We describe the structural and kinematic properties of the first compact stellar systems discovered by the AIMSS project. These spectroscopically confirmed objects have sizes (∼6 < R e [pc] < 500) and masses (∼2×10 6 < M * /M < 6×10 9 ) spanning the range of massive globular clusters (GCs), ultra compact dwarfs (UCDs) and compact elliptical galaxies (cEs), completely filling the gap between star clusters and galaxies.Several objects are close analogues to the prototypical cE, M32. These objects, which are more massive than previously discovered UCDs of the same size, further call into question the existence of a tight mass-size trend for compact stellar systems, while simultaneously strengthening the case for a universal "zone of avoidance" for dynamically hot stellar systems in the mass-size plane.Overall, we argue that there are two classes of compact stellar systems: 1) massive star clusters and 2) a population closely related to galaxies. Our data provide indications for a further division of the galaxy-type UCD/cE population into two groups, one population that we associate with objects formed by the stripping of nucleated dwarf galaxies, and a second population that formed through the stripping of bulged galaxies or are lower-mass analogues of classical ellipticals. We find compact stellar systems around galaxies in low to high density environments, demonstrating that the physical processes responsible for forming them do not only operate in the densest clusters.

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We performed photometric observations of the binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos in support of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission that will test the Kinetic Impactor technology for diverting dangerous asteroids. It will hit the Didymos secondary, called Dimorphos, on 2022 September 26. We observed Didymos with 11 telescopes with diameters from 3.5 to 10.4 m during four apparitions in 2015–2021, obtaining data with rms residuals from 0.006 to 0.030 mag. We analyzed the light-curve data and decomposed them into the primary rotational and secondary orbital light curves. We detected 37 mutual eclipse/occultation events between the binary system components. The data presented here, in combination with 18 mutual events detected in 2003, provide the basis for modeling the Dimorphos orbit around the Didymos primary. The orbit modeling is discussed in detail by Scheirich & Pravec and Naidu et al. The primary light curves were complex, showing multiple extrema on some epochs. They suggest a presence of complex topography on the primary’s surface that is apparent in specific viewing/illumination geometries; the primary shape model by Naidu et al. (Icarus 348, 113777, 2020) needs to be refined. The secondary rotational light-curve data were limited and did not provide a clear solution for the rotation period and equatorial elongation of Dimorphos. We define the requirements for observations of the secondary light curve to provide the needed information on Dimorphos’s rotation and elongation when Didymos is bright in 2022 July–September before the DART impact.

We present z' -band secondary eclipse photometry of the highly irradiated hot Jupiter WASP-12b using ULTRACAM on the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. We measure a decrease in flux of δ = 0.130 ± 0.013% during the passage of the planet behind the star, which is significantly deeper than the previous measurement at this wavelength (0.082 ± 0.015%, López-Morales et al. 2010). Our secondary eclipse is best fit with a mid-eclipse phase, φ, that is compatible with a circular orbit φ = 0.501 ± 0.002, in agreement with previous results (Croll et al. 2011). In combination with existing data, our eclipse depth measurement allows us to constrain the characteristics of the planet's atmosphere, which is consistent with a carbon-rich model, with no evidence for a strong thermal inversion. If the difference in eclipse depth reported here compared to that of López-Morales et al. (2010) is of physical origin, as opposed to due to systematics, it may be caused by temporal variability in the flux, due to atmospheric dynamics.

We present a study of interstellar comet 2I/2019 Q4 (Borisov) using both preperihelion and postperihelion observations spanning late September 2019 through late January 2020. The intrinsic brightness of the comet was observed to continuously decline throughout the timespan, not due to the phase effect but the decreasing effective scattering cross-section as a result of volatile sublimation with a slope of −0.43 ± 0.02 km 2 d −1 . Given the measurement uncertainties, we witnessed no change in the slightly reddish colour of the comet, with mean values of g − r = 0.68 ± 0.04, r − i = 0.23 ± 0.03, and the normalised reflectivity gradient across the g and i bands S (g, i) = (10.6 ± 1.4) % per 10 3 Å, all unremarkable in the context of solar system comets. Using the available astrometric observations, we have a statistically confident detection of the nongravitational acceleration of the comet, implying that the nucleus is most likely 0.4 km in radius, and that a fraction of 0.4% of the total nucleus in mass has been eroded due to the sublimation activity since the earliest observation of the comet in 2018 December by the time of perihelion. Our morphology simulation suggests that the dust ejection speed increased from ∼4 m s −1 in 2019 September to ∼7 m s −1 around perihelion for the optically dominant dust grains of β ∼ 0.01, and that the observable dust grains are no smaller than micron size.