We present measurements of the Hubble diagram for 103 Type Ia supernovae (SNe) with redshifts 0.04 < z < 0.42, discovered during the first season (Fall 2005) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. These data fill in the redshift "desert" between low-and high-redshift SN Ia surveys. Within the framework of the mlcs2k2 light-curve fitting method, we use the SDSS-II SN sample to infer the mean reddening parameter for host galaxies, R V = 2.18 ± 0.14 stat ± 0.48 syst , and find that the intrinsic distribution of host-galaxy extinction is well fitted by an exponential function, P (A V) = exp(−A V /τ V), with τ V = 0.334 ± 0.088 mag. We combine the SDSS-II measurements with new distance estimates for published SN data from the ESSENCE survey, the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and a compilation of Nearby SN Ia measurements. A new feature in our analysis is the use of detailed Monte Carlo simulations of all surveys to account for selection biases, including those from spectroscopic targeting. Combining the SN Hubble diagram with measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations from the SDSS Luminous Red Galaxy sample and with cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropy measurements from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, we estimate the cosmological parameters w and Ω M , assuming a spatially flat cosmological model (FwCDM) with constant dark energy equation of state parameter, w. We also consider constraints upon Ω M and Ω Λ for a cosmological constant model (ΛCDM) with w = −1 and non-zero spatial curvature. For the FwCDM model and the combined sample of 288 SNe Ia,

We present the MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Survey, a mosaic of nine MUSE fields covering 90% of the entire HUDF region with a 10-h deep exposure time, plus a deeper 31-h exposure in a single 1.15 arcmin 2 field. The improved observing strategy and advanced data reduction results in datacubes with sub-arcsecond spatial resolution (0 . 65 at 7000 Å) and accurate astrometry (0 . 07 rms). We compare the broadband photometric properties of the datacubes to HST photometry, finding a good agreement in zeropoint up to m AB = 28 but with an increasing scatter for faint objects. We have investigated the noise properties and developed an empirical way to account for the impact of the correlation introduced by the 3D drizzle interpolation. The achieved 3σ emission line detection limit for a point source is 1.5 and 3.1 × 10 −19 erg s −1 cm −2 for the single ultra-deep datacube and the mosaic, respectively. We extracted 6288 sources using an optimal extraction scheme that takes the published HST source locations as prior. In parallel, we performed a blind search of emission line galaxies using an original method based on advanced test statistics and filter matching. The blind search results in 1251 emission line galaxy candidates in the mosaic and 306 in the ultradeep datacube, including 72 sources without HST counterparts (m AB > 31). In addition 88 sources missed in the HST catalog but with clear HST counterparts were identified. This data set is the deepest spectroscopic survey ever performed. In just over 100 h of integration time, it provides nearly an order of magnitude more spectroscopic redshifts compared to the data that has been accumulated on the UDF over the past decade. The depth and high quality of these datacubes enables new and detailed studies of the physical properties of the galaxy population and their environments over a large redshift range.

We observed Hubble Deep Field South with the new panoramic integral-field spectrograph MUSE that we built and have just commissioned at the VLT. The data cube resulting from 27 h of integration covers one arcmin 2 field of view at an unprecedented depth with a 1σ emission-line surface brightness limit of 1 × 10 −19 erg s −1 cm −2 arcsec −2 , and contains ∼90 000 spectra. We present the combined and calibrated data cube, and we performed a first-pass analysis of the sources detected in the Hubble Deep Field South imaging. We measured the redshifts of 189 sources up to a magnitude I 814 = 29.5, increasing the number of known spectroscopic redshifts in this field by more than an order of magnitude. We also discovered 26 Lyα emitting galaxies that are not detected in the HST WFPC2 deep broad-band images. The intermediate spectral resolution of 2.3 Å allows us to separate resolved asymmetric Lyα emitters, [O ]3727 emitters, and C ]1908 emitters, and the broad instantaneous wavelength range of 4500 Å helps to identify single emission lines, such as [O ]5007, Hβ, and Hα, over a very wide redshift range. We also show how the three-dimensional information of MUSE helps to resolve sources that are confused at ground-based image quality. Overall, secure identifications are provided for 83% of the 227 emission line sources detected in the MUSE data cube and for 32% of the 586 sources identified in the HST catalogue. The overall redshift distribution is fairly flat to z = 6.3, with a reduction between z = 1.5 to 2.9, in the well-known redshift desert. The field of view of MUSE also allowed us to detect 17 groups within the field. We checked that the number counts of [O ]3727 and Lyα emitters are roughly consistent with predictions from the literature. Using two examples, we demonstrate that MUSE is able to provide exquisite spatially resolved spectroscopic information on the intermediate-redshift galaxies present in the field. This unique data set can be used for a wide range of follow-up studies. We release the data cube, the associated products, and the source catalogue with redshifts, spectra, and emission-line fluxes.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) has embarked on a multi-year project to identify and measure light curves for intermediate-redshift (0.05 < z < 0.35) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) using repeated five-band (ugriz) imaging over an area of 300 sq. deg. The survey region is a stripe 2.5• wide centered on the celestial equator in the Southern Galactic Cap that has been imaged numerous times in earlier years, enabling construction of a deep reference image for the discovery of new objects. Supernova imaging observations are being acquired between September 1 and November 30 of 2005-7. During the first two seasons, each region was imaged on average every five nights. Spectroscopic follow-up observations to determine supernova type and redshift are carried out on a large number of telescopes. In its first two three-month seasons, the survey has discovered and measured light curves for 327 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia, 30 probable SNe Ia, 14 confirmed SNe Ib/c, 32 confirmed SNe II, plus a large number of photometrically identified SNe Ia, 94 of which have host-galaxy spectra taken so far. This paper provides an overview of the project and briefly describes the observations completed during the first two seasons of operation.

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