Spectroscopy of asteroids can be diagnostic of their surface composition and other properties such as internal structure. The European Space Agency's Gaia mission will result in a dramatic increase in the number and quality of asteroid spectra in the 0.35–0.9 μm wavelength range. This homogeneous set of spectra, with high sensitivity in the near

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We present information on two spectral lines, Fe I 6173 Å and Ni I 6768 Å, that were candidates for use in the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument. Both Fe I and Ni I profiles have clean continuum and no blends that threaten performance. The higher Landé factor of Fe I means its operational velocity range in regions of strong magnetic

We present a study of two spectral lines, Fe I 6173 Å and Ni I 6768 Å, that were candidates to be used in the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) for observing Doppler velocity and the vector magnetic field. The line profiles were studied using the Mt. Wilson Observatory, the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter and the Kitt Peak-McMath Pierce telescope

We propose a new approach to minimize the instrumental polarization (IP) of current polarimetric observations. It is shown how the instrumental polarization can be deduced and removed, by using lines with no intrinsic linear polarization. Notably, no specific understanding of the polarizing properties of our optical setup is required. For the

Recordings of the full Stokes vector of filaments in the Hα and He I D3 lines were obtained at the Gregory-Coudé telescope in Locarno with the polarimeter ZIMPOL. The aim was to perform preliminary studies to explore the presence of forward scattering polarization. The observations show linear polarization signatures, whose interpretation is still