Related papers: Satellite-Mounted Light Sources as Photometric Cal…
We present an absolute parallax and relative proper motion for the fundamental distance scale calibrator, RR Lyr. We obtain these with astrometric data from FGS 3, a white-light interferometer on HST. We find $\pi_{abs} = 3.82 \pm 0.2$ mas.…
In the coming decade, a new generation of massively multiplexed spectroscopic surveys, such as PFS, WAVES, and MOONS, will probe galaxies in the distant universe in vastly greater numbers than was previously possible. In this work, we…
We discuss a method aiming to use photometric redshifts in lensing clusters to access the population of distant background sources. The amplification provided by gravitational lensing allows to calibrate photometric redshifts 1 to 3…
The science goals for ground-based large-area surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey, Pan-STARRS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, require calibration of broadband photometry that is stable in time and uniform over the sky to…
Using detailed mock galaxy redshift surveys we investigate to what extent the kinematics of large samples of satellites galaxies extracted from flux-limited surveys can be used to constrain halo masses. Previous host-satellite selection…
Current and future weak lensing surveys will rely on photometrically estimated redshifts of very large numbers of galaxies. In this paper, we address several different aspects of the demanding photo-z performance that will be required for…
The precise knowledge of the positions of space debris objects and in particular of defunct satellites is fundamental for satellite operations. Several studies showed that it is possible to improve the accuracy of the orbit determination…
The indirect detection of cosmic rays via the radio signal of extensive air showers is gaining a lot of ground. Many new arrays of radio antennas are under construction or in the phase of development. Calibrating these arrays is important…
We assess the accuracy with which future galaxy surveys can measure cosmological parameters by deriving a handy approximation that we validate numerically. We find that galaxy surveys are quite complementary to future Cosmic Microwave…
We address the question of to what accuracy remote sensing images of the surface of planets can be matched, so that the possible displacement of features on the surface can be accurately measured. This is relevant in the context of the…
Gravitational lenses with anomalous flux ratios are often cited as possible evidence for dark matter satellites predicted by simulations of hierarchical merging in cold dark matter cosmogonies. We show that the fraction of quads with…
We summarize methods and plans to monitor and calibrate photometric observations with our autonomous, robotic network of 2m, 1m and 40cm telescopes. These are sited globally to optimize our ability to observe time-variable sources. Wide…
Artificial satellites orbiting around the Earth, under certain conditions, result to be visible even to the naked eye. The phenomenon of light pollution jeopardises the researching activities of the astronomical community: traces left by…
We present AstroWISP: a collection of image processing tools for source extraction, background determination, point spread function/pixel response function fitting, and aperture photometry. AstroWISP is particularly well-suited for working…
We systematically investigate the error sources for high-precision astrometry from adaptive optics based near-infrared imaging data. We focus on the application in the crowded stellar field in the Galactic Center. We show that at the level…
The diffuse Galactic gamma-ray data from the region of the Galactic Center has been collected by the LAT instrument on the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. In this paper we argue that it may be able to provide an unambiguous evidence of…
Abridged: The golden age of astrophysics is upon us with both grand discoveries (extra-solar planets, dark matter, dark energy) and precision cosmology. Fundamental understanding of the working of stars and galaxies is within reach, thanks…
This article is the second in a pair of articles on the topic of the generation of a two-color artificial star (which we term a "laser photometric ratio star," or LPRS) of de-excitation light from neutral sodium atoms in the mesosphere, for…
The ESA HIPPARCOS satellite has provided astrometry of unprecedented accuracy, allowing to reassess, improve and refine the pre-HIPPARCOS luminosity calibrations. We review the "classical" absolute magnitude calibrations with the…
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) will provide the data to support detailed investigations of the distribution of luminous and non- luminous matter in the Universe: a photometrically and astrometrically calibrated digital imaging survey…