Since the discovery of the first asteroid by Piazzi in 1801, orbits have been determined for over 2500 with varying degrees of quality; 2357 have been assigned permanent numbers as of this writing (Marsden and Bardwell 1981).

The fact that Jupiter’s inner magnetosphere is not axially symmetric was originally demonstrated by ground-based radio measurements. Departures from symmetry are evident in the pattern of bursts occurring at decametre wavelengths and also in the characteristics of the polarized synchrotron emission observed at decimetre wavelengths. Direct measurements of Jupiter’s magnetic field, made from the Pioneer space probes, also indicate departures from an axially symmetric configuration.

The Logo of the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) depicts a linear array of six antennas in the Southern Hemisphere. Precision measurement of this image implies that the Compact Array is located at latitude 37° south and azimuth 176°; this corresponds (surprisingly) to an approximately north-south array. Furthermore, the ATNF Logo was apparently prepared at LST 04h 00m.

The literature contains numerous predictions of an X-ray pulse associated with the emergence of the shock-wave at the surface of a star undergoing a supernova explosion. Applied to supernova 1987a, these suggest a small, solar-flare like event lasting about a minute with a terrestrial flux of order 1 μ Wm-2 and a black-body temperature between 106K and 107K occurring between 0900 and 1000 UT on February 23, 1987. Unfortunately, no direct X-ray observations appear to have been made. However, such an event would be expected to give rise to an observable enhancement of ionization in the upper D-region of the ionosphere. The absence of a detectable perturbation in VLF radio signals propagating in the earth-ionosphere waveguide sets upper limits to the X-ray flux and temperature below those predicted.

The survey techniques for finding quasars in large areas of sky have developed rapidly in recent years. One can search for quasars in all wavelengths. The area of sky surveyed may be more than 1000 square degrees. The average density of quasar candidates down to magnitude 20 is about 20 per square degree. Therefore, more than 20 000 quasar candidates are waiting for further observation. The total number of confirmed quasars is currently about 5000. This paper gives a discussion of some of the physical properties of quasars, such as space distribution, luminosity function, clustering and redshift limit.

Both radial and non-radial motions have been suggested at various stages to explain the observational peculiarities of the β Cephei variables. The non-radial possibility has been investigated most recently by Smith (1977) and Stamford and Watson (1977). We here examine the radial shock proposal by generating a series of isothermal radial shock models in suitable early B star atmospheres. Odgers (1955) has long advocated such a model in connection with the large amplitude variable BW Vul. The observations of Goldberg, Walker and Odgers (1976) clearly show a radial velocity ‘stillstand’ effect and line splitting in this star. We discuss our models in the context of these two phenomena.

Model calculations for the photospheres of SN 1987A are presented. Spherical symmetry and density profiles are assumed to be given by the homologous expansion of the stellar structure of a B3I supergiant. For later stages the density slopes are determined. For a number of elements (H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Ba) detailed atomic models are used. The statistical equations and the radiation transport are treated consistently as well for the lines as for the continua. In addition, line blanketing due to other elements are included under the assumption of pure scattering. The importance of a sophisticated NLTE-treatment is demonstrated. Chemical metal abundances are derived by comparing the observed and synthetic spectra. Good agreement is found if a third of solar abundance for all elements with the exception of the s-process elements is assumed. An overabundance of He by a factor of 1-2 is indicated by the models corresponding to the time before June 87. No gradient in the chemical abundances of the hydrogen rich layers has to be assumed. Up to October 87 the He abundance at the photosphere is increased to 5 times solar, i.e. the continua are formed in helium rich layers. The chemical profile indicates strong mixing processes of the different layers of the progenitor during the explosion. Additionally, pecularities of hydrogen line profiles are discussed. Mainly, they can be understood by selective line blanketing effects. The total mass of the hydrogen rich shell is estimated to amount to be 9-11 M⊙.

We present a survey at J (1.25μm) and K (2.2μm) of 36 arcmin2 in the Bar and Inner Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud. The (J-K) colour – bolometric magnitude diagram is constructed and compared with theory. For the first time a sparsely populated region of the diagram separating proposed carbon stars from oxygen rich stars has been identified. In addition large numbers of red sources have been found apparently fainter than the accepted limit for carbon star formation. These include extremely red sources which are good candidates for OH/IR sources and extreme carbon stars.

We have extended the integration time of a Philips type 56470 video camera to make it useful for visual offset guiding on 0.6- and 1-metre telescopes.

This paper discusses the accretion wave phenomenon as a generator of the Great Galactic Ring and the mechanism for forming discontinuities in interstellar gas flows.

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.

As the night sky near Canberra grows brighter each year, many of the traditional areas of investigation at Mount Stromlo are suffering, and work in these fields is shifting to Siding Spring Mountain, near Coonabarabran, N.S.W. One of several projects designed to ensure the continued productivity of the 74-inch reflector at Mount Stromlo as conditions change has been the installation of an échelle grating system in the coudé focus of the telescope. This will allow very high dispersion work on bright stars, and should be littles affected by nearby city lights.

Observations of Jupiter’s decametric radio burst have established that above 20 MHz more than 90% of the emission is elliptically polarized in the RH sense, but below this frequency the proportion of the LH polarization increases (Sherrill 1965) until at 10 MHz nearly 40% of the emission is LH polarized (Dowden 1963). The best time and frequency resolutions so far obtained when examining the polarization of the spectra of Jupiter’s bursts have been 10 ms and 50 kHz respectively (Gordon and Warwick 1967, Riihimaa 1975). To study the fine structure of Jupiter’s emission as observed by the linearly polarized Llanherne low frequency radio telescope (Ellis 1972), spectrum analysers with resolutions in the ranges 0.3 — 1 msec and 2–10 kHz have been used (Ellis 1973a, 1973b, 1974, 1975). A new telescope at Llanherne, which is capable of detecting the RH and LH circular components of incident radiation, is being used in conjunction with these analysers to yield information of the hyperfine polarization structure of Jupiter’s decametric radio emission. This paper is a preliminary report of this investigation.

A long-standing problem in the theory of astrophysical accretion disks has been to determine the nature of the stress that transports orbital angular momentum outward. The discovery of a local MHD instability is strong evidence that transport occurs through turbulent Maxwell and Reynolds stresses. Using numerical simulations, we have demonstrated that a weak seed magnetic field in an accretion disk shear flow is unstable and leads to sustained MHD turbulence at dynamically important levels.

It was first pointed out by Hoyle et al. that quasars if they are indeed located at cosmological distances, must be characterized by an extraordinarily large radiation density : and therefore, though their optical and near infra-red spectra appear to be dominated by synchrotron radiation, any ultrarelativistic electron present must necessarily lose essentially all its energy by inverse Compton scattering. This would mean that, though quasars are emitting fantastic amounts of energy at optical frequencies, they must also be emitting many orders of magnitude more at X-ray and γ-ray frequencies. This paradox has been evaded by several specially constructed models (e.g. Rees and Sciama, Woltjer and Jukes); but the problem has not been removed in general.

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.

Shock drift acceleration of the electrons which produce herringbone structure in type II bursts is considered. A non-coplanar component of the magnetic field within the shock front and an electric field across the shock are taken into account. A quantitative difficulty with shock drift acceleration is identified, and possible ways of overcoming the difficulty are outlined.

The present Astronomy Advisory Committee (AAC) was set up by the then Minister for Science and the Environment, Senator J. J. Webster, in July 1979 following a Government review of astronomical facilities carried out by an interdepartmental committee (IDC) in 1978-1979. The IDC was assisted by an expert sub-committee, whose report Review of Observatories (1978) has since been published. The AAC consists of a chairman and ten members drawn from the astronomical community in Australia. It is serviced by the Department of Science and the Environment.