We use UCAC4 proper motions and WISE W 1-band apparent magnitudes intensitymean for almost 400 field RR Lyrae variables to determine the parameters of the velocity distribution of Galactic RR Lyrae population and constrain the zero points of the metallicity-< M V > relation and those of the period-metallicity-< M Ks >-band and period-metallicity-< M W 1 >-band luminosity relations via statistical parallax. We find the mean velocities of the halo-and thick-disc RR Lyrae populations in the solar neighbourhood to be (U 0 (Halo), V 0 (Halo), W 0 (Halo)) = (−7 ± 9, −214 ± 10, −10 ± 6) km s −1 and (U 0 (Disc), V 0 (Disc), W 0 (Disc)) = (−13 ± 7, −37 ± 6, −17 ±4) km s −1 , respectively, and the corresponding components of the velocity-dispersion ellipsoids, (σV R (Halo), σV φ (Halo), σV θ (Halo)) = (153 ± 9, 101 ± 6, 96 ± 5) km s −1 and (σV R (Disc), σV φ (Disc), σV θ (Disc)) = (46 ± 7, 37 ± 5, 27 ± 4) km s −1 , respectively. The fraction of thick-disc stars is estimated at 0.22 ± 0.03. The corrected IR periodmetallicity-luminosity relations are < M Ks > = -0.769 +0.088 · [Fe/H]-2.33 · log P F and < M W 1 > = -0.825 + 0.088· [Fe/H] -2.33 · log P F , and the optical metallicityluminosity relation, [Fe/H]-< M V >, is < M V > = +1.094 + 0.232· [Fe/H], with a standard error of ± 0.089, implying an LMC distance modulus of 18.32 ± 0.09, a solar Galactocentric distance of 7.73 ± 0.36 kpc, and the M31 and M33 distance moduli of DM M31 = 24.24 ± 0.09 (D = 705 ± 30 kpc) and DM M33 = 24.36 ± 0.09 (D = 745 ± 31 kpc), respectively. Extragalactic distances calibrated with our RR Lyrae star luminosity scale imply a Hubble constant of ∼80 km/s/Mpc. Our results suggest marginal prograde rotation for the population of halo RR Lyraes in the Milky Way. c 2013 RAS

We present CCD imaging observations of early‐type galaxies with dark lanes obtained with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) during its performance‐verification phase. The observations were performed in six spectral bands that span the spectral range from the near‐ultraviolet atmospheric cut‐off to the near‐infrared. We derive the extinction law by the extragalactic dust in the dark lanes in the spectral range 1.11 < λ−1 < 2.94 μm−1 by fitting model galaxies to the unextinguished parts of the image, and subtracting from these the actual images. This procedure allows the derivation, with reasonably high signal‐to‐noise ratio, of the extinction in each spectral band we used for each resolution element of the image. We also introduce an alternative method to derive the extinction values by comparing various colour‐index maps under the assumption of negligible intrinsic colour gradients in these galaxies. We than compare the results obtained using these two methods. We compare the total‐to‐selective extinction derived for these galaxies with previously obtained results and with similar extinction values of Milky Way dust to derive conclusions about the properties of extragalactic dust in different objects and conditions. We find that the extinction curves run parallel to the Galactic extinction curve, which implies that the properties of dust in the extragalactic environment are similar to those of the Milky Way, despite our original expectations. The ratio of the total V‐band extinction to the selective extinction between the V and B bands is derived for each galaxy with an average of 2.82 ± 0.38, compared to a canonical value of 3.1 for the Milky Way. The similar values imply that galaxies with well‐defined dark lanes have characteristic dust grain sizes similar to those of Galactic dust. We use total optical extinction values to estimate the dust mass for each galaxy, compare these with dust masses derived from IRAS measurements, and find them in the range 104–107 M⊙.

Wide-field surveys for transiting planets are well suited to searching diverse stellar populations, enabling a better understanding of the link between the properties of planets and their parent stars. We report the discovery of HAT-P-69 b (TOI 625.01) and HAT-P-70 b (TOI 624.01), two new hot Jupiters around A stars from the Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network (HATNet) survey that have also been observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. HAT-P-69 b has a mass of-+ 3.58 0.58 0.58 M Jup and a radius of-+ 1.676 0.033 0.051 R Jup and resides in a prograde 4.79 day orbit. HAT-P-70 b has a radius of-+ 1.87 0.10 0.15 R Jup and a mass constraint of s <6.78 3 ()M Jup and resides in a retrograde 2.74 day orbit. We use the confirmation of these planets around relatively massive stars as an opportunity to explore the occurrence rate of hot Jupiters as a function of stellar mass. We define a sample of 47,126 main-sequence stars brighter than T mag =10 that yields 31 giant planet candidates, including 18 confirmed planets, 3 candidates, and 10 false positives. We find a net hot Jupiter occurrence rate of 0.41±0.10% within this sample, consistent with the rate measured by Kepler for FGK stars. When divided into stellar mass bins, we find the occurrence rate to be 0.71±0.31% for G stars, 0.43±0.15% for F stars, and 0.26±0.11% for A stars. Thus, at this point, we cannot discern any statistically significant trend in the occurrence of hot Jupiters with stellar mass.

Photometric data in the UBV(RI) C system have been acquired for 80 solar analog stars for which we have previously derived highly precise atmospheric parameters T eff , log g, and [Fe/H] using high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. UBV and (RI) C data for 46 and 76 of these stars, respectively, are published for the first time. Combining our data with those from the literature, colors in the UBV(RI) C system, with 0.01 mag precision, are now available for 112 solar analogs. Multiple linear regression is used to derive the solar colors from these photometric data and the spectroscopically derived T eff , log g, and [Fe/H] values. To minimize the impact of systematic errors in the model-dependent atmospheric parameters, we use only the data for the 10 stars that most closely resemble our Sun, i.e., the solar twins, and derive the following solar colors: (B − V ) = 0.653 ± 0.005, (U − B) = 0.166 ± 0.022, (V − R) = 0.352 ± 0.007, and (V − I ) = 0.702 ± 0.010. These colors are consistent, within the 1σ errors, with those derived using the entire sample of 112 solar analogs. We also derive the solar colors using the relation between spectral-line-depth ratios and observed stellar colors, i.e., with a completely model-independent approach, and without restricting the analysis to solar twins. We find (B − V ) = 0.653 ± 0.003, (U − B) = 0.158 ± 0.009, (V − R) = 0.356 ± 0.003, and (V − I ) = 0.701 ± 0.003, in excellent agreement with the model-dependent analysis.

We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of three terrestrial-size planets transiting L 98-59 (TOI-175, TIC 307210830)-a bright M dwarf at a distance of 10.6 pc. Using the Gaia-measured distance and broadband photometry, we find that the host star is an M3 dwarf. Combined with the TESS transits from three sectors, the corresponding stellar parameters yield planet radii ranging from 0.8 R ⊕ to 1.6 R ⊕. All three planets have short orbital periods, ranging from 2.25 to 7.45 days with the outer pair just wide of a 2:1 period resonance. Diagnostic tests produced by the TESS Data Validation Report and the vetting package DAVE rule out common false-positive sources. These analyses, along with dedicated follow-up and the multiplicity of the system, lend confidence that the observed signals are caused by planets transiting L 98-59 and are not associated with other sources in the field. The L 98-59 system is interesting for a number of reasons: the host star is bright (V= 11.7 mag, K=7.1 mag) and the planets are prime targets for further follow-up observations including precision radial-velocity mass measurements and future transit spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope; the near-resonant configuration makes the system a laboratory to study planetary system dynamical evolution; and three planets of relatively similar size in the same system present an opportunity to study terrestrial planets where other variables (age, metallicity, etc.) can be held constant. L 98-59 will be observed in four more TESS sectors, which will provide a wealth of information on the three currently known planets and have the potential to reveal additional planets in the system.