The Parkes radio telescope has been fitted with a new control system. Part of this system is a computer for transforming position requests into commands to the telescope drive. The high computing power coupled with a new control for the master control unit has allowed modes of telescope control not previously available. These new capabilities include scanning the telescope in any astronomical coordinate system, the definition and use of beams offset in azimuth and elevation from the telescope’s optical axis and the definition of arbitrary coordinate frames which may move with respect to standard reference frames. The new control system fully supports the new standard epoch of J2000.0 and uses the newly adopted constants for Earth axis precession and nutation.

We present an absolute-magnitude calibration for red giants using the colour–magnitude diagrams of six Galactic clusters with different metallicities: M92, M13, M5, 47 Tuc, M67 and NGC 6791. The combination of the absolute magnitude offset from the fiducial of giant sequence of the cluster M5 with the corresponding metallicity offset provides a calibration estimation for the absolute magnitude of red giants for a given (B – V)0 colour. The calibration is defined in the colour interval 0.75 ≤ (B – V)0 ≤ 1.50 mag and it covers the metal licity interval −2.15 > [Fe/H]≤+0.37 dex. 91% of the absolute magnitude residuals obtained by the application of the procedure to another set of Galactic clusters lie in the interval −0.40 < ΔM≤+0.40 mag. The mean and the standard deviation of the residuals are 0.05 and 0.19 mag, respectively. We fitted the absolute magnitude also to metallicity and age for a limited sub-sample of (B – V)0 colour, just to test the effect of age in absolute-magnitude calibration. Comparison of the mean and the standard deviation of the residuals evaluated by this procedure with the corresponding ones provided by the procedure where the absolute magnitude fitted to a third degree polynomial of metallicity show that the age parameter may be omitted in absolute magnitude estimation of red giants. The derived relations are applicable to stars older than 4 Gyr, the age of the youngest calibrating cluster.

In recent years observations of γ-ray emission from the disk of the galaxy have provided a new opportunity for research into the structure of the spiral arms of our own galaxy. In Figure 1 we show a map of the structure of the disk of the galaxy as observed for γ-rays of energy > 100 MeV by the SAS-2 satellite (Fichtel et al. 1975). The angular resolution of these measurements is ~ 3°, and besides two point sources at l = 190° and 265° several features related to the spiral structure of the galaxy are evident in the data. Most of these γ-rays are believed to arise from the decay of π° mesons produced by the nuclear interactions of cosmic rays (mostly protons) with the ambient interstellar gas. As a result, the γ-ray fluxes represent a measure of the line of sight integral of the product of the cosmic ray density N CR and the interstellar matter density N 1

Star formation is believed to occur in interstellar clouds consisting of both gas and grains. Under the gravitational influence of such a cloud the constituent dust grains sediment toward the centre, and both calculations and implications of this sedimentation have been published by many authors (McCrea and Williams 1965; Horedt 1973, 1976; Prentice 1976; Krautschneider 1977; Flannery and Krook 1978; and others). Two main results from these calculations warrant our attention. Firstly, the timescale for appreciable sedimentation Ts ≃ 107 -108 years, which is consistent with age estimates of many clouds (Harrison 1978, Blitz and Shu 1980). Secondly, the sedimentation proceeds more rapidly for larger grains. This leads to an increase of mean grain size toward the centre of the cloud.

We present a complete spatial and dynamical study of the poorly populated stellar system ESO65SC03. The radial distribution of the system gives a core and cluster radii of 1.10±0.63 and 5.36±0.24 arcmin, respectively. The SNDP does not show any clear enhancement of the surface stellar number density between the stars of the system and the field regions. We derive the optimum isochrone solution for a particular grid size in the CMD using the statistical cleaning procedure. Using the statistically cleaned CMDs, we find the distance modulus, (m − M)0, and reddening, E(B − V), of the system to be 11.8±0.2 and 0.45 mag, respectively. The mean proper motion of this system is − 5.37±0.81 mas yr−1 and 0.31±0.40 in RA and DEC directions, respectively. The mean proper motion of this system is found to be almost similar to the field region. The mass function for the brighter stars is found to be too high for the system to be an open cluster. These combined results place constraints on whether stellar system ESO65SC03 is a POCR or an Asterism. Our understanding is that the ESO65SC03 is in a stage of POCR by losing their main-sequence stars in the dynamic evolution processes.

High resolution imaging at radio frequencies has revealed several long, filamentary, non-thermal sources in the Galactic Centre region. One of these, known as the Snake, is unique in that it lies outside the Galactic Centre Lobe, and has two kinks along its length, one of which appears to be associated with a small, resolved source. For this work the Snake is assumed to be embedded in a region where both the magnetic field and the particle energy spectrum are uniform. The Snake is then modelled as an enhancement over the background of the particle energy spectrum. Some preliminary results from this model are presented here.

Observational tasks that require photometry of large numbers of objects, or over large fields, are still best approached using photographic photometry. Nevertheless, there are well-known problems in using photographic emulsions as two-dimensional detectors; these include their non-linearity and unknown photometric zero-points. The non-linearity can be calibrated using standard sensitometer techniques but the provision of photometric zero-points (and the verification of the validity of the intensity calibration) can be done properly only by providing a sequence of standards down to the plate limit. One approach to this latter problem, that has recently been revived by Racine (1969), is to use a sub-beam prism as originally suggested by Pickering (1891).

A proposal for a medium rigidity muon telescope system to be installed at the U.S. South Pole Station for observations of time variations of cosmic ray intensity is at present being prepared by Professor Pomerantz, Director of the Bartol Research Foundation, University of Delaware and Drs Jacklyn and Duldig of the Cosmic Ray Section, Antarctic Division, Department of Science. A novel approach to medium energy cosmic ray observations viewing in equatorial to mid-latitude directions is described. The absorber depth required for the proposed 50-1000 GV rigidity range would be achieved by locating the telescope system at a depth of approximately 7 metres water equivalent (MWE) in the ice and viewing at high zenith angles. Optimization techniques used in the telescope design are presented together with the unique advantages of the location. Justification for the experiment and comparison with important observatories in this rigidity range are also discussed.

We illustrate the extraordinary discovery potential for extragalactic astrophysics of a far-infrared/submillimetre (far-IR/submm) all-sky spectroscopic survey with a 3-m-class space telescope. Spectroscopy provides a three-dimensional view of the Universe and allows us to take full advantage of the sensitivity of present-day instrumentation, close to fundamental limits, overcoming the spatial confusion that affects broadband far-IR/submm surveys. A space telescope of the 3-m class (which has already been described in recent papers) will detect emission lines powered by star formation in galaxies out to $z\,{\simeq}\,8$ . It will specifically provide measurements of spectroscopic redshifts, star-formation rates (SFRs), dust masses, and metal content for millions of galaxies at the peak epoch of cosmic star formation and of hundreds of them at the epoch of reionisation. Many of these star-forming galaxies will be strongly lensed; the brightness amplification and stretching of their sizes will make it possible to investigate (by means of follow-up observations with high-resolution instruments like ALMA, JWST, and SKA) their internal structure and dynamics on the scales of giant molecular clouds (40–100 pc). This will provide direct information on the physics driving the evolution of star-forming galaxies. Furthermore, the arcmin resolution of the telescope at submm wavelengths is ideal for detecting the cores of galaxy proto-clusters, out to the epoch of reionisation. Due to the integrated emission of member galaxies, such objects (as well as strongly lensed sources) will dominate at the highest apparent far-IR luminosities. Tens of millions of these galaxy-clusters-in-formation will be detected at $z \simeq 2 - 3$ –3, with a tail extending out to $z\,{\simeq}\,7$ , and thousands of detections at $6\,{<}\,z\,{<}\,7$ . Their study will allow us to track the growth of the most massive halos well beyond what is possible with classical cluster surveys (mostly limited to $z\,\lesssim\, 1.5 - 2$ –2), tracing the history of star formation in dense environments and teaching us how star formation and galaxy-cluster formation are related across all epochs. The obscured cosmic SFR density of the Universe will thereby be constrained. Such a survey will overcome the current lack of spectroscopic redshifts of dusty star-forming galaxies and galaxy proto-clusters, representing a quantum leap in far-IR/submm extragalactic astrophysics.

We present the proceedings from a two-day workshop held at Swinburne University on 2005 May 24–25. The workshop participants highlighted current Australian research on both theoretical and observational aspects of galaxy groups. These proceedings include short one-page summaries of a number of the talks presented at the workshop. The talks presented ranged from reconciling N-body simulations with observations, to the Hı content of galaxies in groups and the existence of ‘dark galaxies’. The formation and existence of ultra-compact dwarfs in groups, and a new supergroup in Eridanus were also discussed.

Infrared astronomy has made remarkable progress over the past quarter century. This paper, which is a brief summary of the 1999 Ellery Lecture, outlines the importance of the infrared, traces some of the key Australian developments in the field, and looks ahead to the challenges facing infrared astronomers in the immediate future.

We present three Virtual Observatory tools developed at the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) for the storage, processing and visualization of Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) data. These are the Australia Telescope Online Archive, a prototype data-reduction pipeline, and the Remote Visualization System. These tools were developed in the context of the Virtual Observatory and were intended to be both useful for astronomers and technology demonstrators. We discuss the design and implementation of these tools, as well as issues that should be considered when developing similar systems for future telescopes.

High-redshift Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) are efficiently selected in deep images using as few as three broadband filters, and have been shown to have multiple intrinsic and small- to large-scale environmental properties related to Lyman-$\alpha$. In this paper we demonstrate a statistical relationship between net Lyman-$\alpha$ equivalent width (net Ly$\alpha$ EW) and the optical broadband photometric properties of LBGs at $z\sim2$. We show that LBGs with the strongest net Ly$\alpha$ EW in absorption (aLBGs) and strongest net Ly$\alpha$ EW in emission (eLBGs) separate into overlapping but discrete distributions in $(U_n-\mathcal{R})$ colour and $\mathcal{R}$-band magnitude space, and use this segregation behaviour to determine photometric selection criteria by which sub-samples with a desired Ly$\alpha$ spectral type can be selected using data from as few as three broadband optical filters. We propose application of our result to current and future large-area and all-sky photometric surveys that will select hundreds of millions of LBGs across many hundreds to thousands of Mpc, and for which spectroscopic follow-up to obtain Ly$\alpha$ spectral information is prohibitive. To this end, we use spectrophotometry of composite spectra derived from a sample of 798 LBGs divided into quartiles on the basis of net Ly$\alpha$ EW to calculate selection criteria for the isolation of Ly$\alpha$-absorbing and Ly$\alpha$-emitting populations of $z\sim3$ LBGs using ugri broadband photometric data from the Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

We re-examine the long-standing problem of the date of the Cassiopeia A supernova (SN), in view of recent claims that it might be the 1630 ‘noon-star’ seen at the birth of King Charles II. We do not support this identification, based on the expected brightness of a Type-IIb SN (too faint to be seen in daylight), the extrapolated motion of the ejecta (inconsistent with a date earlier than 1650), the lack of any scientific follow-up observations, the lack of any mention of it in Asian archives. The origin of the 1630 noon-star event (if real) remains a mystery; there was a bright comet in 1630 June but no evidence to determine whether or not it was visible in daylight. Instead, we present French reports about a fourth-magnitude star discovered by Cassini in Cassiopeia in or shortly before 1671, which was not seen before or since. The brightness is consistent with what we expect for the Cas A SN; the date is consistent with the extrapolated motion of the ejecta. We argue that this source could be the long-sought SN.

We present a detailed inhomogeneous chemical evolution study that considers for the first-time neutron star mergers as major r-process sources, and compare this scenario with the ones in which lower-mass (in the range 8–10 M⊙) or higher-mass core-collapse supernovae (with masses ≥20 M⊙) act as dominant r-process sites. We conclude that it is not possible at present to distinguish between the lower-mass and higher-mass supernovae scenarios within the framework of inhomogeneous chemical evolution. However, neutron-star mergers seem to be ruled out as the dominant r-process source, since their low rates of occurrence would lead to r-process enrichment that is not consistent with observations.

At relatively high frequencies, highly sensitive grating sidelobes occur in the primary beam patterns of low frequency aperture arrays (LFAA) such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). This occurs when the observing wavelength becomes comparable to the dipole separation for LFAA tiles, which for the MWA occurs at ${\sim}300$ MHz. The presence of these grating sidelobes has made calibration and image processing for 300 MHz MWA observations difficult. This work presents a new calibration and imaging strategy which employs existing techniques to process two example 300 MHz MWA observations. Observations are initially calibrated using a new 300 MHz sky-model which has been interpolated from low frequency and high frequency all-sky surveys. Using this 300 MHz model in conjunction with the accurate MWA tile primary beam model, we perform sky-model calibration for the two example observations. After initial calibration a self-calibration loop is performed by all-sky imaging each observation. We mask the main lobe of the all-sky image, and perform a sky-subtraction by estimating the masked image visibilities. We then image the main lobe of the sky-subtracted visibilities, which results in high dynamic range images of the two example observations. These images have been convolved with a Gaussian to a resolution of $2.4$ arcminutes, with a maximum sensitivity of ${{\sim}}31\,\textrm{mJy/beam}$ . The calibration and imaging strategy demonstrated in this work opens the door to performing science at 300 MHz with the MWA, which was previously an inaccessible domain. With this paper we release the code described below and the cross-matched catalogue along with the code to produce a sky-model in the range 70–1 400 MHz.

We present the Cosmological Double Radio Active Galactic Nuclei (CosmoDRAGoN) project: a large suite of simulated AGN jets in cosmological environments. These environments sample the intra-cluster media of galaxy clusters that form in cosmological smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations, which we then use as inputs for grid-based hydrodynamic simulations of radio jets. Initially conical jets are injected with a range of jet powers, speeds (both relativistic and non-relativistic), and opening angles; we follow their collimation and propagation on scales of tens to hundreds of kiloparsecs, and calculate spatially resolved synthetic radio spectra in post-processing. In this paper, we present a technical overview of the project, and key early science results from six representative simulations which produce radio sources with both core- (Fanaroff-Riley Type I) and edge-brightened (Fanaroff-Riley Type II) radio morphologies. Our simulations highlight the importance of accurate representation of both jets and environments for radio morphology, radio spectra, and feedback the jets provide to their surroundings.

A recent reanalysis of the fluorine abundance in three Galactic Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) carbon stars (TX Psc, AQ Sgr and R Scl) by Abia et al. (2009) results in estimates of fluorine abundances systematically lower by ∼0.8 dex on average, with respect to the sole previous estimates by Jorissen, Smith & Lambert (1992). The new F abundances are in better agreement with the predictions of full-network stellar models of low-mass (<3 M⊙) AGB stars.

The short-period (0d.34) close binary V508 Oph was observed in 2005 and four new times of minima were derived. All of the available times of minima, including the new ones, covering 69 years were analyzed. It was shown that the period change of the system is very complex. Two possible period oscillations with periods of 24.73 and 9.91 years and amplitudes of about 0.011 and 0.002 day, respectively, were found to superimpose on upward parabolic change, indicating a secular period increase at a rate of dp/dt = 4.24 × 10−9 days yr−1. The mechanisms that could explain the period changes of the system are discussed.

We present a detailed discussion of the implementation strategies for a recently developed w-stacking w-projection hybrid algorithm used to reconstruct wide-field interferometric images. In particular, we discuss the methodology used to deploy the algorithm efficiently on a supercomputer via use of a Message Passing Interface (MPI) k-means clustering technique to achieve efficient construction and application of non-coplanar effects. Additionally, we show that the use of conjugate symmetry can increase the w-stacking efficiency, decrease the time required to construction, and apply w-projection kernels for large data sets. We then demonstrate this implementation by imaging an interferometric observation of Fornax A from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). We perform an exact non-coplanar wide-field correction for 126.6 million visibilities using 50 nodes of a computing cluster. The w-projection kernel construction takes only 15 min prior to reconstruction, demonstrating that the implementation is both fast and efficient.