We report on the source Gaia 17bpi and identify it as a new, ongoing FU Ori type outburst, associated with a young stellar object. The optical lightcurve from Gaia exhibited a 3.5 mag rise with the source appearing to plateau in mid/late 2018. Mid-infrared observations from NEOWISE also show a >3 mag rise that occurred in two stages, with the second one coincident with the optical brightening, and the first one preceding the optical brightening by ∼1.5 years. We model the outburst as having started between October and December of 2014. This wavelength-dependent aspect of young star accretion-driven outbursts has never been documented before. Both the mid-infrared and the optical colors of the object become bluer as the outburst proceeds. Optical spectroscopic characteristics in the outburst phase include: a GK-type absorption spectrum, strong wind/outflow in e.g. Mgb, NaD, Hα, K I, O I, and Ca II profiles, and detection of Li I 6707Å. The infrared spectrum in the outburst phase is similar to that of an M-type spectrum, notably exhibiting prominent H 2 O and 12 CO (2-0) bandhead absorption in the K-band, and likely He I wind in the Y-band. The new FU Ori source Gaia 17bpi is associated with a little-studied dark cloud in the galactic plane, located at a distance of 1.27 kpc.

There is growing evidence that M-dwarf stars suffer radius inflation when compared to theoretical models, suggesting that models are missing some key physics required to completely describe stars at effective temperatures (T SED ) less than about 4000K. The advent of Gaia DR2 distances finally makes available large datasets to determine the nature and extent of this effect. We employ an all-sky sample, comprising of >15 000 stars, to determine empirical relationships between luminosity, temperature and radius. This is accomplished using only geometric distances and multiwave-band photometry, by utilising a modified spectral energy distribution fitting method. The radii we measure show an inflation of 3 − 7% compared to models, but no more than a 1−2% intrinsic spread in the inflated sequence. We show that we are currently able to determine M-dwarf radii to an accuracy of 2.4% using our method. However, we determine that this is limited by the precision of metallicity measurements, which contribute 1.7% to the measured radius scatter. We also present evidence that stellar magnetism is currently unable to explain radius inflation in M-dwarfs.

We present new observations of the transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-6b both from the ground with the Very Large Telescope (VLT ) FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph (FORS2) from 0.45-0.83 µm, and space with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS ) from 0.6-1.0 µm and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST ) Wide Field Camera 3 from 1.12-1.65 µm. Archival data from the HST Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and Spitzer is also reanalysed on a common Gaussian process framework, of which the STIS data show a good overall agreement with the overlapping FORS2 data. We also explore the effects of stellar heterogeneity on our observations and its resulting implications towards determining the atmospheric characteristics of WASP-6b. Independent of our assumptions for the level of stellar heterogeneity we detect Na i, K i and H 2 O absorption features and constrain the elemental oxygen abundance to a value of [O/H] −0.9 ± 0.3 relative to solar. In contrast, we find that the stellar heterogeneity correction can have significant effects on the retrieved distributions of the [Na/H] and [K/H] abundances, primarily through its degeneracy with the sloping optical opacity of scattering haze species within the atmosphere. Our results also show that despite this presence of haze, WASP-6b remains a favourable object for future atmospheric characterisation with upcoming missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope.

We have determined the rate of large accretion events in class I and II young stellar objects (YSOs) by comparing the all-sky digitised photographic plate surveys provided by SuperCOSMOS with the latest data release from Gaia (DR2). The long mean baseline of 55 years along with a large sample of class II YSOs (≃15,000) allows us to study approximately 1 million YSO-years. We find 139 objects with ∆R ≥ 1 mag, most of which are found at amplitudes between 1 and 3 mag. The majority of YSOs in this group show irregular variability or long-lasting fading events, which is best explained as hot spots due to accretion or by variable extinction. There is a tail of YSOs at ∆R ≥ 3 mag and they seem to represent a different population. Surprisingly many objects in this group show high-amplitude irregular variability over timescales shorter than 10 years, in contrast with the view that high-amplitude objects always have long outbursts. However, we find 6 objects that are consistent with undergoing large, long lasting accretion events, 3 of them previously unknown. This yields an outburst recurrence timescale of 112 kyr, with a 68% confidence interval [74 to 180] kyr. This represents the first robust determination of the outburst rate in class II YSOs and shows that YSOs in their planet-forming stage do in fact undergo large accretion events, and with timescales of ≃100,000 years. In addition, we find that outbursts in the class II stage are ≃10 times less frequent than during the class I stage.

Context. Stellar evolution models are highly dependent on accurate mass estimates, especially for highly massive stars in the early stages of stellar evolution. The most direct method for obtaining model-independent stellar masses is derivation from the orbit of close binaries. Aims. Our aim was to derive the first astrometric plus radial velocity orbit solution for the single-lined spectroscopic binary star MWC 166 A, based on near-infrared interferometry over multiple epochs and ~100 archival radial velocity measurements, and to derive fundamental stellar parameters from this orbit. A supplementary aim was to model the circumstellar activity in the system from K band spectral lines. Methods. The data used include interferometric observations from the VLTI instruments GRAVITY and PIONIER, as well as the MIRC-X instrument at the CHARA Array. We geometrically modelled the dust continuum to derive relative astrometry at 13 epochs, determine the orbital elements, and constrain individual stellar parameters at five different age estimates. We used the continuum models as a base to examine differential phases, visibilities, and closure phases over the Br γ and He i emission lines in order to characterise the nature of the circumstellar emission. Results. Our orbit solution suggests a period of P = 367.7 ± 0.1 d, approximately twice as long as found with previous radial velocity orbit fits. We derive a semi-major axis of 2.61±0.04 au at d = 990±50 pc, an eccentricity of 0.498±0.001, and an orbital inclination of 53.6±0.3 • . This allowed the component masses to be constrained to M 1 = 12.2±2.2 M ⊙ and M 2 = 4.9±0.5 M ⊙ . The line-emitting gas was found to be localised around the primary and is spatially resolved on scales of ∼ 11 stellar radii, where the spatial displacement between the line wings is consistent with a rotating disc. Conclusions. The large spatial extent and stable rotation axis orientation measured for the Br γ and He i line emission are inconsistent with an origin in magnetospheric accretion or boundary-layer accretion, but indicate an ionised inner gas disc around this Herbig Be star. We observe line variability that could be explained either with generic line variability in a Herbig star disc or V/R variations in a decretion disc scenario. We have also constrained the age of the system, with relative flux ratios suggesting an age of ∼ (7±2)×10 5 yr, consistent with the system being composed of a main-sequence primary and a secondary still contracting towards the main-sequence stage.