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Optimal error estimation is key to achieve accurate photometry and astrometry. Stellar fluxes and positions in high angular resolution images are typically measured with PSF fitting routines, such as StarFinder. However, the formal…
In this paper we introduce a new linear filtering technique, the so-called matrix filters, that maximizes the signal-to-interference ratio of compact sources of unknown intensity embedded in a set of images by taking into account the…
An unsupervised software ``robot'' that automatically and robustly reduces and analyzes CCD observations of photometric standard stars is described. The robot measures extinction coefficients and other photometric parameters in real time…
Several cosmological measurements have attained significant levels of maturity and accuracy over the last decade. Continuing this trend, future observations promise measurements of the statistics of the cosmic mass distribution at an…
Foreground mitigation is critical to all next-generation radio interferometers that target cosmology using the redshifted neutral hydrogen 21 cm emission line. Attempts to remove this foreground emission have led to new analysis techniques…
The population of artificial satellites and space debris orbiting the Earth imposes non-negligible constraints on both space operations and ground-based optical and radio astronomy. The ongoing deployment of several satellite…
Photometric redshifts are a key tool to extract as much information as possible from planned cosmic shear experiments. In this work we aim to test the performances that can be achieved with observations in the near-infrared from space and…
Breakthroughs in physics and astrophysics are often driven by technological advances, with the recent detection of gravitational waves being one such example. This white paper focuses upon how improved astrometric and spectroscopic…
Before the end of 2002 will be launched the GALEX satellite (a NASA/SMEX project) which will observe all the sky in Ultraviolet (UV) through filters at 1500 and 2300 A down to m(AB) 21. In 2004 will be launched the ASTRO-F satellite which…
Improvements in the precision of the astrophysical flux scale are needed to answer fundamental scientific questions ranging from cosmology to stellar physics. The unexpected discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating was…
In preparation for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a set of cross calibration programs with HST and Spitzer for suitable primary photometric standards and astrometric fields were developed. NICMOS/HST and IRAC/Spitzer photometry…
The MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) satellite obtains ultraprecise photometry from space with high sampling rates and duty cycles. Astronomical photometry or imaging missions in low Earth orbits, like MOST, are especially…
I argue that there is a crisis in optical Astronomy due to a paucity of telescopes and thus the need for a paradigm shift in telescope technology. Large increases in collecting areas and observing time/astronomer are only possible if we…
We investigate the limits of ground-based astrometry with adaptive optics using the core of the Galactic globular cluster M5. Adaptive optics systems provide near diffraction-limit imaging with the world's largest telescopes. The…
We are now beginning to learn detailed information about cosmological parameters from the shapes of the matter and radiation power spectra, together with their relative normalization. As more high quality data are gathered from galaxy…
The ultra-precise photometric space satellite MOST (Microvariability and Oscillations of STars) will provide the first opportunity to measure the albedos and scattered light curves from known short-period extrasolar planets. Due to the…
The impact of mega-constellations of satellites in low-Earth orbit during nighttime optical observations is assessed. Orbital geometry is used to calculate the impact of stellar occultations by satellites on the photometry of individual…
We present the results of a study that uses numerical simulations to interpret observations of tidally disturbed satellites around the Milky Way. When analysing the simulations from the viewpoint of an observer, we find a break in the slope…
With the rapidly increasing number of satellites in space and their enhanced capabilities, the amount of earth observation images collected by satellites is exceeding the transmission limits of satellite-to-ground links. Although existing…
We review the well-known matched filter method for the detection of point sources in astronomical images. This is shown to be optimal (that is, to saturate the Cramer--Rao bound) under stated conditions that are very strong: an isolated…