This paper defines the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Early Data Release (EDR). UKIDSS is a set of five large near-infrared surveys being undertaken with the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Wide Field Camera (WFCAM). The programme began in 2005 May and has an expected duration of 7yr. Each survey uses some or all of the broad-band filter

We report the observation of two stellar occultations by Titan on 14 November 2003, using stations in the Indian Ocean, southern Africa, Spain, and northern and southern Americas. These occultations probed altitudes between ~550 and 250 km (~1 to 250 μbar) in Titan's upper stratosphere. The light curves reveal a sharp inversion layer near 515 +/- 6

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Aims.In this work we study the cumulative size distribution of the population of asteroids in cometary orbits (ACOs), aiming to discriminate its cometary or asteroidal origin. Methods: .The cumulative luminosity function was determined based on the absolute magnitudes of the ACOs. The cumulative size distribution was then derived and compared to

We introduce the main lines and specificities of the CoRoT Seismology Core Programme. The development and consolidation of this programme has been made in the framework of the CoRoT Seismology Working Group. With a few illustrative examples, we show how CoRoT data will help to address various problems associated with present open questions of

We present a comparison of the properties of galaxies in the most underdense regions of the Universe, where the galaxy number density is less than 10 per cent of the mean density, with galaxies from more typical regions. We have compiled a sample of galaxies in 46 large nearby voids that were identified using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR4, which