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Knight, C. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Knight, C. A..

25 records · Page 2

Solar gravitational deflection of radio waves measured by very-long-baseline interferometry

Utilizing a four-antenna technique, simultaneous observations were made, at each end of an 845-km baseline, of the radio sources 3C279 and 3C273B, which are 10 deg apart in the sky. Differences in interferometric phases at 3.7-cm wavelength monitored near the time of the 1972 occultation of 3C279 by the sun, yielded a gravitational deflection of 0.99 plus or minus 0.03 times the value predicted by general relativity, corresponding to gamma = 0.98 plus or minus 0.06 (standard error).

Counselman, C. C., III

Transcontinental baselines and the rotation of the earth measured by radio interferometry

Nine separate very-long-baseline interferometry experiments, carried out in 1972 and 1973 with radio telescopes 3900 kilometers apart, yielded values for the baseline length with an rms deviation about the mean of less than 20 centimeters. The corresponding fractional spread is about five parts in 100,000,000. Changes in universal time and in polar motion were also determined accurately from these data. The rms scatter of these results with respect to those based on optical methods was 2.9 msec and 1.3 m, respectively. Solid-earth tides were apparently detected, but no useful estimate of their amplitude was extracted.

Shapiro, I. I.

Extragalactic radio sources - Accurate positions from very-long-baseline interferometry observations

Relative positions for 12 extragalactic radio sources have been determined via wide-band very-long-baseline interferometry (wavelength of about 3.8 cm). The standard error, based on consistency between results from widely separated periods of observation, appears to be no more than 0.1 sec for each coordinate of the seven sources that were well observed during two or more periods. The uncertainties in the coordinates determined for the other five sources are larger, but in no case exceed 0.5 sec.

Rogers, A. E. E.

Precision geodesy via radio interferometry.

Very-long-baseline interferometry experiments, involving observations of extragalactic radio sources, were performed in 1969 to determine the vector separations between antenna sites in Massachusetts and West Virginia. The 845.130-kilometer baseline was estimated from two separate experiments. The results agreed with each other to within 2 meters in all three components and with a special geodetic survey to within 2 meters in length; the differences in baseline direction as determined by the survey and by interferometry corresponded to discrepancies of about 5 meters. The experiments also yielded positions for nine extragalactic radio sources and allowed the hydrogen maser clocks at the two sites to be synchronized.

Hinteregger, H. F.

Interferometric observations of an artificial satellite.

Very-long-baseline interferometric observations of radio signals from the TACSAT synchronous satellite, even though extending over only 7 hours, have enabled an excellent orbit to be deduced. Precision in differential delay and delay-rate measurements reached 0.15 nanosecond and 0.05 picosecond per second, respectively. The results from this initial three-station experiment demonstrate the feasibility of using the method for accurate satellite tracking and for geodesy.

Preston, R. A.