We study the innermost regions of bulges with surface brightness data derived from combined HST/NICMOS and ground-based NIR profiles. Bulge profiles to 1-2 kpc may be fit with Sersic laws, and show a trend with bulge-to-disk ratio: low-B/D bulges are roughly exponential, whereas higher-B/D bulges show increasing Sersic shape index n, indicating higher peak central densities and more extended br...

The O/H metallicity distribution of different samples of planetary nebulae in the bulge of the Milky Way and M31 are compared. O/H abundances are converted into [Fe/H] metallicity by the use of theoretical [O/Fe] × [Fe/H] relationships both for the bulge and the solar neighbourhood. It is found that these relationships imply an offset of [Fe/H] abundances by a factor up to 0.5 dex for bulge neb...

Background: In Archaea, previous studies have revealed the presence of multiple intron-containing tRNAs and split tRNAs. The full unexpurgated analysis of archaeal tRNA genes remains a challenging task in the field of bioinformatics, because of the presence of various types of hidden tRNA genes in archaea. Here, we suggested a computational method that searched for widely separ...

We investigate the scaling relations of bulge and disk structural parameters for a sample of 108 disk galaxies. Structural parameters of individual galaxies are obtained from two-dimensional bulge/disk decomposition of their H-band surface brightness distributions . Bulges are modelled with a generalized exponential (Sérsic) with variable integer shape index n. We find that bulge effective scal...

We have identified five new R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars in the Galactic bulge using the MACHO Project photometry database, raising the total number of known Galactic RCB stars to about 40. We have obtained spectra to confirm the identifications. The fact that four out of the five newly identified RCB stars are “cool” (Teff < 6000 K) rather than “warm” (Teff > 6000 K) suggests that the prepon...

The MACHO Project has catalogued ∼ 8000 RR Lyrae stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, ∼ 1800 in the Galactic bulge, and ∼ 50 in the Sgr dwarf galaxy. These variables are excellent distance indicators, and are used as tools to study the structure of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the bulge. The large datasets also probe uncommon pulsation modes. A number of double-mode RR Lyrae stars (RRd) are f...

The MACHO Project has catalogued 8000 RR Lyrae stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1800 in the Galactic bulge, and 50 in the Sgr dwarf galaxy. These variables are excellent distance indicators, and are used as tools to study the structure of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the bulge. The large datasets also probe uncommon pulsation modes. A number of double-mode RR Lyrae stars (RRd) are found i...

Context. It has been suggested that the ratio of total-to-selective extinction RV in dust in the interstellar medium differs in the Galactic bulge from its value in the local neighborhood. Aims. We attempt to test this suggestion. Methods. The mid-infrared hydrogen lines in 16 Galactic bulge PNe measured by the Spitzer Space Telescope are used to determine the extinction corrected Hβ flux. This...

By combining SIM observations with ground-based photometry, one can completely solve microlensing events seen toward the Galactic bulge. One could measure the mass, distance, and transverse velocity of ∼ 100 lenses to ∼ 5% precision in only ∼ 500 hours of SIM time. Among the numerous applications are 1) measurement of the mass functions (MFs) of the bulge and disk 2) measurement of the relative...

More than 100 microlensing events have been detected during the last 4 years, most of them towards the Galactic Bulge. Since the line of sight towards the Bulge passes through the disk and the Bulge itself, the known stars towards the Bulge play a dominant role as gravitational lenses. If these stars have planets around them, then the signature of the planets can be seen as sharp, extra peaks o...