We describe a new polarised imaging pipeline implemented in the fhd software package. The pipeline is based on the optimal mapmaking imaging approach and performs horizon-to-horizon image reconstruction in all polarisation modes. We discuss the formalism behind the pipeline’s polarised analysis, describing equivalent representations of the polarised beam response, or Jones matrix. We show that, for arrays where antennas have uniform polarisation alignments, defining a non-orthogonal instrumental polarisation basis enables accurate and efficient image reconstruction. Finally, we present a new calibration approach that leverages widefield effects to perform fully polarised calibration. This analysis pipeline underlies the analysis of Murchison Widefield Array data in Byrne et al. (2022, MNRAS, 510, 2011).

The exact formula for the intensity of synchrotron radiation emitted by a single charged particle in vacuo was given by Schott, for the case of circular orbits, and Takakura for the case of helical orbits. In the general case the radiated power is expressed in terms of four variables which appear in (among other places) the arguments or orders of a Bessel function and its first derivative; hence the general formula gives little insight into the interpretation of synchrotron radiation and allows evaluation only in particular cases. There is a particular need for approximate formulae that yield the spectrum of the radiation in explicit form. Such approximate formulae were found by Vladimirskii and Schwinger for the case of highly relativistic electrons. In the present paper we outline the derivation of approximate formulae applicable to mildly relativistic electrons, especially those with velocity βc such that 0 ≪ β ≲ O.9. These approximations are also relevant to the case of highly relativistic electrons in a plasma with refractive index appreciably less than unity.

The appearance of Tech Pan film in sizes that were useful in large Schmidt telescopes immediately offered new opportunities and advantages to users of Schmidt telescopes. Among the advantages were a spatial resolution that was well matched to the image quality produced by the optics of the telescope under the best conditions. For the first time such images were well sampled on Schmidt telescopes. Tech Pan was initially formulated by Eastman Kodak as a 35 mm solar patrol film designed to have enhanced sensitivity around the 656·2 nm Hα line. It is this feature, combined with the excellent imaging characteristics, that we seek to exploit with the new UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) Hα survey. This paper briefly reports some preliminary comparative tests of Tech Pan with the new Hα filter at UKST and suggests ways in which data from the new survey can be quickly exploited using advanced photographic techniques such as photographic amplification. This simple contact copying process rapidly reveals extended low surface brightness features that simple inspection cannot.

We present some preliminary results of an optical and radio study of the very active RS CVn binary HD 127535. Photometric measurements show the presence of a large amplitude wave which exhibits marked changes in shape and range on time scales as short as a few months. This photometric variation is almost certainly due to large cool starspots on the cooler, more luminous component. As part of a survey of southern active-chromosphere stars with the Parkes radio telescope, HD 127535 has been observed at 5, 8.4 and 22 GHz. No detection was made at 5 GHz, possibly because of confusion due to the angular proximity of the star to the galatic plane. However, it is one of the strongest sources detected in the 8.4 GHz survey, and is one of only two stars detected at 22 GHz. Photometry obtained two cycles before the 8.4 GHz observations suggest a possible correlation between the radio emission and the photometric wave, i.e. spot visibility, but more data are needed.

The angular diameter of a star, combined with observed stellar fluxes in absolute units, allows the absolute fluxes emitted at the surface of the star to be calculated and thus provides a stringent test of model atmosphere predictions. Furthermore, if the flux distribution is observed at all wavelengths contributing significantly to the net flux, an empirical effective temperature can be found. Sufficient data are now available for Sirius (αCMa) to be studied in this way.

The effects of charged dust on the steepening of the fields in nonlinear Alfvén waves in astrophysical weakly ionised plasmas are investigated. It is found that the formation of current singularities in the wave due to nonlinear ambipolar diffusion is strongly modified by the effects of the dust. The basic modes for propagation along the magnetic field in a dusty plasma are highly dispersive and split by the anisotropy of the magnetic field into two modes that are oppositely circularly polarised rather than linearly polarised. The right hand circularly polarised wave experiences a cutoff due to the presence of the dust. We derive nonlinear fluid equations describing the dusty plasma, and make approximations for strong coupling of the dust to the neutrals, and for stationary dust. Numerical solution of the equations shows that a nonlinear wave with sharp current features due to ambipolar diffusion involves a rotation of the wave magnetic field about the direction of propagation, and an oscillation of the field components, due to the mode splitting effects of the dust. This is in contrast to the dust-free case, where the sharp reversal of the transverse magnetic field component occurs in a single plane.

We have used rocket-borne photometers to determine the ultra-violet flux of the full moon in the wavelength range 2400-2900A where atmospheric ozone prevents ground-based observations. The lunar fluxes determined in two rocket firings from Woomera on 9th December, 1965, and 30th August, 1966, are summarized in the Table. The results for the two firings have been corrected to full moon values on the assumption that the lunar phase law is the same at these ultra-violet wavelengths as it is in the visible.

We present changes in the periods of the double-mode beat cepheid star SX Phe from 1951 to 1987 deduced from observed times of maximum light.

Mt John Observatory photographic spectra of SN 1987A have been obtained on 111 nights during the first year at resolutions of 1.1 Å (blue) and 1.6 Å (red). The early spectra are dominated by broad P Cygni profiles from neutral or singly ionised species. Ba absorption lines may be present. After six months nebular emission features emerged, including [OI] 630, 636 nm and two unidentified UV lines (367, 375 nm) in the previously dark region below 380 nm. Absorption line radial velocities show steep declines in the first month, but are almost constant or only slowly decline after 100 days. For the Hα absorption minimum the initial decline rate was 690 ± 70 km s−1d−1 and the initial velocity was −20.2±0.5 Mm s−1 (LMC frame). By 1988 Feb the slowest material in absorption was at −2.2 Mm s−1.

The emission maxima of Hα and NaID show anomalous redshifts of about 1.0 Mm s−1. The [OI] lines show no such redshift. Recent [OI] and Hα spectra at higher resolution show ‘fine structure’ in the profiles, indicating inhomogeneity in the ejecta. Hβ, Hγ and Hδ (but not Hα) were all weaker or absent from 1987 late March to early May, but strong thereafter. From about 1987 Mar 18 to Apr 17 Hα showed a bump on the blue side of the emission at 647 nm and a double peak (658 and 668 nm). Absorption bumps in the Hα profile in early spectra (1987 Feb) may be due to circumstellar water vapour.

We have combined the observational data of the AAO/UKST and Marseille Hα surveys to extract preliminary new results about ionised structures of our Galaxy. This includes the detection of a new large bubble located in the far part of the Carina arm.

On 1922 August 20, a 20-strong scientific team, together with a naval party of 10, left Fremantle on one of the major scientific expeditions in Western Australian history. After picking up further personnel at Broome, the party proceeded to the isolated post and telegraph station of Wallal on the northern coast of Western Australia. Their task was to measure with great care the deflection of starlight by the Sun during the total solar eclipse of 1922 September 21. Specially designed photographic equipment of very high quality was used and meteorological conditions were excellent. As a result, measurements were obtained for well over a hundred stars.

We discuss the factors influencing the formation and gravitational fragmentation of protostellar discs. We start with a review of how observations of prestellar cores can be analysed statistically to yield plausible initial conditions for simulations of their subsequent collapse. Simulations based on these initial conditions show that, despite the low levels of turbulence in prestellar cores, they deliver primary protostars and associated discs which are routinely subject to stochastic impulsive perturbations; consequently misalignment of the spins and orbits of protostars are common. Also, the simulations produce protostars that collectively have a mass function and binary statistics matching those observed in nearby star-formation regions, but only if a significant fraction of the turbulent energy in the core is solenoidal, and accretion onto the primary protostar is episodic with a duty cycle $\stackrel{>}{\sim }3\,000\,{\rm yr}$. Under this circumstance, a core typically spawns between 4 and 5 protostars, with high efficiency, and the lower mass protostars are mainly formed by disc fragmentation. The requirement that a proto-fragment in a disc lose thermal energy on a dynamical timescale dictates that there is a sweet spot for disc fragmentation at radii $70\,{\rm AU}\stackrel{<}{\sim }R\stackrel{<}{\sim }100\,{\rm AU}$ and temperatures $10\,{\rm K}\stackrel{<}{\sim }T\stackrel{<}{\sim }20\,{\rm K}$, and this might explain the brown dwarf desert.

A test of the hypothesis that flares derive their energy from large scale current systems inferred from active region vector magnetograms is proposed. The test involves a statistical comparison of the flarerelated change in coronal magnetic energy (based on the magnetohydrodynamic virial theorem) and an independent measure of the energy of the flare. A simulation suggests that — assuming the hypothesis is correct—the test requires around 50 flares with energy greater than 5×1023 J to return a significant result. Existing archives of vector magnetograms should provide sufficient data for such a study.

We evaluate the effect that radome transparency has on atmospheric opacity measurements performed by the skydip technique. We show that, except at rather high opacities, it is not sufficient to ignore losses in the radome (or ‘window’) during the data analysis and then subtract them from the derived atmospheric opacity. Perhaps surprisingly, unless radome transparency is correctly modelled, the atmosphere will appear to have a minimum opacity that is many times greater that the radome losses. Our conclusion is that some previous site studies may have significantly underestimated the quality of the best submilli-metre sites, and that the difference between these sites and poorer sites may be much greater than currently believed. We also show that part of the residual 857-GHz opacity at the best sites, currently ascribed to ‘dry-air opacity’, can in fact be just an artefact caused by not properly modelling the radome during the data analysis.

In Australia a significant number of women were employed to measure and compute the position of stars for the Astrographic Catalogue at Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth Observatories. New archival research has provided evidence that the first women employed in astronomy in Australia were engaged due to this project.

This paper focuses on Mary Emma Greayer, who was employed as a computer at Adelaide Observatory from 1890, and Charlotte Emily Fforde Peel, employed as a star measurer, computer and astrographic assistant at Melbourne Observatory from 1898. The measurement bureaux at Melbourne, Perth and Sydney Observatories are examined within the context of women working on the Astrographic Catalogue in other observatories during the late nineteenth century.

Evidence is presented that individuals, such as Greayer and Peel, were vital to the completion of the Astrographic Catalogue and other astronomical work. Furthermore, it is argued that this evidence points to women having a broader role and greater agency within observatories in Australia and in astronomy than has previously been acknowledged.

Digital signal processing is one of many valuable tools for suppressing unwanted signals or inter-ference. Building hardware processing engines seems to be the way to best implement some classes of interference suppression but is, unfortunately, expensive and time-consuming, especially if several miti-gation techniques need to be compared. Simulations can be useful, but are not a substitute for real data. CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility has recently commenced a ‘software radio telescope’ project designed to fill the gap between dedicated hardware processors and pure simulation. In this approach, real telescope data are recorded coherently, then processed offline. This paper summarises the current contents of a freely available database of base band recorded data that can be used to experiment with signal processing solutions. It includes data from the following systems: single dish, multi-feed receiver; single dish with reference antenna; and an array of six 22 m antennas with and without a reference antenna. Astronomical sources such as OH masers, pulsars and continuum sources subject to interfering signals were recorded. The interfering signals include signals from the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and its Russian equivalent (GLONASS), television, microwave links, a low-Earth-orbit satellite, various other transmitters, and signals leaking from local telescope systems with fast clocks. The data are available on compact disk, allowing use in general purpose computers or as input to laboratory hardware prototypes.

We report on the detection of source noise in the time domain at 162 MHz with the Murchison Widefield Array. During the observation, the flux of our target source Virgo A (M87) contributes only $\sim$1% to the total power detected by any single antenna; thus, this source noise detection is made in an intermediate regime, where the source flux detected by the entire array is comparable with the noise from a single antenna. The magnitude of source noise detected is precisely in line with predictions. We consider the implications of source noise in this moderately strong regime on observations with current and future instruments.

We present a new high-resolution neutral atomic hydrogen (Hi) survey of ring galaxies using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). We target a sample of 24 ring galaxies from the Buta (1995) Southern Ring Galaxy Survey Catalogue in order to study the origin of resonance-, collisional- and interaction-driven ring galaxies. In this work, we present an overview of the sample and study their global and resolved Hi properties. In addition, we also probe their star formation properties by measuring their star formation rates (SFR) and their resolved SFR surface density profiles. We find that a majority of the barred galaxies in our sample are Hi-deficient, alluding to the effects of the bar in driving their Hi deficiency. Furthermore, for the secularly evolving barred ring galaxies in our sample, we apply Lindblad’s resonance theory to predict the location of the resonance rings and find very good agreement between predictions and observations. We identify rings of Hi gas and/or star formation co-located at one or the other major resonances. Lastly, we measure the bar pattern speed ($\Omega_{\textrm{bar}}$) for a sub-sample of our galaxies and find that the values range from 10–90 $\textrm{km s}^{-1}$kpc$^{-1}$, in good agreement with previous studies.

The temporal behaviour of Rayleigh-Benard convection has attracted considerable attention in recent years, both from an experimental and theoretical point of view. Experiments (eg. Gollub and Benson 1980) have demonstrated a complicated array of non-linear behaviour, as well as the need for a model which will at least qualitatively describe what is observed.

The reliable detection and identification of weak, small-diameter radio sources require an instrument with both high sensitivity and high positional accuracy.