Plans for the Australian Synthesis Telescope.

The planned Australian Synthesis Telescope (AST) would operate in the frequency range 1.4-22 GHz with an angular resolution of 300 arc sec at lowest frequency or better with a sensitivity of 0.1 mJy or better and a declination coverage of -90 to -10 degrees or better. It would have dual polarization capability and multichannel spectrometer output with HF resolution (0.5 K kHz). The scientific objectives of the telescope would include continuum mapping of the nearby galaxies and of objects in the Milky Way over a wide range of frequencies with full polarization information, observation of spectral lines in the nearby galaxies, and high-resolution study of the distribution of recombination line and molecular line emission and absorption from H II regions in the Galaxy. A description is given of the configuration and operating procedure and cost estimates are presented.