The upcoming space missions that will characterize exoplanets, such as PLATO and Ariel, will collect huge amounts of data that will need to be complemented with ground-based observations. The aim of the PLATOSpec project is to perform science with an echelle spectrograph capable of measuring precise radial velocities. The main focus of the spectrograph will be to perform the initial screening and validation of exoplanetary candidates, in addition to study stellar variability. It will be possible to determine the physical properties of large exoplanets. The PLATOSpec blue-sensitive spectrograph, with a spectral range of 380 to 700\,nm and a resolving power of R=70,000, is installed on the 1.5-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile. Initial results show that the radial-velocity limit given by the wavelength calibration is about 2-3 m/s. Tests on bright F-K main-sequence standard stars reveal a scatter of about 5 m/s over a few hours. The scatter over a few months is slightly higher. We demonstrate the capabilities of PLATOSpec on the mass determination of WASP-79 b and the spin-orbit alignment of WASP-62\,b via the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. We show its possible usage on variable star research as demonstrated on the false-positive exoplanetary candidate TIC 238060327, which is proven a binary star. Investigation of line-profile variations of the roAp star alpha Cir shows that PLATOSpec can also be used for the surface mapping. Finally, we present new results on the active star UY Pic in the PLATO southern field. Our results show that PLATOSpec is a versatile spectrograph with great precision.

The young active flare star AU~Mic is the planet host star with the highest flare rate from TESS data. Therefore, it represents an ideal target for dedicated ground-based monitoring campaigns with the aim to characterize its numerous flares spectroscopically. We performed such spectroscopic monitoring with the ESO1.52m telescope of the PLATOSpec consortium. In more than 190 hours of observations, we find 24 flares suitable for detailed analysis. We compute their parameters (duration, peak flux, energy) in eight chromospheric lines (H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, H$\gamma$, H$\delta$, Na I D1&D2, He I D3, He I 6678) and investigate their relationships. Furthermore, we obtained simultaneous photometric observations and low-resolution spectroscopy for part of the spectroscopic runs. We detect one flare in the g'-band photometry which is associated with a spectroscopic flare. Additionally, an extreme flare event occurred on 2023-09-16 of which only a time around its possible peak was observed, during which chromospheric line fluxes were raised by up to a factor of three compared to the following night. The estimated energy of this event is around $10^{33}$ erg in H$\alpha$ alone, i.e. a rare chromospheric line superflare.

The Sun's history is still a subject of interest to modern astrophysics. Observationally constrained CME rates of young solar analogues are still lacking, as those require dedicated monitoring. We present medium resolution optical spectroscopic monitoring of a small sample of bright and prominent solar analogues over a period of three years using the 0.5m telescope at observatory Lustb\"uhel Graz (OLG) of the University of Graz, Austria. The aim is the detection of flares and CMEs from those spectra. In more than 1700 hours of spectroscopic monitoring we found signatures of four flares and one filament eruption on EK Dra which has been reported in previous literature, but we complementarily extended the data to cover the latter phase. The other stars did not reveal detectable signatures of activity. For these non-detections we derive upper limits of occurrence rates of very massive CMEs, which are detectable with our observational setup, ranging from 0.1 to 2.2 per day , but these may be even smaller than the given rates considering observational biases. Furthermore, we investigate the detectability of flares/CMEs in OLG spectra by utilizing solar 2D H{\alpha} spectra from MEES solar observatory. We find that solar-sized events are not detectable within our observations. By scaling up the size of the solar event, we show that with a fractional active region area of 18% in residual spectra and 24% in equivalent width time series derived from the same residuals that solar events are detectable if they had hypothetically occurred on HN Peg.

Flares, sometimes accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), are the result of sudden changes in the magnetic field of stars with high energy release through magnetic reconnection, which can be observed across a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to the optical range to X-rays. In our observational review, we attempt to collect some fundamental new results, which can largely be linked to the Big data era that has arrived due to the expansion of space photometric observations of the last two decades. We list the different types of stars showing flare activity, their observation strategies, and discuss how their main stellar properties relate to the characteristics of the flares (or even CMEs) they emit. Our goal is to focus, without claiming to be complete, on those results that may in one way or another challenge the "standard" flare model based on the solar paradigm.

We present PUCHEROS +, a new spectrograph developed as an enhanced version of PUCHEROS (Pontificia Universidad Catolica High Echelle Resolution Optical Spectrograph), which was the first high-resolution spectrograph built at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC). With respect to its predecessor, PUCHEROS + includes a substantial number of improvements, mainly: a new scientific detector, improved objective optics, calibration system, guiding, active thermal control, and remote observing mode. These upgrades convert our early prototype into a much more powerful instrument for science. With a spectral resolution of R = 18000, a spectral range between 400 and 730 nm and an instrument efficiency of about 30 per cent, PUCHEROS + was tested at the ESO (European Southern Observatory) 1.52-m telescope where it has reached a limiting magnitude of about 12 in V band and radial velocity precision of about 30 m/s. The instrument was conceived as a pathfinder for the high-resolution echelle spectrograph PLATOSpec and at the same time, it demonstrates that a compact, relatively low-cost spectrograph can be efficiently employed for long-term monitoring campaigns and as support facility for space missions, in particular if operated remotely at relatively small- or medium-sized telescopes.

The southern Galactic plane has been mapped at optical wavelengths and at under one-arcsecond angular resolution by the VST Photometric Ha Survey of the Galactic plane and bulge (VPHAS+). Anticipating the release of a uniform photometric calibration of the entire survey, we examine the properties of VPHAS+ ugriHa photometry of r < 19 mag. point sources in the third Galactic quadrant (longitudes 210^o to 260^o). We compare our interim calibration in gri with that of Pan-STARRS, the DECam Plane Survey (DECaPS-2) and Skymapper. We use the comparisons to identify small gri photometric offsets. Corrections to the Ha and u magnitude scales are determined via comparison with synthetic photometry. VPHAS+ and its northern counterpart, the INT Galactic Plane Survey (IGAPS), are shown to closely align, where they overlap across the celestial equator. Aided by Gaia Data Release 3, SIMBAD, and specialist catalogues, we present selections of: A stars; sub-luminous stars; intrinsically-red luminous stars; young stellar objects; emission-line and OB stars. Attention is drawn to stellar variability as a contaminant in selecting emission line objects via (r - Ha) excess. It is argued the (r - i, r - Ha) plane is the better choice for this selection than (g - i, r - Ha). Using A stars to map extinction, we trace the main run of dust obscuration, situated at mainly negative Galactic latitudes. Like the dust, OB and emission line stars are more frequent below the Galactic equator: at heliocentric distances of up to ~7 kpc, these stars' distribution fit in with the known warping of the Galactic plane. An overdensity of B stars, several degrees across and potentially in the Outer Arm, is found around (l,b) = (212.0, -0.6).