On Nov 19, 2001, The Chandra X-ray Observatory surveyed M31 with 5 overlapping very short (1ks) HRC exposures and a single short (5ks) ACIS-S exposure. Preliminary analysis allows us to report the following concerning possible X-ray transients within M31. A new source CXOU J004428.4+415628 (RA=00:44:28.4, DEC=+41:56:28.1, J2000), near the NE spiral

We present time-resolved optical spectroscopy and photometry of the nova-like cataclysmic variable V348 Puppis. The system displays the same spectroscopic behaviour as SW Sex stars, so we classify V348 Pup as a new member of the class. V348 Pup is the second SW Sex system (the first is V795 Herculis) which lies in the period gap. The spectra

We present an overview and a brief report on the status of the STELLA project (abbreviation for STELLar Activity). The STELLA-I telescope will be the first robotic telescope that feeds a bench-mounted high-resolution Echelle spectrograph with a set of 50 and 100 μm fibres and provides spectral resolutions of up to 47,000 with a 1 arcsec slit. The

We present multiband optical/IR photometry of V4580 Sgr, the optical counterpart of the accretion-powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658, taken during the 1998 X-ray outburst of the system. The optical flux is consistent with emission from an X-ray-heated accretion disk. Self-consistent modeling of the X-ray and optical emission during the

Alcatel Space together with Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille is leading one of two competing consortia of European industry and scientific institutions tasked by ESA with carrying out detailed assessment and definition studies of the Near-Infrared Spectrometer for NGST. In this paper, we present the current baseline instrument concept that

We collected photometrical and dynamical data for 73 low red-shift (z