As most if not all stars are born in stellar clusters the shape of the mass function of the field stars is not only determined by the initial mass function of stars (IMF) but also by the cluster mass function (CMF). In order to quantify this Monte-Carlo simulations were carried out by taking cluster masses randomly from a CMF and then populating

We obtained deep broad-band JHKs and narrow-band H2 and Brγ images of the northern part of the giant molecular cloud NGC 6334 containing three distinct centers of star formation (NGC 6334IN, E, and F), probably at different evolutionary stages. Preliminary results, including mid-IR images at 9.8 and 11.9 μm of the shell-shaped HII region NGC 6334E

There is considerable evidence that the circumnuclear regions of galaxies are intimately related to their host galaxies, most directly through their bars. There is also convincing evidence for relations between the properties of supermassive black holes in the nuclei of galaxies and those of their host galaxies. It is much less clear, however, how

With the main goal of investigating the AGN and/or Starburst nature of LINERs, we have studied their FIR properties. We confirm their heterogeneous nature and three families of LINERs have been identified: normal spiral galaxies, nuclear Starbursts, and ongoing mergers.

The RXTE All-Sky monitor shows new detections of the black hole binary, XTE J1118+480, reported to be in optical outburst (ATEL #383). The source is first seen on 2005 January 9, with an average flux of 15(4) mCrab at 2-12 keV. The flux increases only slightly to 16(3) mCrab on Jan. 10, and to 19(3) mCrab on Jan. 11. The X-ray hardness ratios

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