The PKSCAT90 database consists of radio and optical data for 8264 radio sources. It covers all the sky south of declination +27 degrees. Most of the galactic plane and the Magellanic Cloud regions are excluded from this catalogue but have been the subject of other specialised surveys. A few data errors in the initial PKSCAT90 version 1.00 released in March 1990 have been corrected in the current version 1.01 edition.

Lin and Hudson (1976) have recently analysed non-thermal processes in proton flares, using observations of a series of major events in August 1972. They concluded that the 10–100 keV electrons accelerated during the flash phase account for the bulk of the total energy of a large proton flare (about 1032 – 1033 ergs); that most protons are accelerated later than the 10 — 100 keV electrons; and that most energetic protons escape to the interplanetary medium. Their conclusions with regard to proton acceleration are supported firstly by the delay of the maximum of γ-ray emission by 3-5 minutes after the maximum of X-ray emission, and secondly by the satisfactory agreement between the 7-ray spectrum and the thin-target model of emission. The energetic protons contain a very small fraction of the total flare energy (of the order of 10-5).

We report on an initial survey of the cores of the Rho Ophiuchus and R Coronae Australis clouds, made with the AAT’s new IR array camera, IRIS. No turnover is seen in the initial luminosity function for ρ Oph to the sensitivity limit of the survey. Some implications for the low mass end of the initial mass function are discussed.

Photo-electric observations of the occultation of BD —17°4388 by Neptune on 1968 April 7 were made with instruments and techniques as listed in Table I. A preliminary report of these observations has been given in IAU Circular No. 2067.

Six solar proton events have been observed by ground level cosmic ray detectors so far during solar cycle 21, a little less than one per year. All of these have been much smaller than the giant events observed in solar cycle 19. As with many other aspects of solar activity, the reason for the differences from cycle to cycle remain unknown.

HD 44179, a ninth-magnitude star of late B spectral type, is peculiar in several respects. At red wavelengths it appears to be located at the apex of a biconical nebular (‘The Red Rectangle’) of dimensions about 1′ arc. Cohen et al. (1975) identified the system with the bright infrared source AFGL 915 and carried out investigations at optical, infrared and radio wavelengths. The complexities of the spectra have continued to interest astronomers.

Recent numerical experiments (Norman et al. 1980), which simulate the axisymmetric collapse of a rotating, self gravitating cloud, show that spurious angular momentum transport can seriously affect the evolution of the cloud. In particular, it may determine if a ring-like density enhancement will occur. The spurious angular momentum transport can arise either from an explicit artificial viscosity, which might be required if shocks occur, or from an implicit viscosity due to truncation errors in the difference equation approximation to the exact equations. In donor cell schemes like those used by Tohline (1980) and Boss (1980) spurious angular momentum transport is due to truncation errors in the difference equations. For axisymmetric problems the errors are usually not serious since the typical length of a cell in the computational grid is very much less than the length scale of the cloud. We would expect the errors to be much greater when fragmentation occurs because the length scale of a fragment may only be comparable to that of three or four cells.

The Parkes 64 m telescope has been used to survey a complete sample of nearby red giants (i.e. not members of close binaries or showing strong emission lines of CaII). The sample consisted of all 82 stars in the Bright Star Catalogue within 30 pc having spectral types G, K, M and luminosity classes I, II, III south of the celestial equator.

Print copies of the Palomar Sky Survey (PSS) are widely used for optical identifications of radio sources north of δ = -33°.

Extensive observations of the spectra of the decametric radio bursts for Jupiter have been made by Riihimaa, principally at frequencies between 18 and 23 MHz and with frequency resolution of 50 kHz. These showed much fine frequency-time structure in the bursts but pointed to the need for higher frequency resolution and greater antenna sensitivity. This paper reports the results of observations made of the Jupiter bursts between February and April, 1972, using the Llanherne low frequency telescope (Ellis,).

While Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is not a particularly powerful radio galaxy, its proximity (˜ 5 Mpc) permits us to obtain linear resolution an order of magnitude better than can be obtained for the more powerful, distant radio galaxies. Thus one can hope to make meaningful comparisons between the morphologies seen over the electromagnetic spectrum from γ-rays to metre waves. This should lead to a more complete understanding of the energy production mechanisms and evolutionary histories of these objects.

The Sydney University one mile cross-type radio telescope at the Molonglo Radio Observatory has been used to study the 30 Doradus nebula with high resolution (~3´ arc) at 408 MHz. This preliminary report compares these observations with Balmer line isophotes published by Faulkner. A description of the calibration procedures used in the present observations, an analysis of the various radio features in the 30 Doradus region, and a comparison with previous observations at other frequencies, will be described in a later paper.

An apparent connection is reported between the magnetic field strengths inside an electron, in newly born pulsars, and the sun. It is argued that the upper limit to the strength of magnetic field which seems to exist is that which would permit emission of a photon at the non-relativistic electron gyrofrequency, with energy of the order of the electron rest mass. The strongest magnetic fields at the surface of polar regions of pulsars conform to this. By equating approximately the rest mass of an electron to its magnetic energy, the same magnetic field is found inside the electron. It is proposed that magnetic field building ‘blocks’ called M-particles are formed by a variant of the electron-positron spin-zero annihilation. The particles become as tightly stacked as possible to form the macroscopic magnetic field of the newly born pulsar. The sun’s present magnetic moment is described by a pulsar-sized object at its centre, with the maximum packing of M-particles. The hypothesis may have a bearing on the formation of magnetic fields in celestial bodies, and on the secular variation of the magnetic fields of the sun and the Earth.

Proxima Centauri was observed photoelectrically in the period July-September 1987 with a newly-installed computer-interfaced photometer. Four definite flares and six further possible events were recorded. The level of Proxima’s flaring activity was examined and no significant change since 1969 found.

High-resolution radio maps of supernova remnants (SNRs) are indispensable for distinguishing the more common shell remnants from the centrally concentrated (Crab-like) remnants; such studies also reveal any departures from symmetry, and this can yield vital information concerning interaction of the ejecta with the surrounding interstellar medium.