We review recent advances in our understanding of massive stars through the analysis of their spectra. Improvements in model atmospheres and analysis methods are briefly discussed. Results obtained for stars in the Local Group are compared and the present status of different open questions, like the temperature scale of OB stars, the Wind Momentum

We propose to observe six fields in the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph) Sculptor in order to study the stellar populations, and in particular their spatial gradients, through RR Lyrae star populations and deep color-magnitude diagrams (CMD). In addition to provide a complete census of its short-period variable stars, we will use the pulsation

Very high resolution (R>150,000) spectra of a small sample of nearby K-dwarfs have been acquired to measure the line asymmetries and central wavelength shifts caused by convective motions present in stellar photospheres. This phenomenon of granulation is modeled by 3D hydrodynamical simulations but they need to be confronted with accurate

CanariCam is the facility mid-infrared (MIR) instrument for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), a 10.4m telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma. One of the science drivers for CanariCam is the study of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We will exploit the instrument's high sensitivity in imaging, spectroscopy, and

The neutron star transient SAX J1750.8-2900 has been in outburst since March 15th, 2008 (ATel #1425). The X-ray flux started to decay around mid May and fell below the detection threshold of RXTE-ASM and Swift-BAT around August 2nd and 8th, respectively. We report here on a Swift-XRT observation of the source during its transition to the quiescent

Lucky imaging techniques implemented by the FastCam group (see http://www.iac.es/proyecto/fastcam/) at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias have demonstrated its ability to obtain spectacular diffraction limited images in telescopes ranging from 1 to 4.2 m in visible wavelengths (mainly in the I band), at the expense of using only a small