arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Matthew B. James.
Separation ($ρ$) and Position Angle (PA) measurements are reported of 10 pairs which measures where last reported in the WDS +20 years from epoch of observation 2021.066. Measurements were obtained by direct imaging and are presented with associated measurement uncertainties, as well as, comparisons to measurements determined from Gaia DR2 & EDR3 and historic data extrapolation at epoch of J2000.0.
Presented here is list of 50 pairs quasi-evenly spaced over the northern sky, and that have Separations and Position Angles accurate at the milli-arcsec, and milli-degree level. These pairs are suggested as calibration pairs for lucky imaging observations. This paper is a follow-up to our previous paper regarding southern sky calibration pairs.
We compared several techniques for calibrating angular separation between wide (>1 arcsec) pairs. These techniques are (i) reference pair calibration using α Cen AB orbital parameters, (ii) the video drift method, and (iii) the utilisation of an aperture diffraction grating with red filters of different passbands. Separations of 62 pairs were determined using these 3 calibration techniques and compared. It was found that α Cen AB and video drift methods are in good agreement. The use of the grating and filter (by measuring fringe spacing) proved unsatisfactory for the broad-band filters, and the use of a narrow band Hα filter with the grating, resulted in image scales that differed from those obtained using α Cen AB reference pair calibration and the video drift method by 0.024 and 0.031 pixel/arcsec (px/arcsec) respectively. A more complete modelling of Fraunhofer diffraction of the Hα filter and grating produced a difference in image scale of 0.009 px/arcsec. A bias in the diffraction grating method of ~0.1% in the separation of pairs also revealed itself and could not be accounted for. We conclude that calibration against a known pair for which the separation and PA is known with high precision is probably the simplest and best way to undertake image scale calibration.
Accurate measures of double stars require accurate calibration of the instrument. Here we present a list of 50 pairs, that are quasi-evenly spaced over the southern sky, and that have Separations and Position Angles accurate at the milli-arcsec, and milli-degree level. These wide angle pairs are suggested as calibration pairs for lucky imaging observations.