Among field stars recent work includes development of classification notation of the strong-CN stars, and the recognition that the barium star with weak CN (HD 130255) may actually be a dwarf barium star. The now established presence of weak-G-band stars on the AGB of globular clusters suggests that such field stars as HD49500 may be in the AGB stage.

Such progress as has been made in the application of modern detectors to the classification of faint stars in the nuclear bulge of our galaxy, and in the Magellanic Clouds, is summarized.

The Two Micron Sky Survey (Neugebauer & Leighton 1969;TMSS) provides a census of AGB stars which is relatively insensitive to interstellar or circumstellar reddening, temporal variations, or differences in photospheric temperature. This paper summarizes results from recent analyses of all carbon, S type, and mass-losing M stars in the TMSS, including local surface densities, scale heights, and mass loss rates. All three groups are concentrated toward the plane; the mass-losing M stars appear least concentrated toward the plane but most strongly concentrated toward the galactic center. Results from the IRAS survey were used to determine the range of infrared colors of stars in each class, and to estimate their mass loss rates. Carbon stars have relatively higher 60 μm flux densities than oxygen-rich stars, and have relatively higher mass loss rates. The total mass loss rate is dominated by a small fraction of the stars in this sample. IRAS photometry and IRAS Low Resolution Spectometer data do not unambiguously distinguish carbon-rich and oxygen-rich stars in this sample. Future searches for stars with the greatest mass loss rates might concentrate on sources found to be variable in the IRAS survey, since a large fraction of the TMSS stars with the most massive envelopes are known Miras or infrared variables.

The ages, masses and evolutionary state of peculiar red giants are discussed on the basis of kinematic and other data.

Study of the late-type stellar content in external galaxies provides numerous clues for the theory of stellar evolution, for star-formation scenarios in galaxies, and for proper models of the luminosity evolution of galaxies which are then used in cosmological studies. In addition, these late-type stars can be used as distance indicators themselves and yield a local value of the Hubble constant consistent with recent Cepheid determinations.

Simulated populations of the AGB stars were calculated with different assumptions about mass loss, initial chemical composition and dredge-up efficiency. The early-AGB (E-AGB) phase was taken into account. The numbers of carbon and oxygen stars per 106 generated stars and the ratio (NC/NM) of these numbers were obtained. It is possible to match theoretically obtained NC/NM with the observations only if the luminosity of observed stars Mbol < -3.5; otherwise it is necessary to take into account the E-AGB phase. The data in the Table are for all AGB stars in the Galaxy and for stars with Mbol < -1.80 in the LMC.

Identification of spectral lines from λ7700 to λ8800 has been carried out in twenty-four carbon stars: AQ And, UU Aur, W CMa, Y CVn, X Cnc, ST Cas, WZ Cas, AX Cyg, RS Cyg, U Cyg, V 460 Cyg, RY Dra, UX Dra, BL Ori, W Ori, RX Peg, Z Psc, 19 Psc, S Set, Y Tau. VY UMa, HD 137613, HD 156074, and HD 182040. The spectrograms used for this purpose were obtained at the coude foci of spectrographs attached to 100-inch reflector of Mt. Wilson, 200-inch reflector of Mt. Palomar, and 74-inch reflector of Okayama. From the microphotometric tracings of each spectrogram, it was found that the main contributors to the spectral features of the region investigated are lines of the CN Red System (A2Π-X2Σ). and lines of the C2 Phillips system (b1Πu–x1Σg) are minor ones.

UBVRI photometry and 1-2Å resolution spectra have been used to classify 85 stars listed as type R by various authors. Some are N stars, including a few characterized by strong NaD, weak C2 and enhanced 13C which are distinct from the cooler counterparts of the strong-banded 13C rich stars which are the most numerous of the R stars. The latter are also distinguished from non- C rich stars by having redder V-I at given B-V in the bifurcated distribution in the B-V, V-I diagram.

The spectra of the IRAS low-resolution-spectrometer in tape form have been submitted to a systematic morphological analysis, using classical quantitative discriminants (O.Gal et al. 1987, A & A 183, 29; Y. Baron et al. 1987, A & A 186, 271; R. Papoular 1988, A & A , in press). Spectra which display the 11.5μ feature of SiC fall into 4 classes of average spectral excesses. They differ by the width of the SiC feature and by the presence or absence of secondary features at ~8.6, ~11.7 and ~12.8μm.

A majority of these spectra have a lower 12-25μm colour temperature than do most optically selected C-stars, presumably because of thicker dust envelopes. While most spectra belong to LRS class 4n, 20% of the total were found among the brightest 20% of the much larger class In, suggesting that the relative abundance of C-stars is much higher than previously assumed.

The M2 II star HR 3126 (HD 65750) is remarkable because it sits near the center of a 0.7M⊙ butterfly-shaped reflection nebula of several arc minutes extent (Dachs et al. 1978, A & A 63, 353.). If it is a member of the nearby open cluster NGC 2516, the distance (375 pc), main sequence turnoff age (~ 108 years) and implied mass (~ 5Mʘ) suggest that IIR 3126 is a red bright giant past the initiation of helium burning in its core.

First results of an observing program recently started at the Figl Observatory for Astrophysics, Austria, are presented. Radial velocities derived by a correlation technique from the TiO bandheads near 7050 Å will be used to identify the stellar populations present among the short period (P ≤ 200d) Mira variables. From the first observations with the Reticon-equipped Echelle Spectrograph of the FOA (resolution 0.3 Å at 7000 Å) we conclude that for Mira stars with a limiting visual magnitude of about 10m velocities can be determined with an external accuracy of 6 km/s.

We present UBV photometric observations of two R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars, W Mensae and HV12842, which are members of the Large Magallenic Cloud (LMC). These data have been obtained over the last two years using single-channel photometers on both the 0.6m and lm telescopes at Mount John. They form part of an ongoing long-term program to investigate photometric and spectroscopic variations in the hydrogen-deficient carbon (HdC) stars both in the LMC and in our Galaxy.

In recent years several people have used the IRAS data to produce ([25] - [60]) / ([12] - [25]) two-colour diagrams of late type stars (Van der Veen and Habing 1988; Qing-Quan 1988). The distribution of all these AGB stars are concentrated in a limited area, and any special series of stars are limited on a definite curve which can be represented by an exponential equation like.

An uvby photometric monitoring of a sample of 19 Ba II stars has been performed since July 1984 at ESO on the Danish and ESO 50 cm telescopes, as part of the “Long Term Program for Variable Stars” (Sterken, 1983). The sample contains southern Ba II stars with variable radial velocities (from McClure, 1983 and Jorissen and Mayor, 1988) as well as Ba II stars already monitored by Landolt (1983). The observations are done differentially, using two comparison giants of the same spectral type located within a few degrees of the Ba II star. The reduction to the standard uvby system is performed using the algorithm described in Manfroid and Heck (1983), taking into account all the measurements performed on the considered telescope since the beginning of the monitoring. With such a reduction procedure, the scatter in the magnitude difference between two comparison stars (of magnitude 5 to 7) can be as low as 0.003-0.004 mag rms.

A study of barium star kinematics from 112 stars with known radial velocities indicates a solar motion of All values have errors of roughly ±2.6 km/s.

Parameters of the velocity ellipsoid from 32 barium stars with independently-determined absolute magnitudes are.

Spectra are presented in the J band (7400 to 9700 cm-1) for four Miras ranging in spectral type from M through C. All the program stars have been observed near minimum light. The program stars cover a considerable range in C/0 and the spectral features exhibit a progression as a function of C/0. The S-type stars contain strong bands not previously reported. Especially striking are two sets of triple-headed bands in the J-band spectrum of the S-type Mira R And. The bandheads, which are degraded to longer wavelengths, are at 7877, 7957, 8030 cm-1 and 8379, 8459, 8530 cm-1. The former triplet, which is the stronger of the two, also is present in the mild S star × Cyg but not in the M star R Cas. Additional heads are found in R And at 7477 cm-1, near the short wavelength edge of strong telluric absorption, and at 8968, 9031, 9063 cm-1. The bands are identified as the Δv = -1, 0, 1, and 2 sequences of a predicted (3II-3Δ) transition of ZrS. Additional conspicuous features in the spectra of × Cyg and R Cas are identified with V0, TiO, and H20 bands. These observations provide additional evidence that ZrS is responsible for the majority of the Keenan-Wing bands in the near infrared (0.7-1.1 μ). With additional laboratory work, the ZrS bands will provide an opportunity to measure sulfur abundances in late-type stellar photospheres.

The Vilnius seven-color photometric system with the mean wavelengths of bandpasses at 345, 374, 405, 466, 516, 544, and 656 nm is intended for photometric determination of spectral classes, absolute magnitudes, and metallicities of stars and the amount of interstellar reddening. At the same time, different reddening-free diagrams of the system make it possible to recognize stars with different peculiarities. Carbon-rich stars are among these types of objects. For separation of carbon, barium, and CH stars from normal stars, the diagram Q (345, 374, 466, 544), Q (405, 516, 656) is the best. Its merit is based on sensitivity of the 405 magnitude to the violet depression and of the 374 magnitude to the absorption of the C3, SiC, and CN bands, This diagram can be used to estimate the C/0 abundance ratio with corresponding calibration at hand.

The deep visual-red and near infrared low dispersion (1250 Å/mm at Hɤ and 7000 A/mm at Å band) objective prism spectral survey of the Milky Way equatorial ten degree belt has been done by 70 cm meniscus telescope equipped with 2° prism (30° < 1 < 115° infrared).