To study the small-scale dynamic processes of magneto-convection in the solar photosphere in more detail than currently achieveable, not only the spatial resolution has to be increased, but also the information content of observations. In order to do so, several wavelengths and spectral lines must be observed simultaneously. This is often achieved

Class II methanol Masers and ultracompact HII regions (UCHII) trace regions of massive star formation. We have carried out mid-IR imaging of a selected number of star forming complexes traced by UCHII and methanol maser emission to determine their large scale properties. The mid-IR images from 8 to 20 micron were obtained with the mid-IR camera CID

Bright points (BPs) visible in the G band at 430 nm are commonly used as tracers of magnetic fields, indicating the location of kG flux concentrations. To study the actual magnetic properties of G-band BPs, we took observations in 2003 and 2005, employing simultaneously a speckle setup in the G band and vector spectropolarimetry to derive the

The magnetic sensitivity of the solar spectrum is caused by the Zeeman effect and by a variety of less familiar physical mechanisms by means of which a magnetic field can create and destroy spectral line polarization. This paper highlights how plasma diagnostic tools based on them could help us to explore the magnetism of the quiet regions of the

We report tests of inversion methods applied to complex Stokes spectra generated by realistic MHD simulations. The average magnetic field strength of the simulations used is of 30 and 140 G, which we believe is representative of quiet solar regions. The behaviour of the Fe I at 1.56 mu m and 630 nm lines is analyzed. The tests have been done with

We investigate the validity of the Stokes V amplitude ratio as an indicator of the magnetic field strength in solar inter-network regions with the help ofMHD simulations. We show that the Stokes V amplitude ratio of the Fe I 15652-15648 Å lines and Fe I 5247-5250 Å lines show a good correlation with the magnetic field strength even for magnetic