Recent results have shown that Long-Period Variables (LPVs) with periods in the range 100 to 250 days have ages ~ 10 Gyr. We have studied the kinematics of a sample of such variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). A comparison with the kinematics of other populations (H I gas, CO molecular clouds, planetary nebulae, CH stars and old clusters) indicates that all populations younger than the old LPVs are dominated by a single common rotating disk, with the kinematics of the old LPVs being the first to indicate the presence in the LMC of a spheroidal population, with little or no rotation and a velocity dispersion ~ 6 times larger than that of the H I gas.

A new family of solutions for stationary convection (Murphy and Lopez 1984) has been established which exists within the astrophysical range of parameter values — large Rayleigh number and low Prandtl number. These single mode Type II solutions, which have a non-zero component of vertical vorticity, apparently do not exist at higher Prandtl numbers and are characterized by a lower vertical velocity and heat flux, when compared to the equivalent single mode Type I solutions for Rayleigh — Benard convection with zero vertical vorticity. In turn the vertical component of vorticity associated with Type II solutions is responsible for modifying the horizontal components of the velocity field to establish cyclonic or swirling type solutions within the hexagonal convection cell.

The theory of solar radio bursts remains a mystery to most astronomers and astrophysicists. The reasons for this are not hard to identify. First, the solar radioastronomical data are unfamiliar. (The observational data on solar radio bursts is being reviewed separately at this meeting (McLean 1981).) The important features of this data involve frequency-time structures in dynamic spectra, and such features are absent in data on galactic and extra galactic objects. Even for pulsars the data are obtained at discrete frequencies, and the frequency-time structures are not of major importance. Second, the theory itself involves plasma physical concepts which are unfamiliar to most physicists and astronomers. These concepts include those of plasma instabilities, microturbulence, and of particle-wave and wave-wave interactions. Third, one must also admit that there is a prejudice amongst many astronomers against solar physics: the Sun is regarded as interesting only to the extent that it can teach us about other astronomical objects. I shall return to this third point later.

We present results of infrared continuum observations of the circumstellar disk surrounding the complex M78-SSV63.

Inhomogeneities in globular clusters are reviewed with the observational evidence for chemical abundance variations from star to star in individual clusters and the large-scale structural variation of clusters. The reality of the radial colour gradient is tested in 47 Tuc (NGC 104). The result shows that the observed radial colour gradient comes from the integration of the calculated colours of individual stars. The cause of this radial colour variation is the result of the concentration of evolved stars and the reddening of the main sequence in the central region. We propose that the CNO abundance gradient in the early stage of a cluster’s formation is the interpretation of the observed radial colour gradient.

The magnetic field and orbital period distributions of AM Herculis binaries are investigated. Our study shows that (i) there is a significant lack of very-high-field magnetic white dwarfs in binaries when compared with isolated white dwarfs, and (ii) the difference between the period distributions of AM Herculis binaries and other cataclysmic variable subclasses is statistically significant. These results imply that the evolution and the birth of AM Herculis binaries are different from those of other cataclysmic variables.

Over the past ten years, there has been considerable interest in the infrared continua of quasars, however few published colours exist in the literature. The only major compilation of infrared data out to 2.2 μ is that of Oke et al. (1970). The intrinsic faintness of the sources prevented the acquisition of significant high quality data. This situation is not expected to remain static for very long. The recent introduction of new high sensitivity InSb detectors has made it possible for a large number of sources to be measured, and published data is expected to increase significantly over the next few years.

A new, direct CCD acquisition and autoguiding camera is in use on the ANU 2·3 m telescope Nasmyth foci. The camera is a model AP7 manufactured by Apogee Instruments Inc. and is controlled by the MaxIm CCD camera control and image processing software developed by Diffraction Ltd. The factors influencing our choice of this new camera are discussed, and its performance, operation, and commercial control software are described. The new camera allows stellar objects as faint as B = 21·5 to be acquired on the Double Beam Spectrograph slit in 1·4″ seeing. The camera has far superior performance to the Fairchild intensified CCD cameras that it replaces. The improved acquisition and guiding permitted by this camera has already allowed several new scientific programs to begin on the telescope, including the use of aperture plates with the Double Beam Spectrograph.

The diverse isotopic and elemental signatures produced in different nucleosynthetic sites are passed on to successive generations of stars. By tracing these chemical signatures back through the stellar populations of the Galaxy, it is possible to unravel its nucleosynthetic history and even to study stars which are now extinct. This review considers recent applications of ‘stellar genetics’ to examine the earliest episodes of nucleosynthesis in the universe, in Population iii stars and the Big Bang.

The chemical compositions of stars from the Asymptotic Giant Branch are still poorly known due to the low temperatures of their atmospheres and therefore the presence of many molecular transitions hampering the analysis of atomic lines. One way to overcome this difficulty is by the study of lines in regions free from molecular contamination. We have chosen some of those regions to study the chemical abundance of the S-type star GZ Peg. Stellar parameters are derived from spectroscopic analysis and a metallicity of –0.77 dex is found. Chemical abundances of 9 elements are reported and an enhancement of s-process elements is inferred, typical to that of an S-type star.

This communication describes techniques, new to radio astronomy, which permit the analysis of electrical signals at radio-frequencies by optical methods.

Two applications will be described: the first is to a spectrograph which gives the instantaneous power spectrum of a single broad-band electrical signal; the second is to the analysis of the signals from a number of aerials of an array in order to form a simultaneous image of the brightness distribution of the region of the sky under observation.

In May 1984 site testing began for the Automated Patrol Telescope. A series of atmospheric extinction and night sky brightness measurements were made over the following year at Parkes and Siding Spring Mountain using B and V filters. Parkes revealed an extinction greater than that of Siding Spring and more prone to variation. Results for the night sky brightness indicated Parkes has a sky slightly brighter than that at Siding Spring. The paper discusses the procedures used for obtaining the results and their limitations.

Recent spectroscopic investigations of OB stars by Walborn (1970,1971a) have revealed the existence of OB stars with anomalous nitrogen and carbon spectra. In particular, two groups of stars were identified — those with strong nitrogen features and accompanying weak carbon-oxygen blends (called ON stars), and those with weak nitrogen features and strong carbon features (called OC stars). These groups bear a striking resemblance to the WN, WC dichotomy exhibited by the Wolf Rayet stars and is suggestive that a common process may be responsible for both phenomena.

The eighth magnitude star HD 101065 is an extremely peculiar star with a unique spectrum characterized by numerous strong lines of the rare earths and the absence, or at least a remarkable weakening, of the lines of the iron group (Cowley et al. 1977). Besides the lanthanides only yttrium, zirconium, calcium and barium are definitely present in the atmosphere in substantial quantities. The evidence for the presence of lithium and strontium is subject to some doubt since these elements are represented only by one or two reasonably strong lines, which is insufficient for a positive identification in a spectrum as complex as that of HD 101065. The evidence for the presence of other elements is the subject of a critical examination in a recent paper by Cowley et al. (1977). The effective temperature of the star is about 6100 K (Przybylski, 1977) which is substantially lower than the temperature of any known Ap star. However, the effective temperature of HD 101065 is still subject to controversy (Wegner, 1976).

This optical catalogue combines the all-sky USNO-B1.0/A1.0 and most-sky APM catalogues, plus overlays of SDSS optical data, into a single all-sky map presented in a sparse binary format that is easily downloaded at 9 Gb zipped. Total count is 1 163 237 190 sources and each has J2000 astrometry, red and blue magnitudes with PSFs and variability indicator, and flags for proper motion, epoch, and source survey and catalogue for each of the photometry and astrometry. The catalogue is available on http://quasars.org/asp.html, and additional data for this paper is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.4225/50/5807fbc12595f.

An experiment has been developed in order to map the submillimetre Galactic emission at four different wavelengths between 400 μm and 2 mm at an angular scale of 1°. A binocular telescope system has been realised by means of two off-axis wobbling parabolic mirrors, each one coupled to a two-channel 3He photometer. A first run of observations from Dome C is planned for the Antarctic summer 1995–96.

The Magellanic Clouds are the nearest major extragalactic objects to the Milky Way. The study of young giants or supergiants in the Clouds enables us to obtain information regarding the birth rates and evolution of young massive stars in those systems, free from biases inherent in similar studies in the Galaxy. Although the Magellanic Clouds have been studied by an extremely large number of research workers at optical wavelengths, it is only recently that significant infrared observations have also been undertaken (e.g., Glass 1979, McGregor and Hyland 1981, Cohen et al. 1982). Cool supergiants in the SMC have been studied optically by Humphreys (1979). She found that most are very metal deficient, and should be classified spectroscopically as M0.

Known Southern flare stars and RSCVn-like variables are being observed with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope in an attempt to detect quiescent (non-flaring) emission. Two flare stars out of 7 and one RSCVn out of 8 have been detected. Quiescent emission has not been observed previously from these sources at such a low frequency. All sources so far detected have mean flux densities below 10 mJy and in at least two of them the emission varies with a time scale of about one day.

The purpose of this paper is to review current and planned Space Astronomy missions from an international perspective, with principal attention to the programs of the USA, Europe, Japan and the USSR. The review focusses on extra-solar astrophysics, and the capabilities and broad research objectives of numerous individual spacecraft are described. These collectively span more than seventeen decades in wavelength and thus provide an essential complement to ground-based astronomy. Many of the missions offer significant opportunities for Australian participation via three complementary routes. First through Guest Investigator programs analogous to that offered for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Second, through the proposed establishment of an Australian Space Astronomy Data Centre to gain access to archival data from HST and other missions (the creation of such an archival facility in Canada is highlighted as a pertinent example). Third, via the contribution of instrumentation or ground support services. This latter category includes the Radioastron VLBI mission for which an agreement with the USSR has already been signed. In addition, an unprecedented opportunity has arisen for Australia to provide a ground station for the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), due to be launched by ESA in 1993. In return for providing this service, the Australian astronomical community would receive a guaranteed share of the ISO observing time during the two year mission. Finally, Australian astronomers have been invited to contribute an advanced All-sky X-ray Monitor for the Soviet Spectrum-X-Gamma mission in 1993. This opportunity, and also the Radioastron initiative, have arisen under the USSR-Australia Space Research Agreement signed in December 1987.