

The paper describes an automatic inversion code to recover microstructured magnetic atmospheres (MISMAs) by fitting Stokes profiles. These solar model atmospheres incorporate small-scale fluctuations of the magnetic field vector, the velocity, the temperature, etc., which seems to be an intrinsic property of the magnetic photosphere. The model

We present two geometrical methods to analyse the cosmic microwave background data along a strip in the sky. These methods are motivated by the fact that the temperature fluctuation field, on large angular scales, is not ergodic on the cosmic photosphere. This property is examined in the context of different experimental configurations. The methods

We present optical, infrared (IR) and radio observations of the powerful Fanaroff-Riley type II (FR II) radio source PKS 0347+05 (z = 0.3390), and demonstrate that it is a rare example of a radio-loud/radio-quiet double active galactic nucleus (AGN) system, comprising a weak-line radio galaxy (WLRG) separated by 25 kpc (in projection) from a

The European Space Agency's Planck satellite was launched on 14 May 2009, and has been surveying the sky stably and continuously since 13 August 2009. Its performance is well in line with expectations, and it will continue to gather scientific data until the end of its cryogenic lifetime. We give an overview of the history of Planck in its first

The performance of the Planck instruments in space is enabled by their low operating temperatures, 20 K for LFI and 0.1 K for HFI, achieved through a combination of passive radiative cooling and three active mechanical coolers. The scientific requirement for very broad frequency coverage led to two detector technologies with widely different