We have sought interstellar ethyl-cyanide via its 2(02)-1(01) transition towards two cold, dark clouds and report upper limits of the total column densities of 3 x 10(12) cm-2 and 2 x 10(12) cm-2 for TMC-1 and L134N, respectively. We also observed the 2(02)-1(01) transition of vinyl cyanide previously identified in TMC-1 by Matthews and Sears (1983b). The detection of vinyl cyanide and the non-detection of ethyl cyanide in TMC-1 are consistent with gas phase ion-molecule chemical models, and there is thus no necessity of invoking grain surface synthesis for vinyl cyanide in cold clouds.

Studies of element abundances and values of D/H in the atmospheres of the outer planets and Titan support a two-step model for the formation of these bodies. This model suggests that the dimensions of Uranus provide a good index for the sensitivity required to detect planets around other stars. The high proportion of N2 on the surfaces of Pluto and Triton indicates that this gas was the dominant reservoir of nitrogen in the early solar nebula. It should also be abundant on pristine comets. There is evidence that some of these comets may well have brought a large store of volatiles to the inner planets, while others were falling into the sun. In other systems, icy planetesimals falling into stars should reveal themselves through high values of D/H.

An overview is presented of a number of astrometry and astrophysics programs based on radio sources from the Parkes 2.7 GHz catalogues. The programs cover the optical identification and spectroscopy of flat-spectrum Parkes sources and the determination of their milliarc-second radio structures and positions. Work is also in progress to tie together the radio and Hipparcos positional reference frames. A parallel program of radio and optical astrometry of southern radio stars is also under way.

Recent observational studies of the chemical composition of circumstellar matter around both high- and low-mass young stellar objects are reviewed. The molecular abundances are found to be a strong function of evolutionary state, but not of system mass or luminosity. The data are discussed with reference to recent theoretical models.

The formation of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn probably required the growth of massive approximately 15 Earth-mass cores on a time scale shorter than the approximately 10(7) time scale for removal of nebular gas. Relatively minor variations in nebular parameters could preclude the growth of full-size gas giants even in systems in which the terrestrial planet region is similar to our own. Systems containing "failed Jupiters," resembling Uranus and Neptune in their failure to capture much nebular gas, would be expected to contain more densely populated cometary source regions. They will also eject a smaller number of comets into interstellar space. If systems of this kind were the norm, observation of hyperbolic comets would be unexpected. Monte Carlo calculations of the orbital evolution of region of such systems (the Kuiper belt) indicate that throughout Earth history the cometary impact flux in their terrestrial planet regions would be approximately 1000 times greater than in our Solar System. It may be speculated that this could frustrate the evolution of organisms that observe and seek to understand their planetary system. For this reason our observation of these planets in our Solar System may tell us nothing about the probability of similar gas giants occurring in other planetary systems. This situation can be corrected by observation of an unbiased sample of planetary systems.

Spectroscopy of transiting exoplanets has revealed a wealth of information about their atmospheric compositions and thermal structures. In particular, studies of highly irradiated exoplanets at temperatures much higher than those found in our solar system have provided detailed information on planetary chemistry and physics because of the high level of precision which can be obtained from such observations. Here we use a variety of techniques to study the atmospheres of highly irradiated transiting exoplanets and address three large, open questions in exoplanet atmosphere spectroscopy. First, we use secondary eclipse and phase curve observations to investigate the thermal structures and heat redistribution of ultra-hot Jupiters, the hottest known exoplanets. We demonstrate how these planets form an unique class of objects influenced by high-temperature chemical effects such as molecular dissociation and H opacity. Second, we use observations of helium in the upper atmosphere of the exo-Neptune HAT-P-11b to probe atmospheric escape processes. Third, we develop tools to interpret observations of highly irradiated exoplanets, including a data analysis pipeline to perform eclipse mapping of hot Jupiters and a method to infer albedos of and detect atmospheres on hot, terrestrial planets. Finally, we discuss remaining open questions in the field of highly irradiated exoplanets and opportunities to advance our understanding of these unique bodies in the coming years.

High resolution interferometer and single-dish observations of young, deeply embedded stellar systems reveal a complex chemistry in the circumstellar environments of low to intermediate mass stars. Depletions of gas-phase molecules, grain mantle evaporation, and shock interactions actively drive chemical processes in different regions around young stars. We present results for two systems, IRAS 05338-0624 and NCG 1333 IRAS 4, to illustrate the behavior found and to examine the physical processes at work.

In this study, the hierarchical stability of the seven known large size ratio triple asteroids is investigated. The effect of the solar gravity and primary's are considered. The force function is expanded in terms of mass ratios based on the Hill's approximation and the large size ratio property. The empirical stability parameters are used to examine the hierarchical stability of the triple asteroids. It is found that the all the known large size ratio triple asteroid systems are hierarchically stable. This study provides useful information for future evolutions of the triple asteroids.

The goal of this conference is to consider whether it is possible within the next few decades to detect Earth-like planets around other stars using telescopes or interferometers on the ground or in space. Implicit in the term "Earth-like" is the idea that such planets might be habitable by Earth-like organisms, or that they might actually be inhabited. Here, I shall address two questions from the standpoint of planetary atmosphere evolution. First, what are the chances that habitable planets exist around other stars? And, second, if inhabited planets exist, what would be the best way to detect them?

We present a new, expanded and improved catalog of Ultraviolet (UV) sources from the GALEX All-Sky Imaging survey: GUVcat_AIS (Bianchi et al. in Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 230:24, 2017). The catalog includes 83 million unique sources (duplicate measurements and rim artifacts are removed) measured in far-UV and near-UV. With respect to previous versions (Bianchi et al. in Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 411:2770 2011a, Adv. Space Res. 53:900-991, 2014), GUVcat_AIS covers a slightly larger area, 24,790 square degrees, and includes critical corrections and improvements, as well as new tags, in particular to identify sources in the footprint of extended objects, where pipeline source detection may fail and custom-photometry may be necessary. The UV unique-source catalog facilitates studies of density of sources, and matching of the UV samples with databases at other wavelengths. We also present first results from two ongoing projects, addressing respectively UV variability searches on time scales from seconds to years by mining the GALEX photon archive, and the construction of a database of ∼120,000 GALEX UV spectra (range ∼1300-3000 Å), including quality and calibration assessment and classification of the grism, hence serendipitous, spectral sources.

The ANTARES radiation hydrodynamics code is capable of simulating the solar granulation in detail unequaled by direct observation. We introduce a state-of-the-art numerical tool to the solar physics community and demonstrate its applicability to model the solar granulation. The code is based on the weighted essentially non-oscillatory finite volume method and by its implementation of local mesh refinement is also capable of simulating turbulent fluids. While the ANTARES code already provides promising insights into small-scale dynamical processes occurring in the quiet-Sun photosphere, it will soon be capable of modeling the latter in the scope of radiation magnetohydrodynamics. In this first preliminary study we focus on the vertical photospheric stratification by examining a 3-D model photosphere with an evolution time much larger than the dynamical timescales of the solar granulation and of particular large horizontal extent corresponding to [Formula: see text] on the solar surface to smooth out horizontal spatial inhomogeneities separately for up- and downflows. The highly resolved Cartesian grid thereby covers [Formula: see text] of the upper convection zone and the adjacent photosphere. Correlation analysis, both local and two-point, provides a suitable means to probe the photospheric structure and thereby to identify several layers of characteristic dynamics: The thermal convection zone is found to reach some ten kilometers above the solar surface, while convectively overshooting gas penetrates even higher into the low photosphere. An [Formula: see text] wide transition layer separates the convective from the oscillatory layers in the higher photosphere.

We present the results of time-series photometric analysis of 15106 A-K type stars observed by the space mission. We identified 513 new rotational variables and measured their starspot rotation periods as a function of spectral type and discuss the distribution of their amplitudes. We examined the well-established period-color relationship that applies to stars of spectral types F5-K for all of these rotational variables and, interestingly, found that a similar period-color relationship appears to extend to stars of spectral types A7 to early-F too. This result is not consistent with the very foundation of the period-color relationship. We have characterized 350 new non-radial pulsating variables such as A- and F-type candidate  Scuti,  Doradus and hybrid stars, which increases the known candidate non-radial pulsators in the field significantly, by ∼20%. The relationship between two recently constructed observables, and , was also studied for the large sample of non-radial pulsators, which shows that the distribution in the logarithm of ( ) can be used as a potential tool to distinguish between the non-radial pulsators, to some extent. Through visual inspection of the light curves and their corresponding frequency spectra, we found 23 new candidate red giant solar-like oscillators not previously reported in the literature. The basic physical parameters such as masses, radii and luminosities of these solar-like oscillators were also derived using asteroseismic relations.

A family of unidentified infrared emission (UIE) bands has been observed throughout the Universe. The current observed spectral properties of the UIE bands are summarized. These properties are discussed in the frameworks of different models of the chemical carriers of these bands. The UIE carriers represent a large reservoir of carbon in the Universe, and play a significant role in the physical and chemical processes in the interstellar medium and galactic environment. A correct identification of the carrier of the UIE bands is needed to use these bands as probes of galactic evolution.

This contribution is aimed at an analysis of the dynamics of free-electron density fluctuations in the ionospheric critical plasma frequency f0F2 by using some tools from the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems. The results suggest the existence of low-dimensional attractors that point to a characterization of the free electron density fluctuations in the f0F2 as a deterministic chaotic system. The study carried out focused on the response of the ionosphere to solar activity as a function of the ascending and descending phases of the solar cycle.

Inferences about the formation of primordial matter in our solar system rest on analysis of the earliest preserved materials in meteorites, of the structure of the solar system today, and of matter in evolving stellar systems elsewhere. The isotope distribution in meteorites suggests that molecular excitation processes similar to those observed today in circumstellar regions and dark interstellar clouds were operating in the early solar nebula. Laboratory model experiments together with these observations give evidence on the thermal state of the source medium from which refractory meteoritic dust formed. They indicate that resonance excitation of the broad isotopic bands of molecules such as 12C16O, MgO, O2, AlO, and OH by strong UV line sources such as H-L alpha, Mg II, H beta, and Ca II may induce selective reactions resulting in the anomalous isotopic composition of oxygen and possibly other elements in refractory oxide condensates in meteorites.

Models of planetary formation can be tested by comparison of their ability to predict features of our Solar System in a consistent way, and then extrapolated to other hypothetical planetary systems by different choice of parameters. When this is done, it is found that the resulting systems are insensitive to direct effects of the mass of the star, but do strongly depend on the properties of the disk, principally its surface density. Major uncertainty results from lack of an adequate theoretical model that predicts the existence, size, and distribution of analogs of our Solar System, particularly the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. Nevertheless, reasons can be found for expecting that planetary systems, including those containing biologically habitable planets similar to Earth, may be abundant in the Galaxy and Universe.

Alfvén in his early work on the origin of the solar system (1942-1946) noted a pronounced band structure in the gravitational potential distribution of secondary bodies, and suggested this feature to be directly related to the formation process. When the critical velocity phenomenon was later discovered, a close agreement was found between the planet-satellite bands on one hand, and the critical velocity limits of the major compound elements in the interstellar medium on the other, suggesting a specific emplacement mechanism for the dusty plasma which presumably constituted the solar nebula. Since the originally perceived band structure was outlined in a qualitative fashion, an attempt is made here to analyze the distribution by a statistical technique, testing the significance of clustering of the observational data in the bands. The results show that, with proper scaling of the parameters, such a band structure indeed appears, with features closely similar to those originally conceived. Some deviations are indicated by the cluster analysis, however; their significance is discussed in terms of process involved in the formation of the solar system.

White dwarfs are the dense, burnt-out remnants of the vast majority of stars, condemned to cool over billions of years as they steadily radiate away their residual thermal energy. To first order, their atmosphere is expected to be made purely of hydrogen due to the efficient gravitational settling of heavier elements. However, observations reveal a much more complex situation, as the surface of a white dwarf (1) can be dominated by helium rather than hydrogen, (2) can be polluted by trace chemical species, and (3) can undergo significant composition changes with time. This indicates that various mechanisms of element transport effectively compete against gravitational settling in the stellar envelope. This phenomenon is known as the spectral evolution of white dwarfs and has important implications for Galactic, stellar, and planetary astrophysics. This invited review provides a comprehensive picture of our current understanding of white dwarf spectral evolution. We first describe the latest observational constraints on the variations in atmospheric composition along the cooling sequence, covering both the dominant and trace constituents. We then summarise the predictions of state-of-the-art models of element transport in white dwarfs and assess their ability to explain the observed spectral evolution. Finally, we highlight remaining open questions and suggest avenues for future work.