This paper combines new CCD polarimetric data with previous information about protostellar objects in a search for correlations involving the interstellar magnetic field (ISMF). Specifically, we carried out an optical polarimetric study of a sample of 28 fields of 10 × 10 located in the neighborhood of protostellar jets and randomly spread over the Galaxy. The polarimetry of a large number of field stars is used to estimate both the average and dispersion of the ISMF direction in each region. The results of the applied statistical tests are as follows. Concerning the alignment between the jet direction and the ISMF, the whole sample does not show alignment. There is, however, a statistically significant alignment for objects of Classes 0 and I. Regarding the ISMF dispersion, our sample presents values slightly larger for regions containing T Tauri objects than for those harboring younger protostars. Moreover, the ISMF dispersion in regions containing high-mass objects tends to be larger than in those including only low-mass protostars. In our sample, the mean interstellar polarization as a function of the average interstellar extinction in a region reaches a maximum value around 3% for A(V ) = 5, after which it decreases. Our data also show a clear correlation of the mean value of the interstellar polarization with the dispersion of the ISMF: the larger the dispersion, the smaller the polarization. Based on a comparison of our and previous results, we suggest that the dispersion in regions forming stars is larger than in quiescent regions.

We present optical linear polarimetry in the line of sight to HH 135/HH 136. The polarimetry of the field stars reveals two populations: one corresponds to a foreground interstellar component; the other originates in the interstellar medium in the vicinity of the Herbig-Haro pair and, therefore, can be used to study the magnetic field in the star forming region. Its direction is aligned with the jet of HH 135/HH 136, which could be an indication that the interstellar magnetic field is important in the outflow collimation. The interstellar magnetic field magnitude was estimated to be of order 90 µG. According to recent numerical simulations, an interstellar magnetic field of such strength can be important in the definition of the outflow direction. There is also evidence that the associated dark cloud has an elongation parallel to the magnetic field. Our image polarimetry of the extended emission associated with HH 135/HH 136 shows a centro-symmetric pattern pointing to the knot E of HH 136. Previous near infrared polarimetry traces a different illumination center, namely IRAS 11101−5829 -the probable exciting source of the system. This discrepancy can be explained if the YSO emission is completely blocked in optical wavelengths and the dominant optical source in the region is the knot E, whose nature is uncertain. A discussion of the spectral energy distributions of HH 136-E and IRAS 11101−5829 is presented.

We analyzed the C-structures in the mesospheric metal layers. We used two datasets: one from a narrow band Sodium (Na) Density and Temperature LIDAR and the other from a high-resolution dual band Na and Potassium (K) LIDAR, both operated at São José dos Campos, Brazil (23° S, 46° W). We also investigated the Es layer occurrence and wind shear influences forming these structures. We found three C-type events over 82 analyzed nights in the first data set. They all showed lower temperatures inside C-structures compared to the borders. The squared Brunt-Väissälä frequency analyses showed positive values in the region of C-structures. In two out of three cases, dynamical instability was present (Ri < 0.25). We compared these results with the nine simultaneous C-type events identified in the 185 nights from the second data set. They showed height and time simultaneity correspondence as observed in the Na and K layers. Our results showed a low correlation between Es occurrence and C-structures. Additionally, strong wind shears in the altitude and time where C-structures appeared were always present. The advection of a metal cloud to the LIDAR station and a wind distortion seems to be the plausible mechanism that can explain all the observations.

The first observation of a strong enhancement of sodium (Na) atoms within a narrow layer in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region using LIDAR was reported by Clemesha et al. (1978). Afterward, this phenomenon was also detected in other metals, such as calcium (