On the Hipparcos Link to the ICRF derived from VLA and MERLIN radio astrometry |
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Authors: | R Hering H G Walter |
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Institution: | 1. Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie (ZAH), Universit?t Heidelberg, M?nchhofstr. 12-14, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
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Abstract: | Positions and proper motions obtained from observations by the very large array (VLA) and the multi-element radio-linked interferometer
network (MERLIN) are used to establish the link of the Hipparcos Celestial Reference Frame (HCRF) to the International Celestial
Reference Frame (ICRF). The VLA and MERLIN data are apparently the latest ones published in the literature. Their mean epoch
at around 2001 is about 10 years after the epoch of the Hipparcos catalogue and, therefore, the data are considered suitable
to check the Hipparcos link established at epoch 1991.25. The parameters of the link, i.e., the angles of frame orientation
and the angular rates of frame rotation, are estimated by fitting these parameters to the differences of the optical and radio
positions and proper motions of stars common to the Hipparcos catalogue and the VLA and MERLIN data. Both the estimates of
the angles of orientation and the angular rates of rotation show nearly consistent but insignificant results for all samples
of stars treated. We conclude that not only the size of the samples of 9–15 stars is too small, but also that the accuracy
of the radio positions and, above all, of the radio proper motions is insufficient, the latter being based on early-epoch
star positions of low accuracy. The present observational data at epoch 2001 suggest that maintenance of the Hipparcos frame
is not feasible at this stage. |
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Keywords: | Astrometry Reference frames Hipparcos VLBI ICRF VLA MERLIN |
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