New Results from Ttf Director's Message Atac Corner Anglo-australian Observatory Newsletter March 2003 Asymmetric Age Variations in Spiral Galaxies Measuring Stellar Abundance Gradients in Galaxy Disks Using Ttf Extraplanar Emission-line Gas in Edge-on Spiral Galaxies

4 Asymmetric age variations in spiral galaxies (Sonia Cianci) 6 Measuring stellar abundance gradients in galaxy disks using TTF (Stuart Ryder et al.) 8 Extraplanar emission-line gas in edge-on spiral galaxies (Sylvain Veilleux & Scott Miller) 10 Taurus spectroscopy of young brown dwarfs in Orion (Fiona Riddick et al.) 12 RAVE hits the Galaxy (Fred Watson et al.) 16 Lasers in space (Andrew McGrath) 20 From the ashes of Black Saturday: Stromlo is back in business (Penny Sackett) In this edition we see several examples of recent projects undertaken using Taurus and TTF. This figure, from Veilleux and Miller, p8, shows the edge-on spiral NGC 4013 observed with the TTF. Emission of the halo gas is detected in Hα (top) and [NII] (middle). The [NII]/Hα excitation map (lower plot) shows that the ionised halo gas is highly structured. It was perhaps with a sense of incredulity that most of us received the news of the devastation of Mt Stromlo. In the days that followed, and as the full scale of the losses became apparent, no doubt many of us also put ourselves in the shoes of our colleagues in Canberra wondering what we would do if a similar event befell us. I believe that we can only hope that we could have responded as magnificently as the RSAA Director and her staff. The inspirational story of 'Black Saturday' and the ongoing recovery recounted by Penny Sackett in this newsletter should serve not only as a timely reminder of the natural dangers that many Observatories face, but also as an example of the indomitable spirit and close cooperation that are hallmarks of the astronomical and broader academic community. The knowledge that the entire astronomical community is 100 per cent behind Penny and her staff, coupled with the tangible help given by many organisations, has clearly been an important factor in their recovery. The AAO itself remains committed to help the recovery program in any way possible. The strong sense of cooperation within the Australian astronomical community was also underscored by the recent visit of the Australian Federal Minister for Science, the Hon Peter McGauran, to Narrabri, Siding Spring and Parkes. The visit highlighted the international profile of Australian astronomy; built on a cohesive and strategic community and the existing strong and productive international collaborations, including the Anglo-Australian Observatory and the Gemini telescopes. Indeed, during the visit the Minister announced the award …