Related papers: Light Streak Photometry and Streaktools
We explore the use of inexpensive consumer light- field camera technology for the purpose of light-field mi- croscopy. Our experiments are based on the Lytro (first gen- eration) camera. Unfortunately, the optical systems of the Lytro and…
One of the major limitations of adaptive optics (AO) corrected image post-processing is the lack of knowledge on the system point spread function (PSF). The PSF is not always available as a direct imaging on isolated point like objects such…
This paper presents the development and application of SpectrumMate LR, a broadband, low-resolution spectrograph for small telescope use. SpectrumMate LR is designed to offer affordable, accessible spectroscopic capabilities for amateur…
We propose a tunable laser-based satellite-mounted spectrophotometric and absolute flux calibration system, to be utilized by ground- and space-based telescopes. As spectrophotometric calibration may play a significant role in the accuracy…
Obtaining reliable, matched photometry for galaxies imaged by different observatories represents a key challenge in the era of wide-field surveys spanning more than several hundred square degrees. Methods such as flux fitting, profile…
Nuclear instruments that require precise characterization and calibration of their optical components need well-characterized optical light sources with the desired wavelength, intensity, and directivity. This paper presents a novel…
We have developed an end-to-end photometric data processing pipeline to compare current photometric algorithms commonly used on ground-based imaging data. This testbed is exceedingly adaptable, and enables us to perform many research and…
The Shear TEsting Programme, STEP, is a collaborative project to improve the accuracy and reliability of all weak lensing measurements in preparation for the next generation of wide-field surveys. In this first STEP paper we present the…
Accurate knowledge of the telescope's point spread function (PSF) is essential for the weak gravitational lensing measurements that hold great promise for cosmological constraints. For space telescopes, the PSF may vary with time due to…
A point spread function (PSF) describes the distribution of light for a pure point source in an astronomical image due to the optics of the instrument. An accurate PSF is key for deconvolution, point source photometry and source removal.…
Context. Calibration of optical polarimeters relies on the use of stars with negligible polarization (unpolarized standard stars) for determining the instrumental polarization zero-point. For wide-field polarimeters, calibration is often…
Weak lensing by large-scale structure is an invaluable cosmological tool given that most of the energy density of the concordance cosmology is invisible. Several large ground-based imaging surveys will attempt to measure this effect over…
Accurate astrometry is crucial for determining orbits of near-Earth-asteroids (NEAs) and therefore better tracking them. This paper reports on a demonstration of 10 milliarcsecond-level astrometric precision on a dozen NEAs using the Pomona…
Strong gravitational lensing provides a wealth of astrophysical information on the baryonic and dark matter content of galaxies. It also serves as a valuable cosmological probe by allowing us to measure the Hubble constant independently of…
The Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) offers excellent imaging quality, but it has a comparatively small field of view. This means that while observing the solar photosphere, there has been no convenient way of calibrating the image scale…
The ability to accurately measure the shapes of faint objects in images taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys(ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) depends upon detailed knowledge of the Point Spread Function (PSF). We show that…
Spectroscopic photoemission microscopy is a well-established method to investigate the electronic structure of surfaces. In modern photoemission microscopes the electron optics allows imaging of the image plane, momentum plane, or…
We present a technique to measure lightcurves of time-variable point sources on a spatially structured background from imaging data. The technique was developed to measure light curves of SNLS supernovae in order to infer their distances.…
Anisoplanatic effects can cause significant systematic photometric uncertainty in the analysis of dense stellar fields observed with adaptive optics. Program packages have been developed for a spatially variable PSF, but they require that a…
We present a detailed discussion of how to obtain precise stellar photometry in crowded fields using images from multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) systems, with the intent of informing the scientific development of this key technology…