We present the results of our near-infrared spectroscopic program of Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), Centaurs and comet nuclei. TNOs, centaurs, and Jupiter family (JF) comets are three intimately related populations of minor planet bodies originated in the outer solar system. They probably contain some of the least modified materials remaining from

(4) Vesta is the unique large asteroid with a basaltic surface present in the Asteroid Belt. In recent years, several smaller asteroids having similar composition have been discovered in the neighbourhood of Vesta and even far away from it. It has been suggested that all these small asteroids came from Vesta even if dynamical studies do not fully

Observed variations of the magnetic field strength in sunspot umbrae consist of intrinsic oscillations and ``false'' oscillations due to time-dependent opacity effects. Here we present an approach intended for the separation of these components. We develop a mathematical formalism based on the analytical solution of the MHD equations including

One of the instruments developed for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) site survey is a non-redundant array of six scintillometers known as a ShaBaR (SHAdow BAnd Ranging) system, developed by J. Beckers. The ShaBaR provides an estimate of Cn2(h), the turbulence structure function, in the Earth's atmosphere. We can use the estimate of

The Equivalence Theorem is commonly used to calculate perturbatively amplitudes involving gauge bosons at energy scales higher than gauge boson masses. However, when the scalar sector is strongly interacting the theory is non-perturbative. We show that the Equivalence Theorem holds in the large N limit at next-to-leading order by calculating the

We determine the inclinations of the vector magnetic field and flow velocity in a sunspot penumbra by interpreting full Stokes profiles of three infrared lines observed with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter. It is shown that analyses based on one-component atmospheres deliver flow velocities which are more horizontal than the average magnetic