Related papers: Probing micro-arcsec astrometry with NACO

Aims. We investigate the maximum astrometric precision that can be reached on moving targets observed with digital-sensor arrays, and provide an estimate for its ultimate lower limit based on the Cram\'er-Rao bound. Methods. We extend…

Resolving fine details of astronomical objects provides critical insights into their underlying physical processes. This drives in part the desire to construct ever-larger telescopes and interferometer arrays and to observe at shorter…

The study of fundamental properties (such as temperatures, radii, masses, and ages) and interior processes (such as convection and angular momentum transport) of stars has implications on various topics in astrophysics, ranging from the…

Between 1997 and 2004 several observing runs were conducted mainly with the CTIO 0.9 m to image ICRF counterparts (mostly QSOs) in order to determine accurate optical positions. Contemporary to these deep CCD images the same fields were…

(abridged) A complete census of planetary systems around a volume-limited sample of solar-type stars (FGK dwarfs) in the Solar neighborhood with uniform sensitivity down to Earth-mass planets within their Habitable Zones out to several AUs…

We discuss observations of the weak first overtone CO absorption band near 2300 nm with the U.S. National Solar Observatory Array Camera (NAC), a modern mid-infrared detector. This molecular band provides a thermal diagnostic that forms…

Context: In recent years, stellar intensity interferometry has seen renewed interest from the astronomical community because it can be efficiently applied to Cherenkov telescope arrays. Aims: We have investigated the accuracy that can be…

Optical imperfections, misalignments, aberrations, and even dust can significantly limit sensitivity in high-contrast imaging systems such as coronagraphs. An upstream deformable mirror (DM) in the pupil can be used to correct or compensate…

Directly imaging exoplanets is challenging because quasi-static phase aberrations in the pupil plane (speckles) can mimic the signal of a companion at small angular separations. Kernel phase, which is a generalization of closure phase…

Opening up a new window of millimeter-wave observations that span frequency bands in the range of 30 to 500 GHz, survey half the sky, and are both an order of magnitude deeper (about 0.5 uK-arcmin) and of higher-resolution (about 10…

We have embarked on a project, under the aegis of the Nearby Stars (NStars)/ Space Interferometry Mission Preparatory Science Program to obtain spectra, spectral types, and, where feasible, basic physical parameters for the 3600 dwarf and…

We describe technical aspects of an astrometric and photometric survey of the North Celestial Cap (NCC), from the Pole (DEC=90 deg) to DEC=80 deg, in support of the TAUVEX mission. This region, at galactic latitudes from ~ 17 deg to ~ 37…

We have built and tested a compact, low-cost, but very-high-performance astronomical polarimeter based on a continuously rotating half-wave plate and a high-speed imaging detector. The polarimeter is suitable for small telescopes up to ~1 m…

The StarScan machine at the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) completed measuring photographic astrograph plates to allow determination of proper motions for the USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC) program. All applicable 1940 AGK2 plates, about…

In this paper, we explore the astrophysical implications of near-field microlensing and its effects on stellar transit observations, with a special emphasis on the Kepler mission. Kepler is a NASA-approved mission whose goal is to detect a…

Deeper understanding of the properties of dark energy via SNIa surveys, and to a large extent other methods as well, will require unprecedented photometric precision. Laboratory and solar photometry and radiometry regularly achieve…

The angular size of a star is a critical factor in determining its basic properties. Direct measurement of stellar angular diameters is difficult: at interstellar distances stars are generally too small to resolve by any individual imaging…

The ability to spatially and temporally map nanoscale environments in situ over extended timescales would be transformative for biology, biomedicine, and bioengineering. All nanometer objects, from nanoparticles down to single proteins,…

The ESPRI project relies on the astrometric capabilities offered by the PRIMA facility of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer for the discovery and study of planetary systems. Our survey consists of obtaining high-precision astrometry…

Precision measurements of the stars in short-period orbits around the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center are now being used to constrain general relativistic effects, such as the gravitational redshift and periapse precession.…