The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z ∼ 0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z ∼ 2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T eff < 5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H] > −0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2).

About 25% of the Milky Way globular clusters (GCs) exhibit unusually extended color distribution of stars in the core helium-burning horizontal-branch (HB) phase. This phenomenon is now best understood as due to the presence of helium enhanced second generation subpopulations, which has raised a possibility that these peculiar GCs might have a unique origin. Here we show that these GCs with extended HB are clearly distinct from other normal GCs in kinematics and mass. The GCs with extended HB are more massive than normal GCs, and are dominated by random motion with no correlation between kinematics and metallicity. Surprisingly, however, when they are excluded, most normal GCs in the inner halo show clear signs of dissipational collapse that apparently led to the formation of the disk. Normal GCs in the outer halo share their kinematic properties with the extended HB GCs, which is consistent with the accretion origin. Our result further suggests heterogeneous origins of GCs, and we anticipate this to be a starting point for more detailed investigations of Milky Way formation, including early mergers, collapse, and later accretion.

We have measured the absolute proper motions of globular clusters NGC 2808, 3201, 4372, 4833, 5927, and 5986. The proper motions are on the Hipparcos system, and they are the first determinations ever made for these low Galactic latitude clusters. The proper-motion uncertainties range from 0.3 to 0.5 mas yr À1 . The inferred orbits indicate that (1) the single metal-rich cluster in our sample, NGC 5927, dynamically belongs to the thick disk; (2) the remaining metal-poor clusters have rather low-energy orbits of high eccentricity, and among these there appear to be two ''pairs'' of dynamically associated clusters; (3) the most energetic cluster in our sample, NGC 3201, is on a highly retrograde orbit-which had already been surmised from radial velocity alone-with an apocentric distance of 22 kpc; and (4) none of the metal-poor clusters appear to be associated with the recently detected SDSS streams or with the Monoceros structure. These are the first results of the Southern Proper Motion program where the second-epoch observations are taken with the recent CCD camera system installed on the double astrograph at El Leoncito, Argentina.

We present the fourth installment of the Yale/San Juan Southern Proper Motion Catalog, SPM4. The SPM4 contains absolute proper motions, celestial coordinates, and B, V photometry for over 103 million stars and galaxies between the south celestial pole and -20 • declination. The catalog is roughly complete to V =17.5 and is based on photographic and CCD observations taken with the Yale Southern Observatory's double-astrograph at Cesco Observatory in El Leoncito, Argentina. The proper-motion precision, for well-measured stars, is estimated to be 2 to 3 mas yr −1 , depending on the type of second-epoch material. At the bright end, proper motions are on the International Celestial Reference System by way of Hipparcos Catalog stars, while the faint end is anchored to the inertial system using external galaxies. Systematic uncertainties in the absolute proper motions are on the order of 1 mas yr −1 .