The baseline of East-West array of the Fleurs Synthesis Telescope (FST) has been extended from 786 metres to 1585 metres by the addition of two 13.7 metre dishes. A digital receiver has been built to accommodate the extra delay and correlation requirements, low noise FET preamplifiers have been installed on the large antennas, and a software package has been developed for processing observation data on a VAX 11/780. The FST is now capable of producing accurate wide field maps at 1415 MHz with a resolution of 20 arc seconds and a sensitivity of several milliJansky.

Detailed observations of the importance 2 flare of 9 June 1968, 00h25m U.T., were made at Culgoora in both its Hα and 80 MHz radio emissions, and the event should provide an opportunity for careful study. In this paper a description is given of the radio spectral observations (25-200 MHz) taken at the same site. These observations were among the first to be taken with a newly constructed spectrograph.

Observations of the Jupiter radio emissions have established that the radiation is normally received as bursts with two quite different time scales. The L bursts mostly have durations of 1-10 seconds, although extended bursts up to 100 seconds are sometimes observed. The S bursts on the other hand have time scales of milliseconds and fractions of a millisecond. Dynamic spectrographic observations have shown that both types are structured in the frequency-time plane although the frequency and time resolution used so far has been insufficient to investigate detail smaller than 50 KHz and 10 msec respectively.

Clustering commodity displays into a Tiled Display Wall (TDW) provides a cost-effective way to create an extremely high resolution display, capable of approaching the image sizes now generated by modern astronomical instruments. Many research institutions have constructed TDWs on the basis that they will improve the scientific outcomes of astronomical imagery. We test this concept by presenting sample images to astronomers and non-astronomers using a standard desktop display (SDD) and a TDW. These samples include standard English words, wide field galaxy surveys and nebulae mosaics from the Hubble telescope. Our experiments show that TDWs provide a better environment than SDDs for searching for small targets in large images. They also show that astronomers tend to be better at searching images for targets than non-astronomers, both groups are generally better when employing physical navigation as opposed to virtual navigation, and that the combination of two non-astronomers using a TDW rivals the experience of a single astronomer. However, there is also a large distribution in aptitude amongst the participants and the nature of the content also plays a significant role in success.

In this paper, the hypothesis of the existence of a massive dark body (Nemesis, Tyche, Planet Nine, or any other trans-Plutonian planet) at the Solar system periphery is analysed. Basic physical properties and orbital characteristics of such massive bodies are considered. The problem of the definition of a scattering angle of a photon in the gravitational field of a spherical lens is studied. It is shown that, the required value of the scattering angle can be measured for the cases of Nemesis and Tyche. The formation of gravitational lensing images is studied here for a point mass event. It is demonstrated that in most cases of the close rapprochement of a source and the lens (for Nemesis and Tyche), it is possible to resolve two images. The possibility of resolving these images is one of the main arguments favouring the gravitational lensing method as its efficiency in searching for dark massive objects at the edge of the Solar System is higher than the one corresponding to other methods such as stellar occultation. For the cases of Planet Nine and any other trans-Plutonian planet, the strong gravitational lensing is impossible because at least one of the images is always eclipsed.

In blazar models both protons and electrons may be efficiently accelerated in jets and produce γ-rays. Here we discuss the interactions of these γ-rays with different radiation fields. The external radiation fields within a few parsecs from the black hole involved in such interactions could be the direct radiation from the accretion disk coupled with the jet, the infrared radiation from a dusty torus, and the emission line radiation from the broad line region surrounding the accretion disk. The optical thickness for absorption of γ-ray photons in the external radiation fields is analysed for blazars and quasars.

Based on the unification theory of active galactic nuclei we briefly review the evidence for the existence of small scale dust tori in blazars/FR I. We propose that the existing jet–accretion disk symbiosis extrapolates to a large scale symbiosis between other important dusty constituents of the blazar/FR I family.

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a Bayesian evidence -based analysis for diagnosing and disentangling the sky-averaged 21-cm signal from instrumental systematic effects. As a case study, we consider a simulated REACH pipeline with an injected systematic. We demonstrate that very poor performance or erroneous signal recovery is achieved if the systematic remains unmodelled. These effects include sky-averaged 21-cm posterior estimates resembling a very deep or wide signal. However, when including parameterised models of the systematic, the signal recovery is dramatically improved in performance. Most importantly, a Bayesian evidence-based model comparison is capable of determining whether or not such a systematic model is needed as the true underlying generative model of an experimental dataset is in principle unknown. We, therefore, advocate a pipeline capable of testing a variety of potential systematic errors with the Bayesian evidence acting as the mechanism for detecting their presence.

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.

We present the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) Pilot Phase I Hi kinematic models. This first data release consists of Hi observations of three fields in the direction of the Hydra and Norma clusters, and the NGC 4636 galaxy group. In this paper, we describe how we generate and publicly release flat-disk tilted-ring kinematic models for 109/592 unique Hi detections in these fields. The modelling method adopted here—which we call the WALLABY Kinematic Analysis Proto-Pipeline (WKAPP) and for which the corresponding scripts are also publicly available—consists of combining results from the homogeneous application of the FAT and 3DBarolo algorithms to the subset of 209 detections with sufficient resolution and $S/N$ in order to generate optimised model parameters and uncertainties. The 109 models presented here tend to be gas rich detections resolved by at least 3–4 synthesised beams across their major axes, but there is no obvious environmental bias in the modelling. The data release described here is the first step towards the derivation of similar products for thousands of spatially resolved WALLABY detections via a dedicated kinematic pipeline. Such a large publicly available and homogeneously analysed dataset will be a powerful legacy product that that will enable a wide range of scientific studies.

We present a software package for single-dish data processing of spacecraft signals observed with VLBI-equipped radio telescopes. The Spacecraft Doppler tracking (SDtracker) software allows one to obtain topocentric frequency detections with a sub-Hz precision and reconstructed and residual phases of the carrier signal of any spacecraft or landing vehicle at any location in the Solar System. These data products are estimated using the ground-based telescope’s highly stable oscillator as a reference, without requiring an a priori model of the spacecraft dynamics nor the downlink transmission carrier frequency. The software has been extensively validated in multiple observing campaigns of various deep space missions and is compatible with the raw sample data acquired by any standard VLBI radio telescope worldwide. In this paper, we report the numerical methodology of SDtracker, the technical operations for deployment and usage, and a summary of use cases and scientific results produced since its initial release.

The recently completed HI mosaic survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud (Kim et al. 1997) reveals complex structure in the interstellar medium, including filaments, arcs, holes and shells. We have catalogued giant and supergiant HI shells and searched for correlations with Hα emission, using a new image taken with a camera lens mounted on the 16-inch telescope at Siding Spring Observatory.

Clusters of galaxies have been found to host Mpc-scale diffuse, non-thermal radio emission in the form of central radio halos and peripheral relics. Turbulence and shock-related processes in the intra-cluster medium are generally considered responsible for the emission, though details of these processes are still not clear. The low surface brightness makes detection of the emission a challenge, but with recent surveys with high-sensitivity radio telescopes we are beginning to build large samples of these sources. The Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) is a Southern Sky survey being performed by the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) over the next few years and is well-suited to detect and characterise such emission. To assess prospects of the full survey, we have performed a pilot search of diffuse sources in 71 clusters from the Planck Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) cluster catalogue (PSZ2) found in archival ASKAP observations. After re-imaging the archival data and performing both (u, v)-plane and image-plane angular scale filtering, we detect 21 radio halos (12 for the first time, excluding an additional six candidates), 11 relics (in seven clusters, and six for the first time, excluding a further five candidate relics), along with 12 other, unclassified diffuse radio sources. From these detections, we predict the full EMU survey will uncover up to $\approx 254$ radio halos and $\approx 85$ radio relics in the 858 PSZ2 clusters that will be covered by EMU. The percentage of clusters found to host diffuse emission in this work is similar to the number reported in recent cluster surveys with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey [Botteon, et al. 2022a, A&A, 660, A78], suggesting EMU will complement similar searches being performed in the Northern Sky and provide us with statistically significant samples of halos and relics at the completion of the full survey. This work presents the first step towards large samples of the diffuse radio sources in Southern Sky clusters with ASKAP and eventually the SKA.

Solar metre-wave noise storms commonly show continuum and short-lived narrow-band bursts (Type I) at high frequencies and fast-drift bursts (Type III) at low frequencies (Malville 1962; Hanasz 1966; Boischot et al. 1970; Moller-Pedersen 1974; see also Figs. 2-3 of this paper). The Type I and Type III emissions have the same sense of polarization (Komesaroff 1958; Suzuki 1978). Impressed by this spectral association, Malville (1962) and Boischot et al. (1970) suggested that the two types of emission might be excited by the same electron stream. However, Type I emission is associated with sunspots and strong photospheric magnetic fields (McCready et al. 1947; Payne-Scott and Little 1951; Le Squeren 1963) and for this reason Kai (1970) suggested that Type I emission arises on strong closed magnetic loops. Type III emission, by contrast, almost certainly arises on open or quasi-open (large-loop) magnetic field lines (Wild et al. 1959, 1963). Thus on these models one would expect Type I and Type III emissions to arise from different magnetic regimes and different areas of the Sun. Kai’s (1970) and Stewart and Labrum’s (1972) Culgoora radioheliograph observations, which suggested that Type I and Type III sources are always separated on the Sun, seemed to clinch the matter. Kai’s model and his statement ‘Type III sources avoid the precise location of Type I storm centres’ gained wide acceptance (e.g. Boischot et al. 1971; Elgaroy 1977; Stewart 1977).

The strong unidentified radio source 1733-565 (≡ PKS 1733-56) was chosen as a test source during the commissioning of the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) in 1981 July. Previous radio maps have been obtained at 1410 MHz with the Parkes interferometer (Schwarz et al. 1974), at 408 MHz with the Molonglo Cross (Schilizzi & McAdam 1975) and at 1415 MHz with the Fleurs Synthesis Telescope (Christiansen et al. 1977).

The atmospheric 14C record, the corresponding WM values derived from a carbon reservoir model, auroral numbers and the Zurich relative annual sunspot numbers all demonstrate a substantial downturn in solar activity for the duration of solar cycles 5 and 6. This reduction is also imbedded in some dendrochronological proxy data sets, which describe an annual index radial growth rate for trees at high-altitude sites. A significant lagged correlation can exist between tree-ring indices and the 11–year solar cycle during periods of high solar activity, a feature which is not evident during quiescent periods.

Ultra-compact H ii (UC HII) regions are an important phase in the formation and early evolution of massive stars and a key component of the interstellar medium (ISM). The main objectives of this work are to study the young stellar population associated with the G45.07+0.13 and G45.12+0.13 UC HII regions, as well as the ISM in which they are embedded. We determined the distribution of the hydrogen column density (N( $\mathrm{H}_2$ )) and dust temperature ( $T_d$ ) in the molecular cloud using Modified blackbody fitting on Herschel images obtained in four bands: 160, 250, 350, and $500\,\unicode{x03BC}\mathrm{m}$ . We used near-, mid-, and far-infrared photometric data to identify and classify the young stellar objects (YSOs). Their main parameters were determined by the radiation transfer models. We also constructed a colour-magnitude diagram and K luminosity functions (KLFs) to compare the parameters of stellar objects with the results of the radiative transfer models. We found that N( $\mathrm{H}_2$ ) varies from ${\sim}3.0 \times 10^{23}$ to $5.5 \times 10^{23}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ within the G45.07+0.13 and G45.12+0.13 regions, respectively. The maximum $T_d$ value is 35 K in G45.12+0.13 and 42 K in G45.07+0.13. $T_d$ then drops significantly from the centre to the periphery, reaching about 18–20 K at distances of ${\sim}2.6$ and ${\sim}3.7\,\mathrm{pc}$ from InfraRed Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) 19110+1045 (G45.07+0.13) and IRAS 19111+1048 (G45.12+0.13), respectively. The gas plus dust mass value included in G45.12+0.13 is ${\sim}3.4 \times 10^5\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$ and ${\sim}1.7 \times 10^5\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$ in G45.07+0.13. The UC HII regions are connected through a cold ( $T_d = 19\,\mathrm{K}$ ) bridge. The radial surface density distribution of the identified 518 YSOs exhibits dense clusters in the vicinity of both IRAS sources. The parameters of YSOs in the IRAS clusters (124 objects) and 394 non-cluster objects surrounding them show some differences. About 75% of the YSOs belonging to the IRAS clusters have an evolutionary age greater than $10^6$ yr. Their slope $\alpha$ of the KLF agrees well with a Salpeter-type initial mass function (IMF) ( $\gamma = 1.35$ ) for a high mass range (O–F stars, $\beta \sim 2$ ) at 1 Myr. The non-cluster objects are uniformly distributed in the molecular cloud, 80% of which are located to the right of the 0.1 Myr isochrone. The slope $\alpha$ of the KLF of non-cluster objects is $0.55\,\pm\,0.09$ , corresponding better to a Salpeter-type IMF for low-mass objects (G–M stars, $\beta \sim 1$ ). Our results show that two dense stellar clusters are embedded in these two physically connected UC HII regions. The clusters include several high- and intermediate-mass zero-age main sequence stellar objects. Based on the small age spread of the stellar objects, we suggest that the clusters originate from a single triggering shock. The extended emission observed in both UC HII regions is likely due to the stellar clusters.

Although scientific astronomy has a long and illustrious history in Australia, it was not until 1895 that the first astronomical society was formed. This was the New South Wales Branch of the British Astronomical Association (see B.A.A. 1894-5; Gale 1895a,b), and before the end of the century it was joined by others in Melbourne and Brisbane (B.A.A. 1897-8; Editor’s Note 1979; Ellery 1901:13; Thomson 1897). These societies and their predecessors, the Astronomy Branches of the Royal Societies of New South Wales and South Australia (Waters 1980), were the mainstay of astronomical activity – both professional and amateur – in nineteenth century Australia, providing as they did regular meetings, library facilities, and avenues for publication and celestial observation.

It is evident that the limited duration of a single rocket or balloon flight is a severe handicap to the study of variable X-ray sources like Cen XR-2, the early history of which can only be conjectured from the few available rocket observations. The whole question of the variability of X-ray sources remains in doubt because of the difficulty of relating infrequent high-altitude flux measurements of short duration made with a variety of instruments. There are obvious advantages in a method of monitoring celestial X-ray fluxes from the ground for prolonged periods of time. Such a method has recently been found and, although presently restricted to strong sources like Sco XR-1 and Cen XR-2, is capable of considerable refinement.

Starting from a sketch of the s-process concept formulated 50 years ago, the nuclear physics data for s-process calculations are briefly reviewed with emphasis on the status of neutron capture cross sections and beta decay rates. Accurate and comprehensive experimental data are mandatory as direct input for s-process calculations as well as for improving the complementary information from nuclear theory. The current challenges of the field are discussed in the light of new or optimized methods and state-of-the-art facilities, indicating the potential for accurate measurements and the possibility to study cross sections of radioactive isotopes. These opportunities will be considerably enriched by the enormous improvements provided by new facilities.

The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope has carried out a survey of the entire Southern Sky at 887.5 MHz. The wide area, high angular resolution, and broad bandwidth provided by the low-band Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS-low) allow the production of a next-generation rotation measure (RM) grid across the entire Southern Sky. Here we introduce this project as Spectral and Polarisation in Cutouts of Extragalactic sources from RACS (SPICE-RACS). In our first data release, we image 30 RACS-low fields in Stokes I, Q, U at 25$^{\prime\prime}$ angular resolution, across 744–1032 MHz with 1 MHz spectral resolution. Using a bespoke, highly parallelised, software pipeline we are able to rapidly process wide-area spectro-polarimetric ASKAP observations. Notably, we use ‘postage stamp’ cutouts to assess the polarisation properties of 105912 radio components detected in total intensity. We find that our Stokes Q and U images have an rms noise of $\sim$80 $\unicode{x03BC}$Jy PSF$^{-1}$, and our correction for instrumental polarisation leakage allows us to characterise components with $\gtrsim$1% polarisation fraction over most of the field of view. We produce a broadband polarised radio component catalogue that contains 5818 RM measurements over an area of $\sim$1300 deg$^{2}$ with an average error in RM of $1.6^{+1.1}_{-1.0}$ rad m$^{-2}$, and an average linear polarisation fraction $3.4^{+3.0}_{-1.6}$ %. We determine this subset of components using the conditions that the polarised signal-to-noise ratio is $>$8, the polarisation fraction is above our estimated polarised leakage, and the Stokes I spectrum has a reliable model. Our catalogue provides an areal density of $4\pm2$ RMs deg$^{-2}$; an increase of $\sim$4 times over the previous state-of-the-art (Taylor, Stil, Sunstrum 2009, ApJ, 702, 1230). Meaning that, having used just 3% of the RACS-low sky area, we have produced the 3rd largest RM catalogue to date. This catalogue has broad applications for studying astrophysical magnetic fields; notably revealing remarkable structure in the Galactic RM sky. We will explore this Galactic structure in a follow-up paper. We will also apply the techniques described here to produce an all-Southern-sky RM catalogue from RACS observations. Finally, we make our catalogue, spectra, images, and processing pipeline publicly available.