Search NASASearch

Engineering topics

Van Altena, W. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Van Altena, W. F..

Astrometry

Progress in astrometry is reviewed. Aspects of photographic astrometry are addressed, including the use and optimization of emulsions as detectors and the application of side-field and long-focus photographic astrometry to the determination of stellar positions, to proper motion surveys, the determination of more accurate parallaxes, the study of binaries, and the examination of the membership and internal motions of star clusters. The advantages and disadvantages of photoelectric astrometry are summarized, and the instruments used in this field is discussed, including scanners, detector arrays, stellar interferometers, space telescopes, and satellites. Promising observational methods for studying binary stars are addressed. Astrometry derived from meridian circle observations is considered, emphasizing the FK4 system. The use of radio astrometry is briefly discussed.

Van Altena, W. F.

Digital image centering. II

Digital image centering algorithms were compared in a test involving microdensitometer raster scans of a refractor parallax series consisting of 22 stars on 26 plates. The highest accuracy in determining stellar image positions was provided by an algorithm which involved fitting of a symmetric Gaussian curve and a flat background to the image marginal density distributions. Algorithms involving transmission marginals instead of density marginals were found to be less accurate. The repeatability and computational efficiency of the digital image centering technique were also studied.

Auer, L. H.

Digital image centering. I

A series of parallax plates have been measured on a PDS microdensitometer to assess the possibility of using the PDS for precision relative astrometry and to investigate centering algorithms that might be used to analyze digital images obtained with the Large Space Telescope. The basic repeatability of the PDS is found to be plus or minus 0.6 micron, with the potential for reaching plus or minus 0.2 micron. A very efficient centering algorithm has been developed which fits the marginal density distributions of the image with a Gaussian profile and a sloping background. The accuracy is comparable with the best results obtained with a photoelectric image bisector.

Van Altena, W. F.