[en] We calculate the real- and redshift-space clustering of massive galaxies at z ∼ 0.5 using the first semester of data by the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). We study the correlation functions of a sample of 44,000 massive galaxies in the redshift range 0.4 < z < 0.7. We present a halo-occupation distribution modeling of the clustering results and discuss the implications for the manner in which massive galaxies at z ∼ 0.5 occupy dark matter halos. The majority of our galaxies are central galaxies living in halos of mass 10¹³ h^-1 M_sun, but 10% are satellites living in halos 10 times more massive. These results are broadly in agreement with earlier investigations of massive galaxies at z ∼ 0.5. The inferred large-scale bias (b ≅ 2) and relatively high number density (n-bar =3x10^-4 h³ Mpc^-3) imply that BOSS galaxies are excellent tracers of large-scale structure, suggesting BOSS will enable a wide range of investigations on the distance scale, the growth of large-scale structure, massive galaxy evolution, and other topics.

[en] We examine Herschel Space Observatory images of one nearby prototypical outer ring galaxy, NGC 1291, and show that the ring becomes more prominent at wavelengths longer than 160 μm. The mass of cool dust in the ring dominates the total dust mass of the galaxy, accounting for at least 70% of it. The temperature of the emitting dust in the ring (T = 19.5 ± 0.3 K) is cooler than that of the inner galaxy (T = 25.7 ± 0.7 K). We discuss several explanations for the difference in dust temperature, including age and density differences in the stellar populations of the ring versus the bulge.