Related papers: DebrisWatch II: Digging deeper for geosynchronous …
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Wide-Fast Deep (WFD) sky survey will reach unprecedented surface brightness depths over tens of thousands of square degrees. Surface brightness photometry has traditionally been a challenge. Current algorithms…
This paper compares the performance of two different high-precision, photometric measurement techniques for bright (<11 magnitude) stars using the small telescope systems that today's amateur astronomers typically use. One technique is…
We present a new methodology to analyse in a comprehensive way large-scale and supernovae (or any other distance indicator) surveys. Our approach combines galaxy and supernova position and redshift data with supernova peculiar velocities,…
Accurately determining the geographic location where a single image was taken, visual geolocation, remains a formidable challenge due to the planet's vastness and the deceptive similarity among distant locations. We introduce GeoLocSFT, a…
This tutorial covers the use of absolute astrometry, in particular from the combination of the Hipparcos and Gaia missions, to identify faint companions to nearby stars and to measure the masses and orbits of those companions. Absolute…
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) underpin positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), yet their low-power signals are easily blocked or disrupted, leaving gaps in PNT availability in contested environments (e.g. maritime settings)…
We study the accuracy with which weak lensing measurements could be made from a future space-based survey, predicting the subsequent precisions of 3-dimensional dark matter maps, projected 2-dimensional dark matter maps, and mass-selected…
With the rapidly growing population of resident space objects (RSOs) in the near-Earth space environment, detailed information about their condition and capabilities is needed to provide Space Domain Awareness (SDA). Space-based sensing…
Given the current limited knowledge of meteor plasma micro-physics and its interaction with the surrounding atmosphere and ionosphere, meteors are a highly interesting observational target for high-resolution wide-field astronomical…
The escalating overlap between non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) and geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite frequency allocations necessitates accurate interference detection methods that address two pivotal technical gaps: computationally…
Photometric redshifts have proven a powerful tool in identifying galaxies over a large range of lookback times. We have been generalising this technique to incorporate the selection of candidate high redshift QSOs. We have applied this to a…
We present a blind time-delay cosmography measurement of the Hubble constant $H_0$ based on the quadruply imaged quasar SDSSJ1433+6007. Our analysis combines deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, extended time-delay monitoring from the…
(abridged) Gravitationally lensed quasars can be used as powerful cosmological and astrophysical probes. We can (i) infer the Hubble constant based on the time-delay technique, (ii) unveil substructures along the l.o.s. toward distant…
Next generation probes of dark matter and dark energy require high precision reconstruction of faint galaxy shapes from hundreds of dithered exposures. Current practice is to stack the images. While valuable for many applications, this…
FIRBACK is a deep survey conducted with the ISOPHOT instrument aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at an effective wavelength of 175 $\mu$m. We present here results we have obtained on the first field, the so-called Marano1 which…
Accurate weak-lensing analysis requires not only accurate measurement of galaxy shapes but also precise and unbiased measurement of galaxy redshifts. The photometric redshift technique appears as the only possibility to determine the…
The Hundred-deg$^2$ HI Deep (HD$^2$) survey carried out with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is planned to map a contiguous region within the DESI DR1 footprint, achieving an effective integration time of 20…
Orbit-determination programs find the orbit solution that best fits a set of observations by minimizing the RMS of the residuals of the fit. For near-Earth asteroids, the uncertainty of the orbit solution may be compatible with trajectories…
A search for second-timescale optical transients is one of the frontiers of time-domain astronomy. However, it has been pointed out that reflections of sunlight from Earth-orbiting objects can also produce second-timescale ``glints.'' We…
Crop residue is an important metric used for agricultural land-use monitoring and climate science research. Estimating crop residue coverage is essential to sustainable agricultural practices. The University of Toronto Aerospace Team is…