We summarize the performances measured at room temperature and in cryogenic conditions of a set of NIR Volume Phase Holographic Gratings (VPHGs) which can then be used in astronomical instrumentations. VPHGs are novel optical components which can replace standard transmission gratings. Instead of a surface modulation a diffraction index modulation

The forthcoming Extremely Large Telescopes, and the new generation of Extreme Adaptive Optics systems, carry on a boost in the number of actuators that makes the real-time correction of the atmospheric aberration computationally challenging. It is necessary to study new algorithms for performing Adaptive Optics at the required speed. Among the last

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In ATel #1599; Krimm et al. report a gradual brightening and softening of SWIFT J1753.5-0127's X-ray emission, using the SWIFT satellite on June 30, 2008. We performed contemporaneous BVRI imaging of the system with the IAC80 telescope at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife around T2300, 29 June and 02 July, 2008. We find average magnitudes: B=17

Context: Local reductions of the stellar velocity dispersion in the central regions of galaxies are known as sigma-drops (σ-drops). Knowing the origin of these features can lead to better understanding of inner galactic dynamics. Aims: We present a sample of 20 σ-drop galaxies matched with a control sample of galaxies without σ-drop in order to