We show that the optical counterpart of the X-ray source CX 1 in M4 is a similar to 20th magnitude star, located in the color-magnitude diagram on (or very close to) the main sequence of the cluster, and exhibiting sinusoidal variations of the flux. We find the X-ray flux to be also periodically variable, with X-ray and optical minima coinciding. Stability of the optical light curve, lack of UV-excess, and unrealistic mean density resulting from period-density relation for semidetached systems speak against the original identification of CX 1 as a cataclysmic variable. We argue that the X-ray active component of this system is a neutron star (probably a millisecond pulsar).

The periodic spectroscopic events in eta Carinae are now well established and occur near the periastron passage of two massive stars in a very eccentric orbit. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the variations of different spectral features, such as an eclipse by the wind-wind collision (WWC) boundary, a shell ejection from the primary star or accretion of its wind onto the secondary. All of them have problems explaining all the observed phenomena. To better understand the nature of the cyclic events, we performed a dense monitoring of eta Carinae with five Southern telescopes during the 2009 low-excitation event, resulting in a set of data of unprecedented quality and sampling. The intrinsic luminosity of the He II lambda 4686 emission line (L similar to 310 L-circle dot) just before periastron reveals the presence of a very luminous transient source of extreme UV radiation emitted in the WWC region. Clumps in the primary's wind probably explain the flare-like behavior of both the X-ray and He II lambda 4686 light curves. After a short-lived minimum, He II lambda 4686 emission rises again to a new maximum, when X-rays are still absent or very weak. We interpret this as a collapse of the WWC onto the "surface" of the secondary star, switching off the hard X-ray source and diminishing the WWC shock cone. The recovery from this state is controlled by the momentum balance between the secondary's wind and the clumps in the primary's wind.

We re-analyze 4 years of HARPS spectra of the nearby M1.5 dwarf GJ 667C available through the European Southern Observatory public archive. The new radial velocity (RV) measurements were obtained using a new data analysis technique that derives the Doppler measurement and other instrumental effects using a least-squares approach. Combining these new 143 measurements with 41 additional RVs from the Magellan/Planet Finder Spectrograph and Keck/High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer spectrometers reveals three additional signals beyond the previously reported 7.2 day candidate, with periods of 28 days, 75 days, and a secular trend consistent with the presence of a gas giant (period similar to 10 years). The 28 day signal implies a planet candidate with a minimum mass of 4.5M. orbiting well within the canonical definition of the star's liquid water habitable zone (HZ), that is, the region around the star at which an Earth-like planet could sustain liquid water on its surface. Still, the ultimate water supporting capability of this candidate depends on properties that are unknown such as its albedo, atmospheric composition, and interior dynamics. The 75 day signal is less certain, being significantly affected by aliasing interactions among a potential 91 day signal, and the likely rotation period of the star at 105 days detected in two activity indices. GJ 667C is the common proper motion companion to the GJ 667AB binary, which is metal-poor compared to the Sun. The presence of a super-Earth in the HZ of a metal-poor M dwarf in a triple star system supports the evidence that such worlds should be ubiquitous in the Galaxy.

We provide evidence that the obliquities of stars with close-in giant planets were initially nearly random, and that the low obliquities that are often observed are a consequence of star-planet tidal interactions. The evidence is based on 14 new measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (for the systems HAT-P-6, HAT-P-7, HAT-P-16, HAT-P-24, HAT-P-32, HAT-P-34, WASP-12, WASP-16, WASP-18, WASP-19, WASP-26, WASP-31, Gl 436, and Kepler-8), as well as a critical review of previous observations. The low-obliquity (well-aligned) systems are those for which the expected tidal timescale is short, and likewise the high-obliquity (misaligned and retrograde) systems are those for which the expected timescale is long. At face value, this finding indicates that the origin of hot Jupiters involves dynamical interactions like planet-planet interactions or the Kozai effect that tilt their orbits rather than inspiraling due to interaction with a protoplanetary disk. We discuss the status of this hypothesis and the observations that are needed for a more definitive conclusion.

We use photometric and spectroscopic observations of the eclipsing binaries V65, V66, and V69 in the field of the globular cluster M4 to derive masses, radii, and luminosities of their components. The orbital periods of these systems are 2.29, 8.11, and 48.19 days, respectively. The measured masses of the primary and secondary components (M-p and M-s) are 0.8035 +/- 0.0086 and 0.6050 +/- 0.0044 M-circle dot for V65, 0.7842 +/- 0.0045 and 0.7443 +/- 0.0042 M-circle dot for V66, and 0.7665 +/- 0.0053 and 0.7278 +/- 0/0048 M-circle dot for V69. The measured radii (R-p and R-s) are 1.147 +/- 0.010 and 0.6110 +/- 0.0092 R-circle dot for V66, 0.9347 +/- 0.0048 and 0.8298 +/- 0.0053 R-circle dot for V66, and 0.8655 +/- 0.0097 and 0.8074 +/- 0.0080 R-circle dot for V69. The orbits of V65 and V66 are circular, whereas that of V69 has an eccentricity of 0.38. Based on systemic velocities and relative proper motions, we show that all three systems are members of the cluster. We find that the distance to M4 is 1.82 +/- 0.04 kpc-in good agreement with recent estimates based on entirely different methods. We compare the absolute parameters of V66 and V69 with two sets of theoretical isochrones in mass-radius and mass-luminosity diagrams, and for assumed [Fe/H] = -1.20, [alpha/Fe] = 0.4, and Y= 0.25 we find the most probable age of M4 to be between 11.2 and 11.3 Gyr. Color-magnitude diagram (CMD) fitting with the same parameters yields an age close to, or slightly in excess of, 12 Gyr. However, considering the sources of uncertainty involved in CMD fitting, these two methods of age determination are not discrepant. Age and distance determinations can be further improved when infrared eclipse photometry is obtained.

We report two low-mass companions orbiting the nearby K7 dwarf GJ 221 that have emerged from reanalyzing 4.4 yr of publicly available HARPS spectra complemented with 2 years of high-precision Doppler measurements with Magellan/PFS. The HARPS measurements alone contain the clear signal of a low-mass companion with a period of 125 days and a minimum mass of 53.2 M-circle plus (GJ 221b), falling in a mass range where very few planet candidates have been found (sub-Saturn desert). The addition of 17 PFS observations allows the confident detection of a second low-mass companion (6.5M(circle plus)) in a hot orbit (3.87 day period, GJ 221c). Spectroscopic and photometric calibrations suggest that GJ 221 is slightly depleted ([Fe/H]similar to-0.1) compared to the Sun, so the presence of two low-mass companions in the system confirms the trend that slightly reduced stellar metallicity does not prevent the formation of planets in the super-Earth to sub-Saturn mass regime.

We derive relative proper motions of stars in the fields of globular clusters M4, M12, M22, NGC 3201, NGC 6362 and NGC 6752 based on a uniform data set collected between 1997 and 2008. We assign a membership class for each star with a measured proper motion and show that these membership classes can be successfully used to eliminate field stars from color-magnitude diagrams of the clusters. They also allow for the efficient selection of rare objects such as blue/yellow/red stragglers and stars from the asymptotic giant branch. Tables with proper motions and photometry of over 87 000 stars are made publicly available via the Internet.

We analyze light and velocity curves of the eclipsing blue straggler V60 in the field of the globular cluster M55. We derive M-p = 1.259 +/- 0.025 M-circle dot, R-p = 1.102 +/- 0.021 R-circle dot, M-p(bol) = 3.03 +/- 0.09 mag for the primary and M-s = 0.327 +/- 0.017 M-circle dot, R-s = 1.480 +/- 0.011 R-circle dot, M-s(bol) = 4.18 +/- 0.12 mag for the secondary. We measure an apparent distance modulus (m - M)(V) = 14.04 +/- 0.09 mag. Based on the systemic velocity, distance, and proper motion of V60 we conclude that the system is a member of the cluster and argue that its present state is a result of rapid but conservative mass exchange which the binary is still undergoing. We report a peculiar blue excess on the ascending branch of the primary eclipse of V60 and discuss its possible origin.

We present six years of new radial velocity data from the Anglo-Australian and Magellan Telescopes on the HD 73526 2:1 resonant planetary system. We investigate both Keplerian and dynamical ( interacting) fits to these data, yielding four possible configurations for the system. The new data now show that both resonance angles are librating, with amplitudes of 40 degrees and 60 degrees, respectively. We then perform long-term dynamical stability tests to differentiate these solutions, which only differ significantly in the masses of the planets. We show that while there is no clearly preferred system inclination, the dynamical fit with i = 90 degrees provides the best combination of goodness-of-fit and long-term dynamical stability.

High-dispersion observations of the Na I D lambda lambda 5890, 5896 and K I lambda lambda 7665, 7699 interstellar lines, and the diffuse interstellar band at 5780 angstrom in the spectra of 32 Type Ia supernovae are used as an independent means of probing dust extinction. We show that the dust extinction of the objects where the diffuse interstellar band at 5780 angstrom is detected is consistent with the visual extinction derived from the supernova colors. This strongly suggests that the dust producing the extinction is predominantly located in the interstellar medium of the host galaxies and not in circumstellar material associated with the progenitor system. One quarter of the supernovae display anomalously large Na I column densities in comparison to the amount of dust extinction derived from their colors. Remarkably, all of the cases of unusually strong Na I D absorption correspond to "Blueshifted" profiles in the classification scheme of Sternberg et al. This coincidence suggests that outflowing circumstellar gas is responsible for at least some of the cases of anomalously large Na I column densities. Two supernovae with unusually strong Na I D absorption showed essentially normal K I column densities for the dust extinction implied by their colors, but this does not appear to be a universal characteristic. Overall, we find the most accurate predictor of individual supernova extinction to be the equivalent width of the diffuse interstellar band at 5780 angstrom, and provide an empirical relation for its use. Finally, we identify ways of producing significant enhancements of the Na abundance of circumstellar material in both the single-degenerate and double-degenerate scenarios for the progenitor system.