When we look in different directions of the sky, we see dark patches in the distributions of stars. These are not gaps where there are no stars, but instead are interstellar dust. Dust is very important for the formation of cosmic giants. Due to the cold environment dust particles serve as catalyst for formation of molecules and compounds. These Molecular clouds are the birth sites of stars. More than 30% of the UV and optical light from stars in the Universe may be absorbed and re-radiated thermally at infrared and millimeter wavelengths by the obscuring dust. Extinction curves are the standard tool to study dust in the optical and UV energy bands, revealing information about the dust grain size and composition by considering the amount of light lost due to scattering and absorption. Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are signposts of star formation due to their association with the deaths of short-lived, massive stars. GRBs are excellent probes to study extinction curves in distant galaxies due to their intrinsic brightness, simple spectra and their occurrence in dense, star forming environments. In this informal discussion I will summarize about the well-known extinction curves and what we know about dust in GRBs.

In the Munich semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, there is a positive
correlation between SFR and gas-phase metallicity (Zg) in massive galaxies at
z=0. This is caused by some elliptical galaxies gradually diluting their ISM
with metal-poor gas, carried-in by minor merging satellites (Yates & Kauffmann
2013). These systems therefore have lower SFR (due to low overall cold gas
masses) and lower Zg (due to gradual dilution) than secularly-evolving disc
galaxies of the same mass.
A positive correlation between SFR and Zg is also seen in massive galaxies in
the SDSS (Yates et al. 2012). In this discussion, I will present evidence
linking the gradually diluting elliptical galaxies in the Munich model, with
low-SFR, low-Zg ellipticals in the local Universe. In doing so, I hope to
demonstrate how gradual dilution of the ISM in local ellipticals could also be
the cause of the positive SFR-Zg correlation in real massive galaxies.

Magnetic fields are a crucial ingredient in a star’s evolution, influencing its formation, the structure of its  atmosphere and interior, as well as controlling the interaction with its environment. For binary stars magnetism is even more significant, as magnetic fields in binary systems will be strongly affected by, and may also strongly affect, the transfer of energy, mass and angular momentum between the components in these important stellar systems. However, the interplay between stellar magnetic fields and binarity has yet to be investigated in any real detail, from either an observational or theoretical point-of-view. The BinaMIcS project represents an innovative large program with ESPaDOnS@CFHT and Narval@TBL to study the complex phenomenon of stellar magnetism under the influence of the unique physical processes and interactions occurring in close binary systems. Using cutting-edge observations, sophisticated theory and realistic simulations, we are observing and modelling the magnetic fields and the magnetospheric structure and coupling, of both components of hot and cool close binary systems over a significant range of evolutionary stages. We will discuss our results and how they will confront current theories and trigger new ones, with the aim of qualitatively improving our understanding of the complex interplay between stellar magnetism and binarity.

I will describe our long term program of CCD imaging of Globular Clusters and our search and analysis of the variable star population, mostly RR Lyraes and SX Phe stars. I will explain why we do it, what we expect to find and  what in fact we do harvest out of it.

I would like to lead a discussion on our current definition of "ground based astronomy".
While arguing for 'multi-messenger' astronomy, the emphasis will be on astronomy with
cosmic rays. The transversal utility of cosmic ray astronomy and the synergy with other
ground based telescopes will be discussed (and opened to discussion).

The high brightness and small angular size of astrophysical masers are just two of the
properties that make them useful tools and measuring devices in the Galaxy and
beyond. I will discuss the role of masers in distance measurement by phase-lag, and
various parallax methods, and the application to cosmological distance and the value
of the Hubble constant. I also include the use of Zeeman and other coupling constants to
measure magnetic fields and the possible cosmological variation of fundamental
constants.

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) launched into
low-Earth orbit on 14 December 2009 and completed mapping the entire
sky in four mid-infrared passbands six months later.  Although not one
of its main goals, WISE has proven to be an extremely effective
platform for studying active galactic nuclei (AGN).  Extending
approaches introduced for the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have
developed techniques for selecting AGN using the full-sky WISE data.
Simple mid-infrared criteria identify >60 robust AGN candidates per
square degree, nearly triple the surface density of quasars from
optical surveys such as Sloan, despite both WISE and Sloan being
sensitive to sources of comparable luminosity.  The difference is that
WISE identifies both obscured and unobscured AGN.  I will discuss the
general properties of WISE-selected AGN using the deep data available
in the COSMOS and NDWFS Bootes extragalactic fields, highlighting the
inferred dust distribution in AGN.  In addition, the all-sky nature of
WISE has allowed us to find some of the most rare, extreme obscured
AGN in the universe.  I will also present on-going work to study the AGN
nature and evolution of a sample of hyper-luminous infrared galaxies
found by the WISE satellite.

Imagine a swarm of thousands of mini-telescopes that are capable of
conducting an all-sky survey in real time. With today's technology
such an observatory is possible and is currently in the making. The
project is called Raspberry Sky. The project's main objective is to
detect and measure transient events, e.g., point source fluctuations,
map observing conditions globally, and meteors. In the informal
discussion we will review the project, how it works, and its science
objectives.

Is it possible to know in advance the sky transparency from the IR to mm wavelength? Forecasts of Precipitable Water Vapour from global meteorological models made up to 7 days in advance are compared to actual conditions measured at Paranal and Chajnantor.
The forecast skill and its usefulness for Science Operation are discussed.

In this informal talk I will discuss a method to look for faint dwarf
galaxies around the Local Group galaxies using data taken with small (0.1
to 0.5-meter diameter) telescopes that provide exquisite surface
brightness sensitivity. This is an important observational task to shed
light on the "missing satellite" problem of the L-CMD cosmology.
As first result of this project,  I will present the discovery of a faint dwarf galaxy in the
Local Universe, that could be part of  population of faint, isolated
dwarf predicted by the L-CDM models (and thus promising targets for
understanding the formation and evolution of dwarfs with the E-ELT in the
future).

The science operations of the La Silla Paranal Observatory are embedded in an end-to-end data flow system that encompasses the entire lifecycle of scientific data, from the preparation of observing proposals to telescope scheduling, from the detailed definition of observing strategies to their execution at the telescope, from data processing to archival exploitation of the data. In this lively and highly interactive Informal Discussion I will guide you through the current status, prospects and strategies of the back-end segment of the La Silla Paranal Observatory science operations: data transfer from the observatory, data processing for quality control and science purposes, and the ESO Science Archive Facility.

I will discuss the first abundance results for the outer halo Galactic globular cluster (GC) M 75 in terms of early enrichment history and multiple populations. The cluster is noted for its very extended horizontal branch, which is not explained under canonical stellar evolutionary models. Our team has obtained high resolution spectroscopy with the MIKE instrument at the Magellan telescope for 16 red giant stars. Their membership within the GC is confirmed from radial velocity measurements. Our chemical abundance analysis is performed via equivalent width measurements and spectral synthesis, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium. We present the first comprehensive abundance study of M 75 to date. The cluster is metal-rich ([Fe/H] = -1.16 ± 0.02 dex, [α/Fe] = +0.30±0.02 dex), and shows a marginal spread in [Fe/H] of 0.07 dex, typical of most GCs of similar luminosity. A moderately extended O-Na anticorrelation is clearly visible, likely showing three generations of stars, formed on a short timescale. Additionally the two most Na-rich stars are also Ba-enhanced by 0.4 and 0.6 dex, respectively, indicative of pollution by lower mass (M ～ 4-5 M⊙) Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars. The overall n-capture element pattern is compatible with predominant r-process enrichment, which is rarely the case in GCs of such a high metallicity.

The main achievement of ground-based transit surveys is the discovery of a population of hot Jupiters around reasonably bright stars (V mag = 9 - 11). These planets are gas giants orbiting at separations of less than 0.1 au. Due to the proximity to their host stars these planets possess hot extended atmospheres. As they are also showing deep and frequent transits, they are ideal targets for atmospheric studies.  During occultation, the flux emerging from the planetary dayside is obscured. By comparing the system flux in- and out-of occultation, the planet-to-star brightness ratio can be measured. Observations in different passbands yield a measure of the planetary spectral energy distribution and thereby allow to investigate the atmospheric temperature structure, heat redistribution efficiency, albedo, and to place constraints on the atmospheric composition. From the spectro-photometric observation of transits, we can measure wavelength dependencies in the effective planetary radius that are sensitive to signatures of chemical elements in the planetary atmosphere.  I will present results of ongoing observing campaigns employing these methods to study the atmospheres of hot Jupiters discovered by the WASP survey. In particular I will show results for the very short-period planet WASP-19b and the low-density hot Saturn WASP-49b. I will also give an outlook on upcoming programs and the intended use of ESO instrumentation in this context.

This presentation aims at providing a very short introduction to the center of the Milky Way from an infrared observer's point of view. I will introduce  the main stellar structures  found at the Galactic Center from  kiloparsec to sub-parsec scales. In particular, I will discuss the observational challenges and point out and discuss some key science questions (as well as the efforts to address them), such as the structure, dynamics and formation of the nuclear star cluster, the existence of a stellar cusp around the central black hole, and the efforts to test general relativity.

I will present a model for star-forming, emission-line galaxies (ELGs)
in a cosmological context. The model consists in combining fully fledged
semi-analytical models of galaxy formation with the shock and
photo-ionization code MAPPINGS-III to predict nebular lines produced in
the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. In addition, the
resonant-scattering line luminosity of Ly-alpha is predicted by
constructing a Monte-carlo radiative transfer code to compute the
Ly-alpha escape fraction of each galaxy based on their physical
properties. As a result, the model predicts how emission lines trace the
cosmic evolution of galaxies, their large-scale clustering and also
their abundance at very high redshifts.

The community has long harboured a picture that ellipticals and massive (classical) bulges are formed in major galaxy mergers which occur hierarchically as structure assembles in a CDM Universe. Despite the importance of this picture in forming our prejudices about galaxy evolutionary processes, its foundations have never been properly tested observationally. I will present results from recent papers and ask the question: do semi-analytic, hierarchical models of galaxy formation which form bulges and ellipticals ONLY via galaxy mergers predict elliptical and bulgeless galaxies with the correct abundance, and with the correct dependence on mass and environment?

I will briefly review the highlights of the Surfs workshop at Perth: "Synthetic Universes for Future Surveys". I will review the main surveys that are starting now or will be starting soon: the SAMI local galaxy survey, EMU, WALLABY, DINGO, DINGO-DEEP, etc. I will show you a couple of examples of where the galaxy formation simulations can help characterize these surveys better and why we need reliable mock realizations of the observable universe. I will also summarize which problems we found nowadays in every of the stages needed to create mock catalogs: Nbody codes, halo finders and baryonic physics.

I will present our GBT mapping observations of the CS 1-0 line and the large SMA 157-pointings mosaic
of the warm gas tracer HCN 4-3 in the Galactic center. We found several >5-10 pc scale molecular arms,
which either directly connect to the central 1.5-4 pc scale clumpy molecular circumnuclear disk (CND), or
penetrate inside the CND. The CND appears to be the convergence of the innermost parts of the largescale
gas streams, which are responding to the central gravitational potential well. Rather than being a quasi-stationary structure, the CND may be dynamically evolving, incorporating inflow via tidally captured streamers, and  feeding gas toward the center.

The Planetary Nebulae Spectrograph (PN.S, Douglas et al. 2002) is the first custom designed instrument for counter-dispersed spectroscopy that optimizes the measurement of radial velocities of planetary nebulae (PNe,) in external galaxies through the Oxygen [OIII] emission at 5007 Ǻ.  At the  Lorentz workshop "the PN.S: future projects and ideas"  the science achievements of the program after 10 years of observations were reviewed and future goals and collaboration perspectives  were explored for the core science mission of this instrument in the next decade. 

Main topics for discussions were:
Halo kinematics in ETGs - current status of PNe traced dynamics. Comparison with GC data: what do we learn about the formation of the halos in ETGs? What are the synergies among these two families of tracers? 
Modelling techniques for discrete 2D velocity fields – strength and weaknesses. Which kind of additional data do we need to resolve potential-anisotropy degeneracy?
Which are the connections between the stellar population properties in the halos and the kinematics, and how can these connections probe the formation mechanisms of stellar halos? How do the properties of a PN population vary with the stellar populations?  

I will present my personal list of highlights from this workshop.

In spiral and starburst galaxies a large number of well calibrated relations exist for estimating star-formation rates. From the radio through the infrared, optical and UV wavebands we think we know how to relate what we observe to the rate of newly forming stars. In this discussion I will show that nearly all of these tracers may be substantially less reliable when one is interested in observing star-formation in massive early-type galaxies. Old stellar populations, hot x-ray halos, changing metallicities, and any variation of the IMF can all skew star-formation estimates made using traditional relations. I will discuss this problem in the context of recent observations that imply that early-type galaxies may under-produce stars when compared to late-types, and lead a discussion on ways to move forward.

For Period 92, the K band multi object spectrograph will be offered for observations. In this informal talk I will describe the instrument and discuss the performance, showing some results from the commissioning periods.

Young massive clusters (YMCs) with stellar masses of 10^4 to 10^5 Msun and core stellar densities of 10^4 to 10^5 stars per cubic pc are thought to be the `missing link' between open clusters and extreme extragalactic super star clusters and globular clusters. As such, studying the initial conditions of YMCs o ffers an opportunity to test cluster formation models across the full cluster mass range. In this talk I will first summarise our recent work attempting to identify candidate YMC progenitor clouds by searching for the most extreme (massive and dense) gas clouds in our Galaxy. We identify several candidate YMC progenitor clouds in the inner 100 pc of the Galaxy, which is in stark contrast to previous results showing no such clouds exist in the whole first quadrant of our Galaxy. The extreme nature of these gas clouds raises some interesting, and as yet unanswered, challenges for current theories of star and cluster formation. How do you accumulate such a large mass of gas (>10^5 Msun) in such a small volume (r<3pc) without the gas first forming stars? Why does the largest reservoir of dense gas in the Galaxy produce at least an order of magnitude less stars than predicted from commonly-assumed, empirical star formation relations? In the second half of the talk I will discuss the progress we have made in tackling these questions and outline a scenario that can explain the observed dense gas properties in the Galactic centre, in which the formation of YMCs may be instigated by close passage of the gas to the central supermassive black hole, Sgr A*. This informal discussion will follow on from Jill Rathborne's Star and Planet Formation Seminar (Tuesday 10am in D30) at which she will present ALMA data towards the most extreme (massive and dense) molecular cloud in the Galaxy.

We will report on the science highlights from the conference "The first year of ALMA science", held on Dec 12-15 in Puerto Varas. On Dec 19, Leonardo Testi will discuss galactic science topics: astrochemistry, Solar System, star and planet formation and stellar evolution. Extragalactic topics will be covered by Paola Andreani on January 9.