We present new transit observations of the hot Jupiter WASP-74 b ($T_mathrm{eq} sim$ 1860 K) using the high-resolution spectrograph HARPS-N and the multi-colour simultaneous imager MuSCAT2. We refine the orbital properties of the planet and its host star, and measure its obliquity for the first time. The measured sky-projected angle between the stellar spin-axis and the planets orbital axis is compatible with an orbit well-aligned with the equator of the host star ($lambda = 0.77pm0.99 mathrm{deg}$). We are not able to detect any absorption feature of H$alpha$, or any other atomic spectral features, in its high-resolution transmission spectra due to low S/N at the line cores. Despite previous claims regarding the presence of strong optical absorbers such TiO and VO gases in the atmosphere of WASP-74 b, the new ground-based photometry combined with a reanalysis of previously reported observations from the literature shows a slope in the low-resolution transmission spectrum steeper than expected from Rayleigh scattering alone.
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