We present results from a fifteen-month campaign of high-cadence (∼3 days) mid-infrared Spitzer and optical (B and V ) monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 6418, with the objective of determining the characteristic size of the dusty torus in this active galactic nucleus (AGN). We find that the 3.6 µm and 4.5 µm flux variations lag behind those of the optical continuum by 37.2 +2.4 −2.2 days and 47.1 +3.1 −3.1 days, respectively. We report a cross-correlation time lag between the 4.5 µm and 3.6 µm flux of 13.9 +0.5 −0.1 days. The lags indicate that the dust emitting at 3.6 µm and 4.5 µm is located at a distance ≈ 1 light-month (≈ 0.03 pc) from the source of the AGN UV-optical continuum. The reverberation radii are consistent with the inferred lower limit to the sublimation radius for pure graphite grains at 1800 K, but smaller by a factor of ∼ 2 than the corresponding lower limit for silicate grains; this is similar to what has been found for near-infrared (K-band) lags in other AGN. The 3.6 and 4.5 µm reverberation radii fall above the K-band τ ∝ L 0.5 size-luminosity relationship by factors 2.7 and 3.4, respectively, while the 4.5 µm reverberation radius is only 27% larger than the 3.6 µm radius. This is broadly consistent with clumpy torus models, in which individual optically thick clouds emit strongly over a broad wavelength range.

Aims. We investigate the structure and stellar population of two large stellar condensations (knots A & B) along one of the faint optical "jet-like" tidal streams associated with the spiral NGC 1097, with the goal of establishing their physical association with the galaxy and their origin. Methods. We use the VLT/FORS2 to get deep V-band imaging and low-resolution optical spectra of two knots along NGC 1097's northeast "dog-leg" tidal stream. With this data, we explore their morphology and stellar populations. Results. Spectra were obtained for eleven sources in the field surrounding the tidal stream. The great majority of them turned out to be background or foreground sources, but the redshift of knot A (and perhaps of knot B) is consistent with that of NGC 1097. Using the V-band image of the "dog-leg" tidal feature we find that the two knots match the photometric scaling relations of canonical dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph) very well. Spectral analysis shows that knot A is mainly composed of stars near G-type, with no signs of ongoing star formation. Comparing its spectrum with a library of high resolution spectra of galactic globular clusters (GCs), we find that the stellar population of this dSph-like object is most similar to intermediate to metal rich galactic GCs. We find moreover, that the tidal stream shows an "S" shaped inflection as well as a pronounced stellar overdensity at knot A's position. This suggests that knot A is being tidally stripped, and populating the stellar stream with its stars. Conclusions. We have discovered that two knots along NGC 1097's northeast tidal stream share most of their spectral and photometric properties with ordinary dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph). Moreover, we find strong indications that the "dog-leg" tidal stream arises from the tidal disruption of knot A. Since it has been demonstrated that tidally stripping dSph galaxies need to loose most of their dark matter before starting to loose stars, we suggest that knot A is at present a CDM-poor object.

WASP-80 is one of only two systems known to contain a hot Jupiter which transits its M-dwarf host star. We present eight light curves of one transit event, obtained simultaneously using two defocussed telescopes. These data were taken through the Bessell I, Sloan g r i z and near-infrared JHK passbands. We use our data to search for opacity-induced changes in the planetary radius, but find that all values agree with each other. Our data are therefore consistent with a flat transmission spectrum to within the observational uncertainties. We also measure an activity index of the host star of log R HK = −4.495, meaning that WASP-80 A shows strong chromospheric activity. The non-detection of starspots implies that, if they exist, they must be small and symmetrically distributed on the stellar surface. We model all available optical transit light curves and obtain improved physical properties and orbital ephemerides for the system.

We present time-series photometric observations of thirteen transits in the planetary systems WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26. All three systems have orbital obliquity measurements, WASP-24 and WASP-26 have been observed with Spitzer, and WASP-25 was previously comparatively neglected. Our light curves were obtained using the telescope-defocussing method and have scatters of 0.5 to 1.2 mmag relative to their best-fitting geometric models. We used these data to measure the physical properties and orbital ephemerides of the systems to high precision, finding that our improved measurements are in good agreement with previous studies. High-resolution Lucky Imaging observations of all three targets show no evidence for faint stars close enough to contaminate our photometry. We confirm the eclipsing nature of the star closest to WASP-24 and present the detection of a detached eclipsing binary within 4.25 arcmin of WASP-26.

A unique signature of the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) paradigm is its peculiar behavior in the vicinity of the points where the total Newtonian acceleration exactly cancels. In the Solar System, these are the saddle points of the gravitational potential near the planets. Typically, such points are embedded into low-acceleration bubbles where modified gravity theoriesà la MOND predict significant deviations from Newton's laws. As has been pointed out recently, the Earth-Sun bubble may be visited by the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft in the near future, providing a unique occasion to put these theories to a direct test. In this work, we present a high-precision model of the Solar System's gravitational potential to determine accurate positions and motions of these saddle points and study the predicted dynamical anomalies within the framework of quasi-linear MOND. Considering the expected sensitivity of the LISA Pathfinder probe, we argue that interpolation functions which exhibit a "faster" transition between the two dynamical regimes have a good chance of surviving a null result. An example of such a function is the QMOND analog of the so-called simple interpolating function which agrees well with much of the extragalactic phenomenology. We have also discovered that several of Saturn's outermost satellites periodically intersect the SaturnSun bubble, providing the first example of Solar System objects that regularly undergo the MOND regime.PACS numbers: 98.10.+z, 95.35.+d, 98.62.Dm, 95.30.Sf