Sydney observatory Galactic survey - Potential for detection of extreme disk-crossing stars

Context. First Epoch astrometric and radiometric information of a survey in the optical along the Galactic fourth quadrant is archived for further analysis in the time-domain. Aims. A photographic survey of 1.9 × 10 6 stars down to B-magnitude 14 ± 0.5 along the galactic meridian l = (330 ± 5) ◦ , −64 ◦ ≤ b ≤ −7 ◦ and along the galactic equator 272 ◦ ≤ l ≤ 341 ◦ , |b |≤ 7 ◦ , is provided from century old astrographic plates of Sydney Observatory. Stellar candidates to investigate the Galaxy disk kinematics up to a distance of 1 kpc from the Sun are tentatively selected. Methods. The early data are combined with late epoch observations into a set of 4.8 × 10 5 stars with significant proper motion µ ≥ 0.005 �� yr −1 and approximate color B − V. The selection effects and the kinematical bias on the stellar system are investigated. F-G stellar candidates with a mean transverse velocity dispersion of 45 km s −1 are suggested. Results. The spin rate of 1 ◦ pc −1 of the velocity ellipsoid along its long axis is observed over half a thickness of 25 pc of the galactic disk for stars at an estimated distance D ≤ 300 pc from the Sun. Conclusions. A catalogue of 4.8 × 10 5 stars is provided for further investigation of the galactic disk heating by transient spiral wave 1. Retrospective of early astrographic surveys First epoch observations used in the proper motion (p.m.) determination of faint stars observed in the Tycho-2 catalogue are based on short exposure plates observed for the Astrographic Catalog (AC) at the beginning of the 20th century over a field of