Context. The second solution of the Gaia catalog, which has been available since April 2018, plays an important role in the realization of the future Gaia reference frame. Since 1997, the reference frame has been materialized by the optical HIPPARCOS positions of about 120 000 stars. The HIPPARCOS has been compared with and linked to the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). The ICRF is materialized by means of the radio positions of extragalactic sources using very large baseline interferometry observations. Both, the HIPPARCOS and Gaia missions belong to the European Space Agency, and it is important to note that the Gaia catalog is going to replace the HIPPARCOS catalog. Aims. It has been shown that the International Latitude Service zenith telescope data pertaining to ground-based surveys that span a time baseline of about 80 yr, and which are also key when measuring proper motions, could be useful for the accurate determination of μδ for 387 ILS stars. Therefore, in this study we aim first to reduce these stars to the HIPPARCOS reference system; second, to made our original catalog of μδ, which we refer to as the ILS catalog, for these 387 bright stars; third, to present comparison results of the four catalogs by pairs (the ILS, HIPPARCOS or HIP, new HIPPARCOS or NHIP, and Gaia DR2); and fourth, to analyze the differences in μδ between pairs of catalogs to characterize the μδ errors for these catalogs with a special focus on the Gaia DR2 and ILS catalogs. Methods. At seven ILS sites around the world at latitude 39.°1, a set of seven telescopes was used to monitor the latitude variation via observations of the same stars for about 80 yr. Here, the inverse task was applied to improve μδ values of the 387 HIPPARCOS stars using the previously mentioned observations. Due to the specific Horrebow-Talcott method of the measured star pair, it is difficult to determine μδ for each single star. However, we achieved this by developing the original method and in combination with the HIPPARCOS data. We used the previously developed least squares method and formula to determine the coefficients, which describe the systematic part of differences in μδ between the pairs of catalogs. Results. We calculated the coefficients with the aforementioned formula (in line with the coordinates, stellar magnitude, and color index of every star) to compare ILS, HIP, NHIP, and Gaia DR2 data of μδ against each other by using the set of 387 stars. The presented differences of μδ show that the systematic errors in the four catalogs are nearly at the same level of 0.1 mas yr−1. This means that the DR2 and ILS μδ values are in good agreement with each other, and with values from the HIPPARCOS and new HIPPARCOS catalogs. Also, the random errors of differences are small ones; they are near 1 mas yr−1 for ILS-HIP and ILS-NHIP, and about 2 mas yr−1 for ILS-DR2, HIP-DR2, and NHIP-DR2. It is important to note that there is a similar level of proper motion formal errors in HIPPARCOS and new HIPPARCOS catalogs.

Observations of open clusters at the Re- search Institute “Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory” (RI MAO) were performed using the KT-50 telescope (D=500mm, F=3000mm) in 2011 – 2018. As the light re- ceiver, a CCD camera Apogee Alta U9000 (3K x 3K, FOV 42.6' x 42.6') in short drift scan mode was used. In short drift scan mode each observation consisted of several CCD frames with partial overlap in right ascension. All observa- tions were performed using R light filter. The exposure time was 20 seconds for all frames. All previous astromet- ric processing was carried out by the Astrometrica program and UCAC4 reference catalog. Using this data we received two catalogs of positions of 4.2 million stars (J2013.6) and 3.3 million starts (J2017.3) in the vicinity of open clusters with accuracy (0.03-0.07). Unfortunately, current version of Astrometrica program have problem with data reduction with Gaia reference catalog in areas with big star density, like vicinity of open clusters near the plane of the Galaxy. At this article, we compared our old results with the new one for several open clusters which carried out with the author's set of programs with primary processing in the MIDAS environment. As reference stars the Tycho2, UCAC4 and Gaia DR2 catalogs were used. The reduction of 548 frames was performed using a polynomial of the third degree. The results obtained by author programs with reference catalogs UCAC4 and Gaia, showed good con- vergence. Several catalogs of positions of stars up to 17.5 m was obtained. The accuracy of the catalogs is σ RA =0.027 and σ Dec =0.033 for Gaia reference catalog and σ RA =0.032 and σ Dec =0.036 for UCAC4 reference catalog. At the same time, the accuracy of intraframe processing with the Gaia reference catalog turned out to be near 2 times better than the analogous one with the UCAC4 catalog. The compari- son showed the possibility of receiving more good results with Gaia reference catalog.

Astrometric CCD observations of visual components of double and multiple stars were performed using the RI MAO Axial Meridian Circle (AMC) with new Apogee Alta AI-F8300 CCD camera mounted at the telescope in 2018. Observations were carried out automatically in drift- scan mode using a standard R filter. Objects for observational program were selected from the Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS). During the 23 nights, 983 observations of 579 double and multiple systems from the WDS catalog were obtained. Astrometric reductions of the observations showed high accuracy, with an average error of one position about 0.1 in right ascension and declination for stars up to 16 mag , which were observed more than 3 times. The purpose of our study was to measure the parameters of the mutual configuration of pairs from the original images and to draw some conclusions about the physical connection of the components in the selected systems. The measurement array that will be sent to the WDS database includes values of positional angle, angular separation, stellar magnitude difference, and epoch of the observation. A detailed analysis of the pairs of stars in the selected 5 systems to clarify their composition and the nature of the link between them was made. Positional data from the Hipparcos, Tycho2, UCAC4, Gaia DR2, and Pan-STARRS (PS1) catalogs were used as sources of additional information about the investigated stars. The search for possible invisible stars in the selected systems was performed using the statistical Wielen method, based on the analysis of the differences of instantaneous and long-term averaged proper motions of the stars. The proper motions of the space Gaia DR2 catalog were considered to be instantaneous, the long-term averaged proper motions were used from Tycho-2 and UCAC4 catalogs. Obtained values of the statistical parameter in some cases indicate a high probability of existence of invisible close components in the studied systems. Detailed comments of the results for each of the selected systems are provided.

The paper discusses the construction of characteristic curves for various astronegatives with a single exposure. Particular attention is paid to the question of extrapolation of the characteristic curve for the region of the weakest stars in the absence of standards. A new method for constructing an individual characteristic curve for digitized films and plates in the UBVR system has been proposed and implemented. The processing of frames of digitized plates and films with sky areas is car- ried out using LINUX/MIDAS/ROMAFOT software tools. ROMAFOT application allows us to extract astro- metric rectangular coordinates X,Y and photometric char- acteristics such as instrumental photometric magnitudes m, FWHM, and the intensity in the center of the star im- age I c for all fixed objects on each astronegative. For all frames, the connection between instrumental photometric values m with stellar magnitudes in any system (Johnson UBVR, Tycho-2 or GAIA catalogs, etc.) is not linear and multipurpose. It is presented as the characteristic curve for each astronegative. Currently, the determination of U, B, V, R magnitudes of stars and other space objects is in pro- gress for astronegatives with the single exposure obtained in the frameworks of selected observational projects.

Context. The flux distribution of solar analogues is required for calculating the spectral albedo of solar system bodies such as asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects. Ideally a solar analogue should be comparatively faint as the target of interest, but very few analogues fainter than V = 9 mag have been identified so far. Only atmospheric parameters equal to solar guarantee a flux distribution equal to solar as well, while only photometric colours equal to solar do not. Reddening is also a factor to consider when selecting faint analogue candidates. Aims. Our aim is to implement the methodology for identifying faint analogues at the limit of precision allowed by the current spectroscopic surveys. We quantify the precision attainable for the atmospheric parameters of effective temperature (Teff), metallicity ([Fe/H]), and surface gravity (log g) when derived from moderately low-resolution (R = 8000) spectra with S∕N ~ 100. We estimate the significance of reddening at 100–300 pc from the Sun. Methods. We used the less precise photometry in the HIPPARCOS catalogue to select potential analogues with V ~ 10.5 mag (located at ~135 pc). We calibrated Teff and [Fe/H] as functions of equivalent widths of spectral indices by means of the principal component analysis regression. We derived log g, mass, radius, and age from the atmospheric parameters, Gaia parallaxes, and evolutionary tracks. We evaluated the presence of reddening for the candidates by underestimations of photometric Teff with respect to those derived by spectral indices. These determinations were validated with extinction maps. Results. We obtained the atmospheric parameters Teff, [Fe/H], and log g with precision of 97 K, 0.06 dex, 0.05 dex, respectively. From 21 candidates analysed, we identify five solar analogues: HIP 991, HIP 5811, and HIP 69477 have solar parameters within 1σ errors, and HIP 55619 and HIP 61835 within 2σ errors. Six other stars have Teff close to solar, but slightly lower [Fe/H]. Our analogues show no evidence of reddening except for four stars, that present E(B−V) ≥ 0.06 mag, translating to at least a 200 K decrease in photometric Teff.

Under Newtonian dynamics, the relative motion of the components of a binary star should follow a Keplerian scaling with separation. Once orientation effects and a distribution of ellipticities are accounted for, dynamical evolution can be modeled to include the effects of Galactic tides and stellar mass perturbers, over the lifetime of the solar neighborhood. This furnishes a prediction for the relative velocity between the components of a binary and their projected separation. Taking a carefully selected small sample of 81 solar neighborhood wide binaries from the Hipparcos catalog, we identify these same stars in the recent Gaia DR2, to test the prediction mentioned using the latest and most accurate astrometry available. The results are consistent with the Newtonian prediction for projected separations below 7000 AU, but inconsistent with it at larger separations, where accelerations are expected to be lower than the critical [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m.s[Formula: see text] value of MONDian gravity. This result challenges Newtonian gravity at low accelerations and shows clearly the appearance of gravitational anomalies of the type usually attributed to dark matter at galactic scales, now at much smaller stellar scales.

Context. The census of stellar and substellar companions of nearby stars is largely incomplete, in particular toward the low-mass brown dwarf and long-period exoplanets. It is, however, fundamentally important in the understanding of the stellar and planetary formation and evolution mechanisms. Nearby stars are particularly favorable targets for high precision astrometry. Aims. We aim to characterize the presence of physical companions of stellar and substellar mass in orbit around nearby stars. Methods. Orbiting secondary bodies influence the proper motion of their parent star through their gravitational reflex motion. Using the HIPPARCOS and Gaia’s second data release (GDR2) catalogs, we determined the long-term proper motion of the stars common to these two catalogs. We then searched for a proper motion anomaly (PMa) between the long-term proper motion vector and the GDR2 (or HIPPARCOS) measurements, indicative of the presence of a perturbing secondary object. We focussed our analysis on the 6741 nearby stars located within 50 pc, and we also present a catalog of the PMa for ≳99% of the HIPPARCOS catalog (≈117 000 stars). Results. 30% of the stars studied present a PMa greater than 3σ. The PMa allows us to detect orbiting companions, or set stringent limits on their presence. We present a few illustrations of the PMa analysis to interesting targets. We set upper limits of 0.1−0.3 MJ to potential planets orbiting Proxima between 1 and 10 au (Porb = 3 to 100 years). We confirm that Proxima is gravitationally bound to α Cen. We recover the masses of the known companions of ϵ Eri, ϵ Ind, Ross 614 and β Pic. We also detect the signature of a possible planet of a few Jovian masses orbiting τ Ceti. Conclusions. Based on only 22 months of data, the GDR2 has limitations. But its combination with the HIPPARCOS catalog results in very high accuracy PMa vectors, that already enable us to set valuable constraints on the binarity of nearby objects. The detection of tangential velocity anomalies at a median accuracy of σ(ΔvT) = 1.0 m s−1 per parsec of distance is already possible with the GDR2. This type of analysis opens the possibility to identify long period orbital companions otherwise inaccessible. For long orbital periods, Gaia’s complementarity to radial velocity and transit techniques (that are more sensitive to short orbital periods) already appears to be remarkably powerful.

Astrometry is the astronomical discipline of measuring the positions, and changes therein, of celestial bodies. Accurate astrometry from the ground is limited by the blurring effects induced by the Earth’s atmosphere. Since decades, Europe has been at the forefront of making astrometric measurements from space. The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first satellite dedicated to astrometry, named Hipparcos, in 1989, culminating in the release of the Hipparcos Catalogue containing astrometric data for 117 955 stars in 1997. Since mid 2014, Hipparcos’ successor, Gaia, has been collecting astrometric data, with a 100 times improved precision, for 10 000 times as many stars.

Abstract The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) observes most of the sky every night in search of dangerous asteroids. Its data are also used to search for photometric variability, where sensitivity to variability is limited by photometric accuracy. Since each exposure spans 7.°6 corner to corner, variations in atmospheric transparency in excess of 0.01 mag are common, and 0.01 mag photometry cannot be achieved by using a constant flat-field calibration image. We therefore have assembled an all-sky reference catalog of approximately one billion stars to m ∼ 19 from a variety of sources to calibrate each exposure’s astrometry and photometry. Gaia DR2 is the source of astrometry for this ATLAS Refcat2. The sources of g, r, i, and z photometry include Pan-STARRS DR1, the ATLAS Pathfinder photometry project, ATLAS reflattened APASS data, SkyMapper DR1, APASS DR9, the Tycho-2 catalog, and the Yale Bright Star Catalog. We have attempted to make this catalog at least 99% complete to m < 19, including the brightest stars in the sky. We believe that the systematic errors are no larger than 5 mmag rms, although errors are as large as 20 mmag in small patches near the Galactic plane.

The systematic differences between the trigonometric parallaxes of the Hipparcos and TGAS catalogues have been investigated using spherical harmonics. The most significant harmonics in the expansion have been determined. The distribution of the parallax difference dispersion in various regions of the celestial sphere has also been studied. The distribution of the rms deviation has the simplest form in the ecliptic coordinate system.

Since May 2018 the process of the scanning and processing of photographic plates from the archive of the Institute of Astrophysics Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan has begun. It is a matter of approximately 1560 photographic plates in the sky zones from -8 to +90 degrees that were exposed for the FON project in the Hissar observatory (HisAO) during 1985-1992. The plates are digitized by using of the scanner Microtek ScanMaker 1000XL Plus with the resolution of 1200 dpi. The size of the photographic plates is 8°x8° or 30x30 cm, the size of the digitized images is 13000 x 13000 px. So far the first results of the processing of the 71 plates of zero zone and the 58 plates of 64, 68 and 72 zones were obtained. The errors in the definition of equatorial coordinates and B- magnitudes for the stars in the range of 5m - 17m are the following: σαδ = ±0.33 and σB = ±0.12m. The differences between the calculated positions and B-magnitudes and the reference one from the Tycho2 catalogue are σαδ = ±0.12 and σBT = ±0.19m respectively. The difference between the calculated and the photoelectric B-magnitudes equals σB = ±0.15m. In the realization of the “FON- Dushanbe catalogue” project five astronomical institutions are involved: Institute of Astrophysics of AS of Republic of Tajikistan; Walter Hohmann Observatory, Essen, Germany; Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute UAS, Uzbekistan; Research Institute “Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory”, Ukraine and Main Astronomical Observatory NASU, Ukraine.

Context. Selecting a cluster in proper motion space is an established method for identifying members of a star-forming region. The first data release from Gaia (DR1) provides an extremely large and precise stellar catalogue, which when combined with the Tycho-2 catalogue gives the 2.5 million parallaxes and proper motions contained within the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). Aims. We aim to identify new member candidates of the nearby Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus Complex within the TGAS catalogue. In doing so, we also aim to validate the use of a density-based clustering algorithm (DBSCAN) on spatial and kinematic data as a robust member selection method. Methods. We constructed a method for member selection using a density-based clustering algorithm (DBSCAN) applied over proper motion and distance. We then applied this method to Upper Scorpius and evaluated the results and performance of the method. Results. We identified 167 member candidates of Upper Scorpius, of which 78 are new, distributed within a 10° radius from its core. These member candidates have a mean distance of 145.6 ± 7.5 pc and a mean proper motion of (−11.4, −23.5) ± (0.7, 0.4) mas yr−1. These values are consistent with measured distances and proper motions of previously identified bona fide members of the Upper Scorpius association.

The Hipparcos catalog contains stars suspected to be δ Scuti variables for which extensive ground-based observations and characterization of variability are necessary. Our aim was to characterize variability of 13 candidates to δ Scuti type stars. We obtained 24 215 CCD images and analyzed stellar light curves using the Period04 program. Twelve δ Scuti candidate stars have been characterized as pulsating with frequencies intrinsic to δ Scuti stars: HIP 2923, HIP 5526, HIP 5659, HIP 11090, HIP 17585, HIP 74155, HIP 101473, HIP 106219, HIP 107786, HIP 113487, HIP 115093, and HIP 115856. Five of them (HIP 2923, HIP 5526, HIP 11090, HIP 115856, and HIP 106219) may be hybrid δ Scuti-γ Doradus pulsators. One more candidate, HIP 106223, is a variable star with longer periods of pulsations which are intrinsic to γ Doradus.

Aims. We present a detailed analysis of the stellar content of the current version of the XMM-Newton slew survey (XMMSL2). Methods. Since stars emit only a small fraction of their total luminosity in the X-ray band, the stellar XMMSL2 sources ought to have relatively bright optical counterparts. Therefore the stellar identifications were obtained by an automatic crossmatch of the XMMSL2 catalog with the first Gaia data release (Gaia DR1), 2MASS, and Tycho2 catalogs. The reliability of this procedure was verified by a comparison with the individually classified Einstein Observatory medium sensitivity survey X-ray sources and by a crossmatch with the Chandra Source Catalog. Results. We identify 6815 of the 23 252 unique XMMSL2 sources to be stellar sources, while 893 sources are flagged as unreliable. For every counterpart a matching probability is estimated based upon the distance between the XMMSL2 source and the counterpart. Given this matching probability the sample is expected to be reliable to 96.7 % and complete to 96.3 % . The sample contains stars of all spectral types and luminosity classes, and late-type dwarfs have the largest share. For many stellar sources the fractional contribution of the X-ray band to the total energy output is found above the saturation limit of previous studies (Lx/Lbol = 10−3), because the XMMSL2 sources are more affected by flares owing to their short exposure times of typically 6 s. A comparison with the second ROSAT all-sky survey (2RXS) source catalog shows that about 25 % of the stellar XMMSL2 sources are previously unknown X-ray sources. The results of our identification procedure can be accessed via VizieR.

In this paper, a novel guide star catalog generation algorithm is presented, which is a crucial part of an advanced star tracker design since the performance and reliability of star identification and attitude determination depend on the guide star selection. First, we propose an analytical method to estimate the stellar instrument magnitude and characterize the associated errors. Those stars whose instrument magnitudes are higher than the star tracker sensitivity constitute the original catalog. Then, the probability model of each star in the original catalog for attitude determination is established as the function of the field of view (FOV), the brightness accuracy, and the mean number of stars in FOV based on the brightness and uniformity principles, and the stars with larger probability are selected as guide stars. The accuracy of photometry method is validated by estimating the Hipparcos catalog instrument magnitude and comparing them with actual data. The efficiency of guide star selection algorithm is demonstrated by generating guide star catalog for a star tracker with a $16 {^{\circ }}\times 16 {^{\circ }}$ FOV.

Abstract. We analyse images taken by the MErcury Surface, Space ENviorment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft for the camera’s thermal response in the harsh thermal environment near Mercury. Specifically, we study thermally induced variations in focal length of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS). Within the several hundreds of images of star fields, the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) typically captures up to 250 stars in one frame of the panchromatic channel. We measure star positions and relate these to the known star coordinates taken from the Tycho-2 catalogue. We solve for camera pointing, the focal length parameter and two non-symmetrical distortion parameters for each image. Using data from the temperature sensors on the camera focal plane we model a linear focal length function in the form of f(T) = A0 + A1 T. Next, we use images from MESSENGER’s orbital mapping mission. We deal with large image blocks, typically used for the production of a high-resolution digital terrain models (DTM). We analyzed images from the combined quadrangles H03 and H07, a selected region, covered by approx. 10,600 images, in which we identified about 83,900 tiepoints. Using bundle block adjustments, we solved for the unknown coordinates of the control points, the pointing of the camera – as well as the camera’s focal length. We then fit the above linear function with respect to the focal plane temperature. As a result, we find a complex response of the camera to thermal conditions of the spacecraft. To first order, we see a linear increase by approx. 0.0107 mm per degree temperature for the Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC). This is in agreement with the observed thermal response seen in images of the panchromatic channel of the WAC. Unfortunately, further comparisons of results from the two methods, both of which use different portions of the available image data, are limited. If leaving uncorrected, these effects may pose significant difficulties in the photogrammetric analysis, specifically these may be responsible for erroneous longwavelength trends in topographic models.

In this paper we discuss our choice of a large unbiased sample used for the survey of red giant branch stars for finding Li-rich K giants, and the method used for identifying Li-rich candidates using low-resolution spectra. The sample has 2000 giants within a mass range of 0.8 to $$3.0\textit{M}_{\odot }$$ . Sample stars were selected from the Hipparcos catalogue with colour (B–V) and luminosity $$(\textit{L}/\textit{L}_{\odot }$$ ) in such way that the sample covers RGB evolution from its base towards RGB tip passing through first dredge-up and luminosity bump. Low-resolution (R $$\approx $$ 2000, 3500, 5000) spectra were obtained for all sample stars. Using core strength ratios of lines at Li I 6707 A and its adjacent line Ca I 6717 A we successfully identified 15 K giants with A(Li) > 1.5 dex, which are defined as Li-rich K giants. The results demonstrate the usefulness of low-resolution spectra to measure Li abundance and identify Li-rich giants from a large sample of stars in relatively shorter time periods.

A study of cluster characteristics and internal kinematical structure of the middle-aged Pleiades open star cluster is presented. The individual star apexes and various cluster kinematical parameters including the velocity ellipsoid parameters are determined using both Hipparcos and Gaia data. Modern astrometric parameters were taken from the Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1) in combination with the Radial Velocity Experiment Fifth Data Release (DR5). The necessary set of parameters including parallaxes, proper motions and radial velocities are used for n=17 stars from Gaia DR1+RAVE DR5 and for n=19 stars from the Hipparcos catalog using SIMBAD data base. Single stars are used to improve accuracy by eliminating orbital movements. RAVE DR5 measurements were taken only for the stars with the radial velocity errors not exceeding $2$~km/s. For the Pleiades stars taken from Gaia, we found mean heliocentric distance as $136.8 \pm 6.4$~pc, and the apex position is calculated as: $A_{CP}=92^\circ.52\pm1^\circ.72$, $D_{CP}=-42^\circ.28\pm2^\circ.56$ by the convergent point method and $A_0=95^\circ.59\pm2^\circ.30$ and $D_0=-50^\circ.90\pm2^\circ.04$ using AD-diagram method (n=17 in both cases). The results are compared with those obtained historically before the Gaia mission era.

In this study, we have performed simultaneous solutions of light and radial velocity curves of two eclipsing binary systems, V566 Oph and V972 Her. We observed both systems spectroscopically with a very recently installed spectrograph on the 40 cm telescope, T40, located in Ankara University Kreiken Observatory (AUKR), for the first time. We made use of the photometric data from the Hipparcos satellite for V972 Her, while we obtained the photometric observations of V566 Oph by using the 35 cm telescope, T35, located also in our observatory campus. We derived the absolute parameters for both systems and discussed their evolutionary states. In addition to the simultaneous analysis, we have also analyzed the change in mid-eclipse times for V566 Oph, and found cyclic variations, for which we have discussed light-time effect and magnetic activity as their potential origin, superimposed on a secular change due to a mass transfer between the components of the binary.

We use data from the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) and the Tycho-Gaia astrometric solution (TGAS) catalogue to compute the velocity fields yielded by the radial (VR), azimuthal (Vϕ),and vertical (Vz) components of associated Galactocentric velocity. We search in particular for variation in all three velocity components with distance above and below the disc mid-plane, as well as how each component of Vz (line-of-sight and tangential velocity projections) modifies the obtained vertical structure. To study the dependence of velocity on proper motion and distance, we use two main samples: a RAVE sample including proper motions from the Tycho-2, PPMXL, and UCAC4 catalogues, and a RAVE–TGAS sample with inferred distances and proper motions from the TGAS and UCAC5 catalogues. In both samples, we identify asymmetries in VR and Vz. Below the plane, we find the largest radial gradient to be ∂VR/∂R = −7.01 ± 0.61 km s−1 kpc−1, in agreement with recent studies. Above the plane, we find a similar gradient with ∂VR/∂R = −9.42 ± 1.77 km s−1 kpc−1. By comparing our results with previous studies, we find that the structure in Vz is strongly dependent on the adopted proper motions. Using the Galaxia Milky Way model, we demonstrate that distance uncertainties can create artificial wave-like patterns. In contrast to previous suggestions of a breathing mode seen in RAVE data, our results support a combination of bending and breathing modes, likely generated by a combination of external or internal and external mechanisms.