The suitability of the Eddington approximation as a theoretical framework for the study of the possibility of a k-like overstability mechanism as the driving force of solar modes of oscillation is assessed. A theoretical description of the interaction between the hydrodynamics of the motion and the radiative energy transport is needed. It is found

The small imaging photometer of the VIRGO (Variability in IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations) investigation on ESA's SOHO mission is presented. This instrument, the Luminosity Oscillations Imager (LOI), will observe the solar radiance with 12 pixels resolution. A prototype of the LOI was built mainly to test possible detector configurations, the

The iron abundance of seven stars near the main-sequence (MS) turnoff and a giant in M67 are spectroscopically derived, and the results are discussed. The resulting mean iron abundance of the turnoff stars is (Fe/H) = 0.04 + or - 0.04. Taken together with previous determinations for younger clusters, this shows that there has been relatively little

Estimates of the spectral linewidths of low degree (Q=0 and Q=1) 5 min p-modes obtained from Doppler shift observations in 1984, 1986, and 1987 are reported. The observed linewidths increase from 0.5 microHz at 2000 microHz to 3.8 microHz at 4300 microHz for Q = 0. Comparison with other data suggests that for a given frequency the linewidth

The K giant Arcturus (alpha Boo) was observed with the Birmingham double magneto-optical filter spectrometer using the GHRIL facility at the Nasmyth focus of the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope of the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in 1988 April to May. Approximately 80 hr of data were obtained over a 2 week interval. Analysis of the data

The ratios between the amplitudes of p-modes measured simultaneously in the Na and K resonance lines are compared with the expected ratios for adiabatic waves at two different levels in the atmosphere. The results agree within errors with the energy decaying solution for the waves at the photosphere.