In comparison with all other branches of astronomy, X-ray astronomy suffers from a relative dearth of image forming devices. No X-ray lens is known and image formation by reflection requires glancing incidence optics which have small fields of view and are extremely difficult to fabricate, even for the small apertures (about 2 cm2) now employed. The only other imaging device which has been successfully employed is the simplest of all, the pinhole camera. Pinhole cameras with resolutions better than 10−3 rad are easily constructed, but the apertures are very small—not greater than about 10−4 cm2. The new instrument described here is closely related to the pinhole camera and may be viewed as an attempt to overcome the aperture restrictions of this simple device.

The classical theorems on the intensity of radiation (e.g. Milne) depend on the geometry of rectilinear ray trajectories in uniform media. In particular, the theorem concerning the specific intensity I in a medium specified by an isotropic refractive index μ—that, where there are no gains due to emission or losses due to absorption or scattering, the quantity I/μ2 = constant—is proved by assuming that the medium consists of a series of regions of constant refractive index at whose plane interfaces the coefficients of reflection are zero. For these the geometry of the trajectories (Figure 1) is such that, by Snell’s law,

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.

In a current programme at the Molonglo Radio Observatory using the high-resolution pencil beam of the instrument (∼3′ arc) an attempt is being made to extend the measured spectra of known planetary nebulae down to 408 MHz. Of 23 such planetaries already investigated, 14 have been detected. The main results will be given elsewhere; here it is proposed to discuss in detail only the well-known planetary nebula IC 418.

Photometric observations on the UBV system have been made of a number of optically identified radio sources. The measurements are basically of two types: (1) offset photometry with the Siding Spring 40-inch reflector of objects identified as probable quasars or N galaxies, and (2) observations with the Siding Spring 24-inch reflector of radio galaxies brighter than V = 14m.0.

This paper presents results from a series of rocket flights which have yielded the first unambiguous evidence for the variability of a cosmic X-ray source. The evidence rests primarily on three flights, the first two of which were conducted from Woomera by a joint Universities of Adelaide and Tasmania (UAT) team, and the third from Hawaii by the Lawrence Radiation Laboratories (LRL) of California. Data from two additional flights, one by LRL and the other by the University of Leicester, support this evidence.

The Orion Nebula is the best known and most often observed of the bright emission nebulae. However, the radio continuum spectrum of the nebula has been the subject of some misconception, particularly at low frequencies. A rediscussion is worthwhile as the spectrum has been used to derive an electron temperature for the nebula which is at variance with other determinations and carries important implications. Also some of the difficulties of measurement and problems of interpretation are relevant to similar investigations of other emission nebulae.

High resolution studies of clusters of galaxies at radio frequencies may contribute substantially to our knowledge of the properties of radio galaxies, their evolution and their luminosity function. A considerable amount of statistical information is already available on the correspondence of radio sources and clusters; the present investigation is aimed rather at a detailed examination of the sources and their identification with actual galaxies or other objects.

The object of this paper is to show that librations of the Earth follow conditions that are prescribed by nutations. The poles of rotation, excitation and inertia are treated as moving within a system that has approximately constant speed and direction relative to the Conventional International Origin. Applied excitations are presumed to cause other excitations, part forming at once and part forming progressively.

Recent observations of the Centaurus region by Harries et al., Chodil et al., and Cooke et al. have firmly established the existence of a variable X-ray source, Centaurus XR-2. This source is unique in that its variability has been established beyond doubt.

Electron temperatures of compact gaseous nebulae such as planetaries may be derived from radio-frequency data combined with isophotic contours accurately corrected for resolution effects, from the continuum jump at the Balmer limit and other features of the nebular continuum, and from forbidden line ratios.

The problem of synchronizing clocks at a distance has been solved both by the use of travelling clocks (e.g. caesium beam devices) and by radio transmission of time signals, for which active satellites are used to overcome inherent errors. A group of Czech workers recently developed a method of intra-continental clock comparison which makes use of the properties of domestic television signals. This has been verified under Australian conditions in experiments carried out between Mount Stromlo Observatory and the Division of Applied Physics of the National Standards Laboratory, CSIRO, Sydney, using signals from the Australian Broadcasting Commission transmitter ABWN 5A Wollongong.

Over the past three years, using the Parkes Telescope, accurate positions of over 700 extragalactic radio sources have been obtained for the purpose of optical identification of the sources.

These observations have been made with the 210ft-60ft variable baseline interferometer at the Australian National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

The physical properties and spatial distribution of 12 pulsars discovered with the Molonglo radio telescope have been discussed by Mills. Several more pulsars have been detected and details will be published when the measurements are complete. Parameters of a recently discovered pulsar, MP 0628, are given in Table I. All the Molonglo pulsars have been found by visual examination of chart records. The use of pulse lengthening circuits to improve the visibility of pulsars on slow charts, and the continuation of the observations over several hundred hours with the greatest available sensitivity have been factors contributing significantly to the success of the Molonglo pulsar search.

An albedo X-ray flux from the Earth was observed by experiments which were flown on Skylark rockets during April 1967. The details of the flights and the equipment have been covered in a previous paper. The celestial X-rays observed from discrete sources are superimposed on a diffuse X-ray flux. Most measurements of this diffuse flux have taken the difference between the number of X-rays observed from an area of sky, which is thought to be free of sources, and the flux from the direction of the Earth. By assuming that there are no X-rays from the direction of the Earth, this method removes the high-energy charged-particle background which should be the same in both cases.

We have extended our recent measurements on the extraterrestrial cosmic ray electron spectrum, this spectrum now being determined over the energy range from ~15 MeV to 6 GeV. The extraterrestrial electron intensity between 15 MeV and 200 MeV can be determined unambiguously by studying the diurnal variation of these particles. We have also measured the effects of the 11-year solar modulation on the electrons, thus enabling the electron spectrum observed near the Earth to be extrapolated to the local region of the spiral arm. It is the purpose of this paper to relate these measurements to:

• (i) calculations of ‘secondary’ electrons produced by cosmic ray nuclei moving in the Galaxy; and

• (ii) the observations of non-thermal radio emission from disk components of the Galaxy.

The radioheliograph at Culgoora has recently been used to investigate the interesting changes which take place in the amplitudes of the pulses from PSR 0950+08, 1133+16 and 1919+21. The experiments had two main objectives: (i) to investigate the temporal changes in the spectrum near 80 MHz; (ii) to search for periodicities in the pulse amplitudes with periods extending up to one or two minutes.