We explain the linear polarization of the Ca ii infrared triplet observed close to the edge of the solar disk. In particular, we demonstrate that the physical origin of the enigmatic polarizations of the 866.2 and 854.2nm lines lies in the existence of atomic polarization in their metastable 2D3/2 , 5/2 lower levels, which produces differential

Photopolarimetric observations of the zodiacal light over a complete solar cycle are used to study the average distribution of brightness and degree of polarization over the entire sky. It is found that the brightness ratio between the helioecliptic meridian (the line connecting the solar and antisolar points) and the ecliptic is independent of

Eight tiles were observed with the UKIRT Wide-Field Camera (WFCAM) in the association during the science verification phase on 2005 April 813 covering a total of 6.5deg2 in ZY JHK broad-band filters. (3 data files).

We present the study of the metallicity dependence of the Fourier amplitude ratios R21 and R31 for the light curves of short-period Galactic classical Cepheids in B, V, RC and IC bands. Based on the available photometric and spectroscopic data, we determined the relations between the atmospheric iron abundance, [Fe/H], and the Fourier parameters

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Images of asteroid (596) Scheila have been acquired at various dates after the detection of the 2010 outburst. Assuming a short-duration event scenario, as suggested by the quick vanishing of the dust tail brightness with time, and integrating numerically the equation of motion of individual particles ejected from the surface, we have developed a