The net circular polarization in a spectral line due to the combined effect of magnetic fields and velocity gradients is analyzed for a few schematic situations. In some particular cases, its dependence on the magnetic field, velocity field and line parameters can be expressed analytically.

Asymmetrical Stokes profiles are produced if the photospheric magnetic and velocity fields are structured on scales smaller than the mean-free-path of the photons. Here we put forward a compact analytical expression for the radiative transfer equation in this case. Explicitly, micro-variations of the magnetic field strength and the velocity are

We identified a ~4-micrometer-long, ~1 x 10^-10 g "nugget" of Ir metal in a melt rock sample from the Chicxulub impact basin. This particle, which consists of an aggregate of subhedral Ir metal grains surrounded by a thin coating of silicate, was isolated in the course of our efforts to better understand the partitioning of projectile material

IAUC 6339 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.

We study the gas distribution in the recent merger remnant NGC 3656, a perturbed elliptical. The total gaseous mass content is a few times 10^9^M_sun_. The galaxy contains comparable amounts of atomic and molecular hydrogen. Roughly 90% of the gas mass lies at or near the prominent minor axis dust lane of the galaxy. There are also strong

IAUC 6355 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.