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The Puzzle of the Metallic Line Stars
In the puzzle of the metallic line (Am) stars, there still seem to bemissing pieces. While the ``normal'' A stars have elemental abundancesclose to solar, the classical Am stars show stronger absorption linesfor most heavy elements in their spectra. Elements with ionizationpotentials that nearly agree with those of hydrogen or helium havereduced abundances. The Ca II and Sc II lines are especially weak. TheAm stars have no ultraviolet emission lines. They are binaries that,with very few exceptions, have rotational velocities vsini lower than100 km s-1. Of the main-sequence A stars, 20% to 30% are Amstars. Here we rediscuss previous suggestions that tried to explain thepeculiar line strengths in the Am star spectra. In particular, wecompare the well-studied properties of Hyades A and Am stars in order toidentify reasons that can or cannot explain the differences. We findthat accretion of interstellar material by A stars with distortedmagnetic fields, which are weaker than those in peculiar A (Ap) stars,has the best chance of explaining the main characteristics of thepeculiar heavy-element abundances in Am star photospheres.Charge-exchange reactions also seem to be important.

B Star Rotational Velocities in h and χ Persei: A Probe of Initial Conditions during the Star Formation Epoch?
Projected rotational velocities (vsini) have been measured for 216 B0-B9stars in the rich, dense h and χ Persei double cluster and comparedwith the distribution of rotational velocities for a sample of fieldstars having comparable ages (t~12-15 Myr) and masses (M~4-15Msolar). For stars that are relatively little evolved fromtheir initial locations on the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) (those withmasses M~4-5 Msolar), the mean vsini measured for the h andχ Per sample is slightly more than 2 times larger than the meandetermined for field stars of comparable mass, and the cluster and fieldvsini distributions differ with a high degree of significance. Forsomewhat more evolved stars with masses in the range 5-9Msolar, the mean vsini in h and χ Per is 1.5 times thatof the field; the vsini distributions differ as well, but with a lowerdegree of statistical significance. For stars that have evolvedsignificantly from the ZAMS and are approaching the hydrogen exhaustionphase (those with masses in the range 9-15 Msolar), thecluster and field star means and distributions are only slightlydifferent. We argue that both the higher rotation rates and the patternof rotation speeds as a function of mass that differentiatemain-sequence B stars in h and χ Per from their field analogs werelikely imprinted during the star formation process rather than a resultof angular momentum evolution over the 12-15 Myr cluster lifetime. Wespeculate that these differences may reflect the effects of the higheraccretion rates that theory suggests are characteristic of regions thatgive birth to dense clusters, namely, (1) higher initial rotationspeeds; (2) higher initial radii along the stellar birth line, resultingin greater spin-up between the birth line and the ZAMS; and (3) a morepronounced maximum in the birth line radius-mass relationship thatresults in differentially greater spin-up for stars that become mid- tolate-B stars on the ZAMS.

High-Resolution Observations of Interstellar Ca I Absorption-Implications for Depletions and Electron Densities in Diffuse Clouds
We present high-resolution (FWHM~0.3-1.5 km s-1) spectra,obtained with the AAT UHRF, the McDonald Observatory 2.7 m coudéspectrograph, and/or the KPNO coudé feed, of interstellar Ca Iabsorption toward 30 Galactic stars. Comparisons of the column densitiesof Ca I, Ca II, K I, and other species-for individual componentsidentified in the line profiles and also when integrated over entirelines of sight-yield information on relative electron densities anddepletions (dependent on assumptions regarding the ionizationequilibrium). There is no obvious relationship between the ratio N(CaI)/N(Ca II) [equal to ne/(Γ/αr) forphotoionization equilibrium] and the fraction of hydrogen in molecularform f(H2) (often taken to be indicative of the local densitynH). For a smaller sample of sight lines for which thethermal pressure (nHT) and local density can be estimated viaanalysis of the C I fine-structure excitation, the average electrondensity inferred from C, Na, and K (assuming photoionizationequilibrium) seems to be independent of nH andnHT. While the electron density (ne) obtained fromthe ratio N(Ca I)/N(Ca II) is often significantly higher than the valuesderived from other elements, the patterns of relative nederived from different elements show both similarities and differencesfor different lines of sight-suggesting that additional processesbesides photoionization and radiative recombination commonly andsignificantly affect the ionization balance of heavy elements in diffuseinterstellar clouds. Such additional processes may also contribute tothe (apparently) larger than expected fractional ionizations(ne/nH) found for some lines of sight withindependent determinations of nH. In general, inclusion of``grain-assisted'' recombination does reduce the inferred ne,but it does not reconcile the ne estimated from differentelements; it may, however, suggest some dependence of ne onnH. The depletion of calcium may have a much weakerdependence on density than was suggested by earlier comparisons with CHand CN. Two appendices present similar high-resolution spectra of Fe Ifor a few stars and give a compilation of column density data for Ca I,Ca II, Fe I, and S I.

A study of the behaviour of the NaI/KI column density ratio in the interstellar medium using the Na ultraviolet doublet
Here we make a new study of the behaviour of the NaI/KI column densityratio in the interstellar medium, using a sample of new observations of28 stars obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) in 1996 and1997, and previously published observations (obtained by some of theauthors) of 21 stars. The sightlines cover a range of distances anddirections, including into the Galactic halo. We make use of newobservations of the NaI ultraviolet (UV) doublet for some 18 stars. Thisdoublet is much weaker than the NaI D doublet and so is less susceptibleto saturation effects, and it is well known that it can be used toobtain more accurate NaI column densities with a smaller error range. Wefind an average N(NaI)/N(KI) ratio from the NaI UV data of about 90,which is rather higher than that found previously by Hobbs and Lequeux.The Na UV-KI ratio shows a small increase in value with increasingcolumn density, while we also find a sample of low N(NaI)/N(KI) ratioclouds generally seen towards distant objects on high-latitudesightlines that reach into the halo, so that the ratio decreases moresharply at lower column densities. As the values of the ratio for thesehalo clouds (10-20) bracket the cosmic Na/K abundance ratio, we suggestthat these ratios result from a harder radiation field in the lowerhalo, such that the ionized fractions of NaI and KI become similar.Clearly caution needs to be applied in using any kind of `standardvalue' for the NaI/KI column density ratio.

Rotational Velocities of B Stars
We measured the projected rotational velocities of 1092 northern B starslisted in the Bright Star Catalogue (BSC) and calibrated them againstthe 1975 Slettebak et al. system. We found that the published values ofB dwarfs in the BSC average 27% higher than those standards. Only 0.3%of the stars have rotational velocities in excess of two-thirds of thebreakup velocities, and the mean velocity is only 25% of breakup,implying that impending breakup is not a significant factor in reducingrotational velocities. For the B8-B9.5 III-V stars the bimodaldistribution in V can be explained by a set of slowly rotating Ap starsand a set of rapidly rotating normal stars. For the B0-B5 III-V starsthat include very few peculiar stars, the distributions in V are notbimodal. Are the low rotational velocities of B stars due to theoccurrence of frequent low-mass companions, planets, or disks? Therotational velocities of giants originating from late B dwarfs areconsistent with their conservation of angular momentum in shells.However, we are puzzled by why the giants that originate from the earlyB dwarfs, despite having 3 times greater radii, have nearly the samerotational velocities. We find that all B-type primaries in binarieswith periods less than 2.4 days have synchronized rotational and orbitalmotions; those with periods between 2.4 and 5.0 days are rotating withina factor 2 of synchronization or are ``nearly synchronized.'' Thecorresponding period ranges for A-type stars are 4.9 and 10.5 days, ortwice as large. We found that the rotational velocities of the primariesare synchronized earlier than their orbits are circularized. The maximumorbital period for circularized B binaries is 1.5 days and for Abinaries is 2.5 days. For stars of various ages from 107.5 to1010.2 yr the maximum circularized periods are a smoothexponential function of age.

Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521

Sixth Catalogue of Fundamental Stars (FK6). Part III. Additional fundamental stars with direct solutions
The FK6 is a suitable combination of the results of the HIPPARCOSastrometry satellite with ground-based data, measured over a longinterval of time and summarized mainly in the FK5. Part III of the FK6(abbreviated FK6(III)) contains additional fundamental stars with directsolutions. Such direct solutions are appropriate for single stars or forobjects which can be treated like single stars. Part III of the FK6contains in total 3272 stars. Their ground-based data stem from thebright extension of the FK5 (735 stars), from the catalogue of remainingSup stars (RSup, 732 stars), and from the faint extension of the FK5(1805 stars). From the 3272 stars in Part III, we have selected 1928objects as "astrometrically excellent stars", since their instantaneousproper motions and their mean (time-averaged) ones do not differsignificantly. Hence most of the astrometrically excellent stars arewell-behaving "single-star candidates" with good astrometric data. Thesestars are most suited for high-precision astrometry. On the other hand,354 of the stars in Part III are Δμ binaries in the sense ofWielen et al. (1999). Many of them are newly discovered probablebinaries with no other hitherto known indication of binarity. The FK6gives, besides the classical "single-star mode" solutions (SI mode),other solutions which take into account the fact that hidden astrometricbinaries among "apparently single-stars" introduce sizable "cosmicerrors" into the quasi-instantaneously measured HIPPARCOS proper motionsand positions. The FK6 gives, in addition to the SI mode, the "long-termprediction (LTP) mode" and the "short-term prediction (STP) mode". TheseLTP and STP modes are on average the most precise solutions forapparently single stars, depending on the epoch difference with respectto the HIPPARCOS epoch of about 1991. The typical mean error of anFK6(III) proper motion in the single-star mode is 0.59 mas/year. This isa factor of 1.34 better than the typical HIPPARCOS errors for thesestars of 0.79 mas/year. In the long-term prediction mode, in whichcosmic errors are taken into account, the FK6(III) proper motions have atypical mean error of 0.93 mas/year, which is by a factor of about 2better than the corresponding error for the HIPPARCOS values of 1.83mas/year (cosmic errors included).

A Second Catalog of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 Filter Photometry: Ultraviolet Photometry of 614 Stars
Ultraviolet photometry from the Wisconsin Experiment Package on theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO 2) is presented for 614 stars.Previously unpublished magnitudes from 12 filter bandpasses withwavelengths ranging from 1330 to 4250 Å have been placed on thewhite dwarf model atmosphere absolute flux scale. The fluxes wereconverted to magnitudes using V=0 for F(V)=3.46x10^-9 ergs cm^-2 s^-1Å^-1, or m_lambda=-2.5logF_lambda-21.15. This second catalogeffectively doubles the amount of OAO 2 photometry available in theliterature and includes many objects too bright to be observed withmodern space observatories.

On the HIPPARCOS photometry of chemically peculiar B, A, and F stars
The Hipparcos photometry of the Chemically Peculiar main sequence B, A,and F stars is examined for variability. Some non-magnetic CP stars,Mercury-Manganese and metallic-line stars, which according to canonicalwisdom should not be variable, may be variable and are identified forfurther study. Some potentially important magnetic CP stars are noted.Tables 1, 2, and 3 are available only in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

Hailing a hale and hearty Hale-Bopp.
Not Available

The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright OB-type stars.
For the detailed statistical analysis of the X-ray emission of hot starswe selected all stars of spectral type O and B listed in the Yale BrightStar Catalogue and searched for them in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. Inthis paper we describe the selection and preparation of the data andpresent a compilation of the derived X-ray data for a complete sample ofbright OB stars.

Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.
We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.

The position corrections of 1400 stars observed with PA II in San Juan.
Not Available

A new list of effective temperatures of chemically peculiar stars. II.
Not Available

The local distribution of NA I interstellar gas
We present high-resolution absorption measurements (lambda/Delta lambdaapproximately 75,000) of the interstellar Na I D lines at 5890 A toward80 southern hemisphere early-type stars located in the localinterstellar medium (LISM). Combining these results with other sodiummeasurements taken from the literature, we produce galactic maps of thedistribution of neutral sodium column density for a total of 293 starsgenerally lying within approximately 250 pc of the Sun. These mapsreveal the approximate shape of the mid-plane contours of the rarefiedregion of interstellar space termed the Local Bubble. Its shape is seenas highly asymmetric, with a radius ranging from 30 to 300 pc, and withan average radius of 60 pc. Similar plots of the Galactic mid-planedistribution of sources emitting extreme ultraviolet radiation show thatthey also trace out similar contours of the Local Bubble derived from NaI absorption measurements. We conclude that the Local Bubble absorptioninterface can be represented by a hydrogen column density,NuETA = 2 x 1019 cm-2, which explainsboth the local distribution of Na I absorption and the observed galacticdistribution of extreme ultraviolet sources. The derived mid-planecontours of the Bubble generally reproduce the large-scale featurescarved out in the interstellar medium by several nearby galactic shellstructures.

CH(+) in the interstellar medium
This paper describes observations of interstellar CH(+) along the linesof sight to O and B stars with E(B-V)s up to +1.13. Along some lines ofsight with strong detections of CH(+), we find distinct radial velocityshifts between the CH(+) lines and other neutral species, such as Ca Iand CH. The shifts are small but are predicted by shock models of CH(+)formation in which the shock is inclined with respect to the observer.We have also found no column densities exceeding approximately1013.8/sq cm. When these data are examined along with theother CH(+) data collected from the literature, the previously seentendency of CH(+) column density to increase with E(B-V) does notcontinue beyond reddenings of about +0.6. These findings offer supportto the shock model of CH(+) formation for at least some lines of sight.

The Zn^+^/Na^0^ interstellar ratio
We study the behaviour of the interstellar R_n_=n(Zn^+^)/n(Na^0^) ratioin ionization equilibrium conditions. The ratio is very sensitive tovariations of the physical state of the gas and is only marginallyaffected by variations of interstellar depletion. We find logR_n_ {in}[=~-2,=~0] dex in cold molecular clouds, logR_n_ {in} about [0,+1] dexin cold atomic gas, and logR_n_ {in} about [+1,+3] dex in warm gas. Wecompare the theoretical R_n_ ratio with the column-density ratioR_N_=N(ZnII)/N(NaI) measured in a sample of 48 interstellar lines ofsight. The comparison supports the validity of the assumption ofionization equilibrium and indicates that R_N_ is a good indicator ofthe physical state of the gas. The few deviations from ionizationequilibrium that we find are all located in the general direction ofβ CMa, where studies of the local ISM revealed the presence of anextended (=~ 2x10^2^ pc) tunnel of hot gas. Finally, we report theresults of a correlation analysis logR_N_-logN(NaI) and logR_N_-logN(H).The correlations that we derive imply the presence of a mechanismlinking the physical state of interstellar clouds to their columndensity. A practical consequence of the correlation with N(NaI) is thata NaI measurement alone is sufficient to estimate the physical state ofthe gas in many situations of interest.

The second Quito astrolabe catalogue
The paper contains 515 individual corrections {DELTA}α and 235corrections {DELTA}δ to FK5 and FK5Supp. stars and 50 correctionsto their proper motions computed from observations made with theclassical Danjon astrolabe OPL-13 at Quito Astronomical Observatory ofEcuador National Polytechnical School during a period from 1964 to 1983.These corrections cover the declination zone from -30deg to +30deg. Meanprobable errors of catalogue positions are 0.047" in αcosδand 0.054" in δ. The systematic trends of the catalogue{DELTA}αalpha_cosδ,{DELTA}αdelta_cosδ,{DELTA}δalpha_, {DELTA}δdelta_ arepresented for the observed zone.

Incidence of X-ray sources among magnetic chemically peculiar stars
Cash & Snow (1982) and Golub et al. (1983) have detected X-rayemission from 3 out of 7 observed magnetic chemically peculiar (CP)stars. Although the incidence of X-ray sources apparently is very high,these authors concluded that such emission is not unquestionable becauseof the presence of a companion. To determine the incidence of X-raysources among hot CP stars, I have checked the list of B-type starsmeasured by Grillo et al. (1992) selecting 90 stars. Of the 4 magneticCP stars showing X-ray emission 3 are members of a binary system. Thusit appears that detectable X-ray emission from magnetic CP stars is notvery common and still questionable. To find out whether HD 37017presents X-ray emission (Drake et al. 1987) or not (Grillo et al. 1992),I have analyzed an HRI frame from the ROSAT satellite finding noevidence for X-ray emission at this star's position.

Improved Mean Positions and Proper Motions for the 995 FK4 Sup Stars not Included in the FK5 Extension
Not Available

The southern Vilnius photometric system. I - Transformation to the standard system
This paper is the first in a series on the extension of the Vilniusphotometric system to the southern hemisphere. Observations of a commonset of 73 stars measured in both hemispheres are described and ananalysis of the differences is given.

High-resolution CA II observations of the local interstellar medium
High-resolution absorption measurements of the interstellar Ca II K lineobserved toward 46 early-type stars in the local ISM (LISM) arepresented. Ca II was detected in 36 of the 46 stars with 82 individualcloud components identified. Ca II was detected to most of the starscloser than 50 pc, except in the region of the Galactic quadrant l =180-270 degrees which also contains the empty line of sight to B CMa at220 pc. The mean local standard of rest velocity of the 82 Ca IIcomponents implies that the LISM clouds are associated with the motionof the solar neighborhood and not the sun. If the present data arecombined with other nearby Ca II component velocities taken from theliterature, then a cloud centered approximately at l = 90 deg, b = -40deg moving coherently with the local interstellar wind vector issupported at a significance level of 99 percent. The Ca II data havebeen combined with Na I data for the same stars to produce a N(NaI)/N(Ca II) ratio for each identified absorption feature. This ratioplotted against the local standard of rest velocities of the cloudsshows that the Routly-Spitzer effect exists down to +/- 10 km/s, whichsupports grain desorption/destruction models that are efficient atreturning calcium to the gas phase at these low velocities.

Effective temperature of AP and AM stars from Geneva photometry
The determination of the effective temperature of different kinds ofchemically peculiar stars from Geneva photometry is rediscussed. Wepropose an improved method of determining T(eff) of Ap stars fromGeneva's reddening-free X and Y parameters or from the B2-G index. Theeffect of duplicity on the determination of T(eff) of Am stars isdiscussed.

Corrections to the right ascension to be applied to the apparent places of 1217 stars given in "The Chinese Astronomical Almanach" for the year 1984 to 1992.
Not Available

An Einstein Observatory SAO-based catalog of B-type stars
About 4000 X-ray images obtained with the Einstein Observatory are usedto measure the 0.16-4.0 keV emission from 1545 B-type SAO stars fallingin the about 10 percent of the sky surveyed with the IPC. Seventy-fourdetected X-ray sources with B-type stars are identified, and it isestimated that no more than 15 can be misidentified. Upper limits to theX-ray emission of the remaining stars are presented. In addition tosummarizing the X-ray measurements and giving other relevant opticaldata, the present extensive catalog discusses the reduction process andanalyzes selection effects associated with both SAO catalog completenessand IPC target selection procedures. It is concluded that X-rayemission, at the level of Lx not less than 10 exp 30 ergs/s, is quitecommon in B stars of early spectral types (B0-B3), regardless ofluminosity class, but that emission, at the same level, becomes lesscommon, or nonexistent, in later B-type stars.

The stellar temperature scale for stars of spectral types from O8 to F6 and the standard deviation of the MK spectral classification
Empirical effective temperature of 211 early-type stars found in aprevious investigation (Kontizas and Theodossiou, 1980; Theodossiou,1985) are combined with the effective temperatures of 313 early-typestars from the literature. From these effective temperatures of a totalnumber of 524 early-type stars of spectral types from O8 to F6 a newstellar temperature scale is developed along with the standard deviationof the MK spectral classification.

Radial velocities and spectral types for a sample of faint blue stars.
Not Available

Stellar integrated fluxes in the wavelength range 380 NM - 900 NM derived from Johnson 13-colour photometry
Petford et al. (1988) have reported measured integrated fluxes for 216stars with a wide spread of spectral type and luminosity, and mentionedthat a cubic-spline integration over the relevant Johnson 13-colormagnitudes, converted to fluxes using Johnson's calibration, is inexcellent agreement with those measurements. In this paper a list of thefluxes derived in this way, corrected for a small dependence on B-V, isgiven for all the 1215 stars in Johnson's 1975 catalog with completeentries.

Narrow band 1 micron-4 micron infrared photometry of 176 stars
Observations of 176 stars have been obtained by filter photometry overthe 1-4 micron range at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife.Measurements for Jn, Kn, and Ln relative to Vega are presented, alongwith the probable errors of those stars observed for several nightsduring two of the three observing sessions. Mean quoted probable errorsof 0.018 m for Jn, 0.016 for Kn, and 0.027 for Ln are found.Transformations between the present narrow band magnitudes and Johnsonmagnitudes are presented.

Stellar integrated fluxes for 216 stars in the wavelength range 380 nm-900 NM
The paper reports measurements of the integrated fluxes over thewavelength range 380-900 nm for 216 stars using a reticon spectrometerin conjunction with the 1-m Kapteyn telescope of the Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos. Methods are proposed for deriving visibleintegrated fluxes from 13-color photometry and UBVRI and BV photometry.Such fluxes are useful for deriving stellar effective temperatures andangular diameters.

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Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Ophiucus
Right ascension:17h37m50.70s
Declination:-08°07'08.0"
Apparent magnitude:4.62
Distance:168.35 parsecs
Proper motion RA:-11.4
Proper motion Dec:-19.1
B-T magnitude:4.724
V-T magnitude:4.616

Catalogs and designations:
Proper Names   (Edit)
Bayerμ Oph
Flamsteed57 Oph
HD 1989HD 159975
TYCHO-2 2000TYC 5660-589-1
USNO-A2.0USNO-A2 0750-11563310
BSC 1991HR 6567
HIPHIP 86284

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