The Buckland Park air shower array is being developed particularly for use as an ultra-high-energy gamma ray astronomy telescope. The properties of this instrument are described with an emphasis on improvements being made to its angular resolution. Some early data are presented to illustrate the way in which the data obtained will be used.

In an attempt to determine whether the lithium Une at 6707 Å cornes mainly from the quiet photosphere or from the cooler spots on spotted active stars we have measured Une équivalent widths due to Li and also due to Cal at 6717 Å at various rotation phases on three fast rotating stars, AB Doradus, PZ Telescopium and V 1005 Orionis. The results for AB Dor and PZ Tel show there might be some small rotational modulation which can be linked to the best estimate of the spot position from the available photometry. This moduation is less than that expected on the basis of Giampapa’s work on sunspot spectra. The Li and Cal line equivalent widths were found to anticorrelate.

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.

Since its commissioning in 1981 the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope has been used by the Astrophysics Department in the University of Sydney for many astronomical programs. These include completed surveys of both Magellanic Clouds made to study their SNR and HII content. The SNR work is essentially complete with 55 remnants identified and firm indications that the previously assumed evolution of a typical SNR (if such exists!) is incompatible with observation. The cataloguing and analysis of the HII regions and planetary nebulae data is complete in the SMC but barely started in the LMC. Other observing programs include the mapping of southern radio and ‘normal’, galaxies, the study of variable sources, ‘deep mapping’ of a selection of far southern fields for cosmological studies, studies of mass loss stars, the Galactic centre and a general survey of a strip along the Galactic plane as a long term program. In addition, advantage has been taken of the ‘real-time’ beams for pulsar studies and for the development of a ‘transient event recorder’ to permit a search for pulsed or other rapidly varying phenomena during normal map synthesis. Some of these programs have been completed but the majority are still in progress.

Three mirrors of the White Cliffs Solar Power Station are currently being used for very high energy γ-ray Astronomy while the University of Adelaide very high energy γ-ray telescope is being designed. Use is made of fast-timing to obtain γ-ray arrival directions to an accuracy approaching 1 °. The experimental arrangement and operation of the telescope is described and our current observing program is outlined.

A spectral line survey for interstellar NH3 is being carried out using the 64-m telescopes at Parkes and Tidbinbilla. Both telescopes are equipped with K-band maser receivers yielding system temperatures below 100 K. The preliminary survey is being made with the Parkes antenna (beam = 1.35 arcmin), with follow-up mapping of the more interesting sources at Tidbinbilla (beam = 0.9 arcmin). The selected sources have in general been HII regions from the H2CO surveys made at Parkes. Statistical results from initial observations of the (1, 1), (2, 2), and (3, 3) lines in the preliminary survey are presented.

The synthesis telescopes at Fleurs and Molonglo have been used to map 50 supernova remnants. Additional specialized software to process the maps has been developed, and Parkes observations have been used to supply short spacing information missing from the maps.

A broad-band (2-190 keV) Australian X-ray satellite could provide a spectral sensitivity substantially better than HEAO-1 or any presently approved spacecraft. It would be virtually unique by providing simultaneously data over a wide energy range with high sensitivity and energy resolution in the little measured region above 30 keV. These measurements are vital to our understanding of such diverse topics as the cyclotron line production mechanism in binary sources, the structure of the magnetosphere of neutron stars, the origin of the diffuse cosmic X-ray background and the nature of the giant power sources in active galaxies and stellar black holes. Details of the proposed spacecraft and scientific objectives are given.

The Parkes radio telescope was commissioned in 1961, with an anticipated operational life of 15 years. Twentyfive years later the telescope has been refurbished with the aim of extending its life yet another decade or two. A major undertaking has been the complete replacement of the drive and control System. This presentation outlines the main features of the new System and its effect on the observing facilities offered at the observatory.

Molonglo Observatory has played an important role in pulsar astronomy from shortly after the initial discovery announcement in 1968 to the present. Its major contribution has been in the area of searches for new pulsars – for most of the 17-year period more than half of the known pulsars were Molonglo discoveries. The history of pulsar astronomy at Molonglo is reviewed and a brief account of current observation programs is given.

We present here the best of a series of models of the Magellanic stream. The dominant force in these models is gas drag. Gaseous cloudlets are torn from the bridge between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds as the Magellanic system passes through a hot gaseous halo about our galaxy. The cloudlets are then stretched apart from each other by tidal and drag forces to form the Magellanic stream. Our best model closely reproduces the position of the stream on the sky and the run of radial velocities along the Magellanic stream. The agreement is almost as good as the best purely tidal model. In our best model the Magellanic system is only loosely bound to our galaxy and is on the first encounter with it. This overcomes some of the problems with purely tidal models. Our series of models indicate that there is a wide range of parameters that will produce a reasonable stream under the forces of gas drag and gravity.

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.

Recent modifications to the Fleurs digital receiver enable the additional correlations between the six 13.7 m dishes to be measured. Previously, only those correlations formed between the four east-west 13.7 m dishes and the thirty-two 5.7 m dishes were measured. This enables the production of three type of maps; each with full 20 arc second resolution but with properties which suit differing astronomical applications.

Very sensitive low-noise amplifiers designed to receive transmissions from spacecraft are not necessarily suitable receivers for radio astronomy. In the former case a good signalto- noise ratio is required so that high data rates can be achieved. In the latter the ratio of signal to noise power may be as low as 10-4 and the stability of receiver gain and that of ail sources of noise during long integration times become of equal importance.

This paper describes a novel solution to the problem, which allowed important astronomy to be performed while the ruby maser receivers belonging to the European Space Agency were installed on the Parkes radio telescope for an extended period of time.

Operation of the six 13.7 m antennas of the Fleurs synthesis telescope as a sub-array has provided a new and surprisingly versatile astronomical tool. With enhanced reliability and fully automated operation, unattended observing over several days is possible. Interleaved ‘multiple-snapshot’ observations of many fields per day can be made.

The array has shown itself to be particularly suitable for the measurement of precision (a few arcsecond) positions for the optical identification of a large number of radio sources, a survey of compact sources and the monitoring of the activity of several radio stars over periods of weeks. At present a program of recalibration is under way to improve the positional accuracy and dynamic range of the instrument.

Thorough investigation of clusters of galaxies involves the complete modelling of their dynamics and structure. Presented here is a description of such a substantial project utilizing a sample of several rich southern clusters of galaxies. Incorporating results from radial velocity analyses of cluster galaxies and X-ray images of the clusters into rigorously constructed models of the cluster potential well and atmosphere will enable the dynamics, structure and evolution of clusters to be tied down.

The recent upgrading of the Tidbinbilla two-element interferometer to simultaneous S-band (2.3 GHz) and X-band (8.4 GHz) operation has provided a powerful new astronomical facility for weak radio source measurement in the Southern Hemisphere. The new X-band system has a minimum fringe spacing of 38 arcsec, and about the same positional measurement capability (approximately 2 arcsec) and sensitivity (1 s rms noise of 10 mJy) as the previous S-band system. However, the far lower confusion limit will allow detection and accurate positional measurements for sources as weak as a few millijanskys. This capability will be invaluable for observations of radio stars, X-ray sources and other weak, compact radio sources.

In simulations of gas flow in the gravitational field of model barred galaxies which we have described elsewhere, structures resembling inner rings have formed. The model rings encircle the bar as observed in real galaxies, but are more elongated than the average inner ring. In this paper we show that the addition of a lens-like component to the background field results in much rounder rings. Indeed the shape and position of the model rings are very sensitive to any steep gradients in the azimuthally averaged surface density near the ends of the bar.

The design of the Australia Telescope is discussed, particularly in reference to the compact array, the frequency ranges of operation, the field of view, dynamic range, polarization, bandwidth, correlators, time resolution and flexibility. Site preparation at Culgoora, antenna design, reflector panel construction, feed horns, receivers an cryogenics, and computing are receiving full attention.

Adult education classes in astronomy have been conducted in Sydney for many years. The University of Sydney has been especially prominent in this field, holding classes in conjunction with the Sydney WEA prior to 1983, and independently since then. In the last 11 years, most of these courses have been conducted by postgraduate students from the Astrophysics and Astronomy departments in the University’s School of Physics. This paper describes these courses and points out some future possibilities in the teaching of astronomy to adult classes.