We present year-long, near-infrared (NIR) Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 observations of Mira variables in the water megamaser host galaxy NGC 4258. Miras are asymptotic giant branch variables that can be divided into oxygen- (O-) and carbon- (C-) …
Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart (EM170817) with gravitational waves …
We present the results of a Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/F160W Snapshot survey of the host galaxies of 39 long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) at z < 3. We have non-detections of hosts at the locations of four bursts. Sufficient accuracy to …
We investigate the relationship between stellar and gas specific angular momentum j, stellar mass M$_*$ and optical morphology for a sample of 488 galaxies extracted from the Sydney-AAO Multi- object Integral field Galaxy Survey. We find that j, …
We take advantage of the first data from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field Galaxy Survey to investigate the relation between the kinematics of gas and stars, and stellar mass in a comprehensive sample of nearby galaxies. We find that all 235 …
We present the results of a Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) archival search for blue transients that lie in the magnitude range between ``normal'' core-collapse and superluminous supernovae (i.e., with -21 <= M $_ R (peak)$ <= - 19). Of the six …
The spiral host galaxy of the Swift GRB 060505 at z = 0.089 was the site of a puzzling long duration burst without an accompanying supernova. Studies of the burst environment by Thöne et al. suggested that this Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) came from the …
We present a Bayesian analysis of the distances to 15,040 Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) RR Lyrae stars using $V$- and $I$-band light curves from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, in combination with new $z$-band observations from the Dark …
We report on the discovery of SN 2014J in the nearby galaxy M82. Given its proximity, it offers the best opportunity to date to study a thermonuclear supernova (SN) over a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Optical, near-IR, and mid-IR …
We present photometry and spectroscopy of the Type IIn supernova (SN) 2011ht, identified previously as a possible SN impostor. The light curve exhibits an abrupt transition from a well-defined ̃120 d plateau to a steep bolometric decline, plummeting …