The Southern Hemisphere VLBI experiment

Abstract

Six radio telescopes were operated as the first southern hemisphere Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) array in April and May 1982. Observations were made at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz. This array provided VLBI modeling and hybrid imaging of celestial radio sources in the southern hemisphere, high-accuracy VLBI geodesy between southern hemisphere sites, and subarcsecond radio astrometry of celestial sources south of declination -45^deg^. We discuss the goals and implementation of the array, explain the methods of modeling and hybrid image production, and summarize the VLBI structure of the sources that were observed. Details of the imaging results on three individual sources, as well as some of the astrometric results and related optical identification work, appear in separate papers in this issue. The geodetic results have been published elsewhere.