Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2016
Astrometric CCD observations have been made of wide (~3 to 80 arcsec) southern binary pairs using the 0·6 m telescope at MSSSO. Separations ρ and position angles (PA) have been calibrated against known astrometrie pairs, and have rms uncertainties of 0·16 arcsec and 7·8/ρ degrees (ρ in arcsec) respectively. These stars have not been well studied; typically they have not been measured since approximately 1930, and 52% of them have been observed only once prior to our observations. A comparison has been made with values published in the Washington Double Star (WDS) catalogue. Of the 304 pairs measured in the declination range −60° to −70°, 82% show no evidence of motion since the last observation.