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In support of the development of NASA's High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS) Sky Survey Operational System (SSOS), we have conducted exploratory observations at 1.4, 1.7, and 2.3 GHZ at DSS 13 (Venus Station) in Goldstone, California.

Data obtained with the FIR Absolute Spectrophotometer, Differential Microwave Radiometers, and Diffuse IR Background Experiment (DIRBE) on the COBE satellite since its launch in November 1989 are briefly characterized. The COBE spacecraft and its 900-km 99-deg orbit are described; the scientific goals and capabilities of the instruments are reviewed; and sample DIRBE data are presented in a map and graph. Upper limits on the Comptonization parameter (y less than 0.001) and the chemical potential (mu less than 0.01 at the 3sigma level) are determined, and the spectrum of the dipole anisotropy is shown to be that of a Doppler-shifted blackbody. The DIRBE 100-micron sky brightness values at the ecliptic poles are found to be significantly lower than those measured by IRAS.

The Cosmic Background Explorer, launched 18 Nov. 1989, has nearly completed its first full mapping of the sky with all three of its instruments: A Far Infrared Absolute Spectrometer (FIRAS) covering 0.1 to 10 mm, a set of Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) operating at 3.3, 5.7, and 9.6 mm, and a diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) spanning 1 to 300 microns in ten bands. A preliminary map of the sky derived from DIRBE data is presented. Initial cosmological implications include: a limit on the comptonization parameter of 0.001, on the chemical potential parameter of 0.01, a strong limit on the existence of a hot smooth intergalactic medium, and a confirmation that the dipole anisotropy has the spectrum expected from a Doppler shift of a blackbody. There are no significant anisotropies in the microwave sky detected, other than from our own galaxy and a cos theta dipole anisotropy whose amplitude and direction agree with previous data. At shorter wavelengths, the sky spectrum and anisotropies are dominated by emission from local sources of emission within our Galaxy and Solar System. Preliminary comparison of IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) and DRIBE sky brightnesses toward the ecliptic poles shows the IRAS values to be significantly higher than found by DRIBE at 100 microns. The presence of gain and zero point errors in the IRAS total brightness data is suggested. The spacecraft, instrument designs, and data reduction methods are described.

The Nancay decimetric Radio Telescope (NRT) in Nancay, France, is described, and its potential use for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) observations is discussed. The conclusion reached is that the NRT is well suited for SETI observations because of its large collecting area, its large sky coverage, and its wideband frequency capability. However, a number of improvements are necessary in order to take full advantage of the system in carrying out an efficient SETI program. In particular, system sensitivity should be increased. This can be achieved through a series of improvements to the system, including lowering the ground pickup noise through the use of ground reflectors and more efficient feed design, and by using low-noise amplifier front ends.

This task is to build a cryogenically cooled 620 to 700 GHz astronomical receiver that will be used as a facility instrument at the CalTech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The receiver will have applications as a very high resolution spectrometer to investigate spectral lines in planetary and satellite atmospheres, and comets. The receiver will also be used to make continuum measurements of planets, satellites, and asteroids. During FY88, a scale model (200 GHz) SIS mixer radiometer was built and intrgrated into a cryostat designed for use on the CSO telescope. This system will serve as a model to guide the work on the higher frequency mixer. A solid state local oscillator source that covers two bands in the 600 to 700 GHz has been developed under contract JPL and will be delivered before the end of the year. Work has continued on the SIS materials needed for the 620 to 700 GHz mixer. Test hardware has been developed which allow the 1 to 5 curves for SIS material to be easily measured.

Arc-second position measurements of the active star HD 36705 (AB Dor) and of the variable radio source found nearby are presented. These measurements show that the radio source is clearly identified with HD 36705 and not with the nearby red-dwarf star Rst 137B.

A complete sample of about 400 flat-spectrum radio sources from the Parkes 2700 MHz catalog with fluxes of greater than 0.5 is presented. The present sample covers all right ascensions and declinations from +10 deg to -45 deg, but excludes the galactic plane. No significant difference is found in the number-magnitude or number-redshift distributions for the flat spectrum and steep-spectrum radio quasars, in agreement with previous results for stronger sources.

Field tests of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) prototype hardware and software began in March 1985 at Goldstone. With emphasis on the sky survey component of the NASA SETI search strategy, the article describes the survey characteristics, the detection strategy, and preliminary results of system tests.

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.

A program is under way at Tidbinbilla to measure accurate (up to 2 arcsec r.m.s) radio positions for compact sources in the Parkes 2.7 GHz survey south of declination -30 deg. Optical identifications are being made on the basis of radio-optical position coincidence alone, without regard to colour or morphology, using the U.K. Schmidt IIIa-J sky survey to a limiting magnitude of 22.5. This program is aimed at producing an evaluation of the radio quasar redshift distribution with particular emphasis on those objects with redshifts greater than 3.0.

Use of the Tidbinbilla Interferometer to refine the source positions in the Parkes 2.7 GHz survey of the southern sky is described. A result of the first phase of this work was the identification of a quasi-stellar object which appears to be the most remote object yet observed. This object has a red shift of 3.78 (PKS 2000-330, and a velocity of recession equal to 91% of that light. Based on Hubble's law, PKS 2000-330 appears to be 12 billion light years away.

Accurate radio positions of 74 extragalactic radio sources contained in the Parkes 2.7-GHz survey were measured at 2.3 GHz with the Tidbinbilla interferometer, located near Canberra, Australia. The radio sources, most of which lie between declinations -30 deg and -35 deg, were measured to an rms positional accuracy of about 3 arcsec relative to a grid of previously identified radio sources. Optical identifications have been made on the basis of positional coincidence alone, without regard to color or morphology, using the UK Schmidt telescope deep IIIa-J sky survey plates. Identifications are suggested and accurate optical positions have been measured for 62 objects brighter than magnitude 22.5 on the IIIa-J plates.

Continuing plans for a large deployable reflector (LDR), conceived as a 10- to 30-m-diameter clear-aperture telescope, operating at wavelengths from 1000 microns to a diffraction-limited 30 microns, and to be placed in orbit for a life of 10 years by the Space Shuttle, are discussed. The primary reflector will be composed of a number of closely packed hexagonal segments of glass or lightweight composite material and attached to a truss integrating structure through position actuators providing three degrees of freedom for each segment. Technical aspects of optical design, surface measurement systems, deployment, and detectors are discussed, as are practical and fiscal limitations.

A K-band reflected-wave ruby maser was used on the 64-meter (DSS-43) antenna at the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station, near Canberra, Australia. Spectral line observations were carried out near 22 GHz for water vapor sources and near 24 GHz for ammonia sources. The water vapor observations were made in the direction of known southern OH and H2O maser sources. All of the previously detected water line sources examined were detected. In addition, two new water vapor maser sources were discovered, G301.1+1.1and G308.9+0.1. The spectrum of G301.0+1.1 is presented six ammonia sources were found: G291.3-0.7, G305.4+0.2, G322.2+0.6, G327.3-0.5, G333.6-0.2, and G268.4-0.8. Spectra of two of these sources, G291.3-0.7 (RCW 57) and G305.4+0.2, are presented. Both show clearly the presence of the quadrupole splitting satellite lines that will allow the determination of NH3 optical depths in these clouds.

Radio observations at a wavelength of 13.1 cm of Saturn and Uranus made with the Tidbinbilla interferometer during 1978 and 1979 are summarized. The observations were made with 64-m and 26-m antennas on a 200-m north-south baseline at a bandwidth of 12 MHz with RCP polarization and a primary beamwidth of about 12 arcmin. A flux density of 198 + or - 15 mJy was measured for Saturn, which indicates a surface temperature, corrected for the occulting effect of the rings, of 191 + or - 15 K, in excellent agreement with previous determinations. With the use of a background subtraction technique to remove the local background confusion, Uranus was found to have a flux density of 11.7 + or - 0.8 mJy, indicating a disk-averaged brightness temperature of 255 + or - 18 K. The increase in Uranus brightness temperature over that measured 15 years previously is attributed to variations in temperature or opacity below the cloud tops, or to a reduction in relative ammonia abundance most likely reflecting a change in the aspect of the planet as viewed from earth.

A two-element radio interferometer operating at 8.33-mm wavelength has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, CA. The interferometer employs a 5.5-m and a 3-m diameter antenna on an east-west baseline of 60 or 120 m, yielding fringe spacings at transit of 28 or 14 arcsec, respectively. The broad intermediate-frequency bandpass of 100-350 MHz and the system noise temperature of 500 K provide high sensitivity for the measurement of continuum sources. The interferometer has been used for high-resolution studies of the planets and the sun, and it is currently being adapted to study solar flare emissions at high spatial and time resolution.

The Tidbinbilla interferometer (Batty et al., 1977) is designed specifically to provide accurate radio position measurements of compact radio sources in the Southern Hemisphere with high sensitivity. The interferometer uses the 26-m and 64-m antennas of the Deep Space Network at Tidbinbilla, near Canberra. The two antennas are separated by 200 m on a north-south baseline. By utilizing the existing antennas and the low-noise traveling-wave masers at 2.29 GHz, it has been possible to produce a high-sensitivity instrument with a minimum of capital expenditure. The north-south baseline ensures that a good range of UV coverage is obtained, so that sources lying in the declination range between about -80 and +30 deg may be observed with nearly orthogonal projected baselines of no less than about 1000 lambda. The instrument also provides high-accuracy flux density measurements for compact radio sources.

This paper describes a technique to detect and identify weak, small-diameter radio sources with flux densities in the millijansky range. An interferometer system is proposed which will use existing 64 m and 24 m antennas of the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Network near Canberra. Design parameters of the system are described, and a schematic is presented with attention to low-noise traveling wave masers, and phase oscillation devices.

Regions 2-deg x 2-deg in area centered on four spiral galaxies were scanned with the Goldstone 64-m antenna in search of satellite radio sources at 2295 MHz. Four control regions of equal area but free of galaxies brighter than 13th magnitude were also scanned. No significant excess in the number density of sources with flux densities greater than 0.10 Jy relative to the control fields was found. A detailed comparison is made between the results of this program and the results of previous investigators. In particular, attention is directed to the potentially important implications of an investigation by Tovmasyan (1968), who searched a large number of spirals and found evidence that a small percentage of them apparently have radio satellites located up to 20 arcmin from the central galaxy. Fifteen sources selected from Tovmasyan's list of 43 satellite sources were measured. The present results confirm his positions and relative flux densities for each of the sources.