X-ray binaries undergo outbursts due to increased mass accretion rate in the disc towards the compact object, a black hole or neutron star. Recently, a picture has developed where the behaviour between the radio, optical/infrared and X-ray luminosities during these outbursts are correlated. Here, I review this picture and show how simple optical

The various techniques used in the visible and near-infrared for the measurement of intrinsic polarization coming from solar regions are described. Their performance to allow for the acquisition of simultaneous spectropolarimetric data at several wavelengths is discussed. Any development of a future facility should take advantage of these

We present a statistical analysis of network and internetwork properties in the photosphere and the chromosphere. For the first time we simultaneously observed (a) the four Stokes parameters of the photospheric iron line pair at 630.2 nm and (b) the intensity profile of the Ca H line at 396.8 nm. The vector magnetic field was inferred from the

We present preliminary results of differential photometric observations of Abell 65, HZ 9, GD 1401 and BPM 46460, obtained between September and December 2006 with the 42 cm telescope of the Cerro Armazones Observatory which belongs to the Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta. All four stars are close red dwarf/white dwarf binaries which

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In this contribution we present the analysis of the ionization structure of a sample of six low-z Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies using Integral Field Spectroscopy. We discuss the possible ionizing mechanisms responsible, focussing especially on the external regions (d ˜ 2 - 10 kpc). The observed line ratios are better explained by the presence of