We present the first deep, optical, wide-field imaging survey of the young open cluster Collinder 359, complemented by near-infrared follow-up observations. This study is part of a large programme aimed at examining the dependence of the mass function on environment and time. We have surveyed 1.6 square degree in the cluster in the I and z filters

We present new high-resolution near-infrared observations in the J, H, and K bands, obtained to study the properties of Seyfert host galaxies. The data set consists of images in the three bands of practically the entire CfA sample of Seyfert galaxies, and K-band images of a control sample of nonactive, ``normal,'' galaxies, matched to the Seyfert

Context: Most current radial velocity planet search programs have concentrated on stars of one solar mass. Our knowledge on the frequency of giant planets and brown dwarf companions to more massive stars is thus rather limited. In the case of solar-like stars, the frequency of short-period brown dwarf companions and very massive planets seems to be

We present a deep, wide-field optical survey of the young stellar cluster Alpha Per, in which we have discovered a large population of candidate brown dwarfs. Subsequent infrared photometric follow-up shows that the majority of them are probable or possible members of the cluster, reaching to a minimum mass of 0.035 Msun. We have used this list of

We report the detection with the BeppoSAX Wide Field Cameras of a superburst from 4U 1254-69. The superburst is preceded by a normal type-I X-ray burst, has a decay time that is the longest of all eight superbursts detected so far and a peak luminosity that is the lowest. Like for the other seven superbursts, the origin is a well-known type-I X-ray

We have completed a survey of early-type galaxies in a region covering 700 sq. degrees with cz -20 that satisfy our isolation criteria. The sample galaxies obey the Mg-sigma relation but have a higher frequency of [OII] and [OIII] emission than found in the Fornax cluster. They appear to be younger than the ellipticals in the Fornax cluster having