Recent observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array show that the elliptical galaxy NGC 5266 has a disk of neutral hydrogen extending to almost 10Re. This HI disk lies along the galaxy’s major axis, at right angles to the inner minor-axis dust lane. The geometry and kinematics of the gas will allow us to determine both the intrinsic shape of the stellar galaxy and the mass distribution. The mass-to-light ratio M/LB rises from about 2 in the central regions to ~12 at 9Re (H0 = 50km s−1 Mpc−1).

A substantial population of red quasars has been discovered in a complete sample of flat-spectrum radio sources. Dust is the most likely cause of the reddening in this sample. The location of the dust is poorly known, but may either be in the line-of-sight to the quasar, or in the immediate quasar environment. In this paper we are interested in models where the dust is located in the line of sight to the quasar. We calculate the probability distribution of the optical depth in galactic dust as a function of source redshift, using a range of parameters which might describe real galaxies. We compare these results with those found for our sample of radio quasars. If the dust content is unevolving, then it is not possible to account for all the observed reddening in the quasar sample using these models. Our minimum dust model predicts that 15% of background quasars to z ~ 5 will have a line of sight within 5 kpc of a galaxy’s centre, and would therefore be reddened out of B-band flux-limited samples.

Radio, optical and X-ray observations of a complete flux-limited sample of southern bright radio sources have been analysed to investigate beaming and orientation effects in the different wavebands. We conclude that, in addition to beamed optical and radio components, there is evidence for anisotropic X-ray emission.

Optical spectra of the ejecta of SN 1987A taken at the AAT now cover seven years of evolution. In recent years, SN 1987A has been in a phase known as freeze-out. The timescales for recombination have exceeded those of energy deposition, and the ionisation structure has become fixed. During this phase, cooling is slow and the optical spectrum has been extremely stable. Our latest spectrum, however, shows significant change. [FeI] and [FeII] emission from iron-rich clumps has dominated the optical emission from the supernova over the last four years. All the [FeII] features have disappeared in our latest spectrum from December 1993 and model fits of [FeI] features indicate that these clumps have cooled to the critical temperature of 1000 K. They may be entering a phase of rapid cooling known as the infrared catastrophe. In addition, emission at high velocities has strengthened, in line with the predictions of freeze-out. SN 1987A may be entering a new, and previously unobserved, phase in supernova evolution.

The radial density gradient (Gr) of Galactic cosmic rays in the ecliptic plane points outward from the Sun. This indicates an increasing density of cosmic ray particles beyond the Earth’s orbit. Due to this gradient and the direction of the Sun’s interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) above and below the IMF wavy neutral sheet, there exists an anisotropic flow of cosmic ray particles approximately perpendicular to the ecliptic plane (i.e. in the direction parallel to BIMF × Gr). This effect is called the north–south anisotropy (ξNS) and manifests as a diurnal variation in sidereal time in the particle intensity recorded by a cosmic ray detector. By analysing the yearly averaged sidereal diurnal variation recorded by five neutron monitors and six muon telescopes from 1957 to 1990, we have deduced probable values of the average rigidity spectrum and magnitude of ξNS. Furthermore, we have used determined yearly amplitudes of ξNS to infer the magnitude of Gr for particles with rigidities in excess of 10 GV.

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.

This paper describes the first results from a 20 deg2 mosaic of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in the λ21-cm line of neutral hydrogen. The mosaic consists of 320 separate pointings with the 375-m array of the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The angular resolution is 1′· 5 (26 pc, for a distance of 60 kpc) and the velocity resolution is l·6kms−1. The images reveal a structure of remarkable complexity, with much of the spatial power contained in high-brightness temperature compact knots and filaments. Numerous wind-blown ‘bubbles’ and ‘supershells’ are evident in the data, both inside and outside the stellar confines of the SMC. Some high-density H I regions are seen to correlate with Hα regions, indicating sites of current star formation. However, many high-column-density H I regions are devoid of optical emission and may represent regions of future star formation. These regions may be under-abundant in diffuse molecular gas due to the high radiation field and low metallicity of the SMC.

The magnetic field and orbital period distributions of AM Herculis binaries are investigated. Our study shows that (i) there is a significant lack of very-high-field magnetic white dwarfs in binaries when compared with isolated white dwarfs, and (ii) the difference between the period distributions of AM Herculis binaries and other cataclysmic variable subclasses is statistically significant. These results imply that the evolution and the birth of AM Herculis binaries are different from those of other cataclysmic variables.

Here we present our first results of a study of the neutral hydrogen gas (HI) in the southern spiral galaxy NGC 253 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The relative proximity of NGC 253 makes it a very suitable object for detailed studies of large-scale, as well as nuclear, gas dynamics. Several peculiar features have been found. The HI distribution is asymmetric in the outer regions, probably as a result of the strong warping of the spiral arms. A bar associated with the disc, clearly visible in the optical and near-infrared, also reveals its signature in the neutral hydrogen gas. HI absorption measurements reveal unusual motions of the gas in the nuclear region which seem to indicate a fast-rotating ring of cold gas as well as outflow of gas. Similar features have been found in other starburst galaxies, such as M 82, NGC 1808 and NGC 4945, and are interpreted in terms of bar-induced gas dynamics and star formation.

From the Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA) we constructed a sample of 27000 galaxies with radial velocities smaller than 15 000 kms−1. From this first sample we selected the 5683 largest galaxies, which constitute a sample complete up to the diameter limit D25 = 1·6′. This sub-sample has been used to search for the most populated plane. The result is that the plane defined by the pole (l = 52°; b= 16°) contains twice as many galaxies as would be found for randomly distributed galaxies. This plane is not far from the supergalactic plane. The distribution of galaxies in this plane has been studied by using the radial velocity as an estimate of the distance. An excess of galaxies appears at a distance of about 70 Mpc. We discuss the reality of this density enhancement which could result from selection effects.

A novel explanation for the origin of the cometary globules within NGC 7293 (the ‘Helix’ planetary nebula) is examined, namely that these globules originate as massive cometary bodies at large astrocentric radii. The masses of such hypothetical cometary bodies would have to be several orders of magnitude larger than those of any such bodies observed in our solar system in order to supply the observed mass of neutral gas. It is, however, shown that comets at ‘outer Oort cloud’ distances are likely to survive past the red giant and asymptotic giant branch evolutionary phases of the central star, allowing them to survive until the formation of the planetary nebula. Some observational tests of this hypothesis are proposed.

The published properties of M1-78 are discussed with the purpose of resolving the object’s classification as either a planetary nebula or an ultracompact HII region. A classification as a planetary nebula is rejected primarily because of the high luminosity of the object, but because of the chemical composition and expansion velocity of the nebula, a novel classification is proposed instead: that of an ultracompact HII region with a post-main sequence central star (possibly a WN star). It must therefore follow that observable ultracompact HII regions persist beyond the main sequence lifetimes of at least some massive stars, and so cannot be transient phenomena that are seen only during pre-main sequence or early main sequence evolution.

Non-thermal radio emission has been detected from dMe stars, RS CVn binaries and W T Tauri stars. Polarisation and intensity measurements of the quiescent (i.e. non-flaring) emission indicate that the emission is gyrosynchrotron emission from mildly relativistic electrons spiralling in a magnetic field. A three-dimensional dipole magnetic field model for the stellar field is presented and the quiescent gyrosynchrotron emission from such a model is calculated and compared with observations. The model can account for many phenomenological features of quiescent emission. Quantitative comparisons of model results with observations indicate that the electron distribution in the emission region may be a magnetic mirroring distribution.

Sites of recent star formation often radiate strong maser emission from methanol transitions near 6-6 and 12 GHz. We have studied many of these masers over several years and find that intensity variations are common on both transitions. We present observations which demonstrate marked variability in 48 sources. We explore the characteristics of the variability and find it to be typically quasi-periodic, on a timescale of between a month and several years. The amplitude of the variation is most commonly less than a factor of two, but can reach factors of ten. The variability of different features in a source is usually independent. Variability of features seen at both 6·6 and 12 GHz is sometimes correlated, with larger amplitudes usually seen at 12 GHz. A likely inference is that variations are occasionally due to a change in the pump rate throughout the masing region, but most are consistent with a change in the masing path length due to large-scale motions. In addition, it is likely that the majority of 6·6-GHz masers are saturated whereas the 12-GHz masers may be somewhat less saturated.

This paper discusses problems which have as their uniting theme the need to understand the coupling between a stellar convection zone and a magnetically dominated corona above it. Interest is concentrated on how the convection drives the atmosphere above, loading it with the currents that give rise to flares and other forms of coronal activity. The role of boundary conditions appears to be crucial, suggesting that a global understanding of the magnetic field system is necessary to explain what is observed in the corona. Calculations are presented which suggest that currents flowing up a flux rope return not in the immediate vicinity of the rope but rather in an alternative flux concentration located some distance away.

We have just completed the observational stage of a 2·4 GHz survey of the Southern Galactic Plane, using the Parkes radiotelescope, between 238° ≤ l ≤ 365° and with a latitude range of at least |b| ≤ 5° (beamwidth ~9 arcmin). The survey details both continuum emission and linear polarisation down to rms noises of approximately 12 and 4 mJy/beam respectively. It is the most sensitive survey to date of the southern plane at this frequency and should nicely complement the Effelsberg northern plane surveys in addition to the recent southern surveys such as the 843 MHz MOST survey and the 5 GHz PMN survey. The total-power maps are now completed, and reduction of the polarisation data is still in progress. In addition to compact HII regions and extragalactic sources, we are detecting on our total-power images a considerable amount of large-scale structure, and a significant number of new SNR candidates and spur-like features.

Ultracompact H II regions are small, dense regions of ionised gas surrounding high-mass stars which are still embedded in their natal molecular clouds. A survey of such regions has been commenced in an attempt to improve our understanding of the processes of high-mass star formation. The initial stages of the survey have involved selection of likely candidates from the IRAS Point Source Catalogue, correlation with radio continuum emission at 4·85 GHz and subsequent observations of methanol maser emission at 6·668 GHz. Preliminary results of the methanol maser survey are given.

We investigate irradiation-driven mass transfer in cataclysmic variables in the presence of shielding of the radiation by an accretion disk. We have shown that the shielding can cause a temporal drop of 3–5 magnitudes in the brightness of systems with orbital periods shorter than about 4 hr. This provides a possible explanation for the brightness variations in the VY Scl stars.

It has long been suspected that winds of thermal and/or relativistic particles are a common feature of both active and normal galaxies. Galactic winds are likely to be an important mechanism, particularly at high redshift, by which energy and metals from galaxies are subsequently dumped into the intergalactic medium. Both observational and theoretical studies of wind processes remain in their infancy, largely because astrophysical winds are difficult to detect. Future satellite missions will make systematic surveys possible for the first time. In this review, we summarise the current evidence for galactic-scale winds, particularly in energy bands where the wind emission is spatially resolved. We also discuss observational limitations and problems of interpretation.