We have analyzed the shape of the Fundamental Plane (FP) for a sample of 226 E and S0 galaxies in ten clusters of galaxies. We nd that the distribution of galaxies is well approximated by a plane of the form log r e = 1:24 log 0:82log e + for photometry obtained in Gunn r. This result is in good agreement with previous determinations. The FP has a scatter of 0.084 in logr e . For galaxies with velocity dispersion larger than 100km s 1 the scatter is 0.073. If the FP is used for distance determinations this scatter is equivalent to 17% uncertainties on distances to single galaxies. We nd that the slope of the FP is not signi cantly di erent from cluster to cluster. Selection e ects and measurement errors can introduce biases in the derived slope. The residuals of the FP correlate weakly with the velocity dispersion and the surface brightness. Some of the coe cients used in the literature give rather strong correlations between the residuals and absolute magnitudes. This implies that galaxies need to be selected in a homogeneous way to avoid biases of derived distances on the level of 5{10% or smaller. The FP has signi cant intrinsic scatter. No other structural parameters like ellipticity or isophotal shape can reduce the scatter signi cantly. This is in contradiction to simple models, which predict that the presence of disks in E and S0 galaxies can introduce scatter in the FP. It remains unknown what the source of scatter is. It is therefore unknown whether this source produces systematic errors in distance determinations. The Mg 2 -relation for the cluster galaxies di ers slightly from cluster to cluster. Galaxies in clusters with lower velocity dispersions have systematically lower Mg 2 . The e ect can be caused by both age and metallicity variations. With the current stellar population models, it is in best agreement with our results regarding the FP if the o sets are mainly caused by di erences in metallicity. Most of the distances that we derive from the FP imply small peculiar motions (< 1000km s 1 ). The zero point of the FP must therefore be quite stable. Only for one cluster, located 28 from the direction towards the \Great Attractor", we nd a peculiar motion of 1300km s 1 . This motion is reduced to 890km s 1 if we use the FP corrected for the o set of the Mg 2 -relation. This con rms earlier suggestions that the residuals from the Mg 2 -relation can be used to ag galaxies with deviant populations, and possibly to correct the distance determinations for the deviations.

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X-shooter is the first 2nd generation instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). It is a very efficient, single-target, intermediate-resolution spectrograph that was installed at the Cassegrain focus of UT2 in 2009. The instrument covers, in a single exposure, the spectral range from 300 to 2500 nm. It is designed to maximize the sensitivity in this spectral range through dichroic splitting in three arms with optimized optics, coatings, dispersive elements and detectors. It operates at intermediate spectral resolution (R ∼ 4000−17 000, depending on wavelength and slit width) with fixed échelle spectral format (prism cross-dispersers) in the three arms. It includes a 1.8 × 4 integral field unit as an alternative to the 11 long slits. A dedicated data reduction package delivers fully calibrated two-dimensional and extracted spectra over the full wavelength range. We describe the main characteristics of the instrument and present its performance as measured during commissioning, science verification and the first months of science operations.

We present the first measurement of the planet frequency beyond the "snow line," for the planet-to-star mass-ratio interval −4.5 < log q < −2, corresponding to the range of ice giants to gas giants. We find d 2 N pl d log q d log s = (0.36 ± 0.15) dex −2 at the mean mass ratio q = 5 × 10 −4 with no discernible deviation from a flat (Öpik's law) distribution in logprojected separation s. The determination is based on a sample of six planets detected from intensive follow-up observations of high-magnification (A > 200) microlensing events during 2005-2008. The sampled host stars have a typical mass M host ∼ 0.5 M , and detection is sensitive to planets over a range of planet-star-projected separations (s −1 max R E , s max R E), where R E ∼ 3.5 AU (M host /M) 1/2 is the Einstein radius and s max ∼ (q/10 −4.3) 1/3. This corresponds to deprojected separations roughly three times the "snow line." We show that the observations of these events have the properties of a "controlled experiment," which is what permits measurement of absolute planet frequency. High-magnification events are rare, but the survey-plus-follow-up high-magnification channel is very efficient: half of all high-mag events were successfully monitored and half of these yielded planet detections. The extremely high sensitivity of high-mag events leads to a policy of monitoring them as intensively as possible, independent of whether they show evidence of planets. This is what allows us to construct an unbiased sample. The planet frequency derived from microlensing is a factor 8 larger than the one derived from Doppler studies at factor ∼25 smaller star-planet separations (i.e., periods 2-2000 days). However, this difference is basically consistent with the gradient derived from Doppler studies (when extrapolated well beyond the separations from which it is measured). This suggests a universal separation distribution across 2 dex in planet-star separation, 2 dex in mass ratio, and 0.3 dex in host mass. Finally, if all planetary systems were "analogs" of the solar system, our sample would have yielded 18.2 planets (11.4 "Jupiters," 6.4 "Saturns," 0.3 "Uranuses," 0.2 "Neptunes") including 6.1 systems with two or more planet detections. This compares to six planets including one twoplanet system in the actual sample, implying a first estimate of 1/6 for the frequency of solar-like systems.

The morphological types of galaxies in nine clusters in the redshift range are derived 0.1 [ z [ 0.25 from very good seeing images taken at the NOT and the La SillaÈDanish telescopes, with all galaxies at and within the central D1 Mpc2 area being classiÐed. With the purpose of investigating the M V \ [20 evolution of the fraction of di †erent morphological types with redshift, we compare our results with the morphological content of nine distant clusters studied by the MORPHS group, Ðve clusters observed with HST /WFPC2 at redshift z \ 0.2È0.3, and DresslerÏs large sample of nearby clusters. After having checked the reliability of our morphological classiÐcation both in an absolute sense and relative to the MORPHS scheme, we analyze the relative occurrence of elliptical, S0, and spiral galaxies as a function of the cluster properties and redshift. We Ðnd a large intrinsic scatter in the S0/E ratio, mostly related to the cluster morphology. In particular, in our cluster sample, clusters with a high concentration of ellipticals display a low S0/E ratio and, vice versa, low concentration clusters have a high S0/E. At the same time, the trend of the morphological fractions (%EÏs, %S0Ïs, %SpÏs) and of the S0/E and S0/Sp ratios with redshift clearly points to a morphological evolution : as the redshift decreases, the S0 population tends to grow at the expense of the spiral population, whereas the frequency of EÏs remains almost constant. We also analyze the morphology-density (MD) relation in our clusters and Ðnd thatÈsimilarly to higher redshift clustersÈa good MD relation exists in the high-concentration clusters, while it is absent in the less concentrated clusters. Finally, the comparison of the MD relation in our clusters with that of the MORPHS sample suggests that the transformation of spirals into S0 galaxies becomes more efficient with decreasing local density.