Untersuchung von Spektrenplatten (ORWO-Emulsion ZU 21) hinsichtlich der Lageänderung von Linien bei bestimmten Trocknungsbedingungen

Relatively large displacements are found on plates used for work in stellar spectroscopy. The maximum amount of the displacements in the emulsion are local in the order of 16 m̈m. Obviously these effects are independent on the drying process. Correlations of large local displacements can not be found between the regarded test plates.     

Photographic photometry for stellar statistics with Tautenburg Schmidt telescope

Photometric properties of deep Tautenburg Schmidt plates in the UBV system over the whole field and over a wide range of stellar magnitudes are discussed. Different reduction models based on the calibration curve alone and with additional terms containing colour and plate coordinates are considered. With the filter-emulsion combinations used the Johnson UBV system can be reproduced quite well by the Tautenburg telescope. The accuracy of photometric data can be improved if geometrical terms are taken into account. For deep plates with a significant effect of background nebulosity a supplementary term is to be included in the reduction model. The polynomial coefficients vary in dependence on spectral bands and individual properties of each plate.     

The Potsdam plates of the Carte du Ciel project: I. Present inventory and plate catalogue

We present an inventory ofthe Carte du Ciel (CdC) plates stored in the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam. The Potsdam CdC zone (+32° to +39°) was divided into 1232 areas and about 2200 plates from the first and second epochs were obtained within the framework of the CdC project. At present, only 977 plates (45% of all) are stored in AIP, the others got lost during the Second World War. The plates for the first epoch measurements had been obtained during the period 1893 May– 1900 February. The plates for the second epoch (1913 August–1924 February) can be separated into two time intervals according to the observer and the observing method used: from 1913 August till 1914 July, and from 1916 February to 1924 February. The present work aims to provide online access to the plate information, given in the plate catalogue and is the first step to online access to the plate images digitized with flatbed scanners.     

Berücksichtigung inhomogenen Hintergrundes bei der Irisblendenphotometrie

Different methods for correcting non-uniform background fog levels in iris diaphragm photometry are compared. For this purpose data measured by SCHAEFER (1979, 1981) and also our own measurements on Tautenburg plates are used. Finally some rules for measuring plates with non-uniform background are given.     

Semi-automated extraction of digital objective prism spectra

We describe a method for the extraction of spectra from high-dispersion objective prism plates. Our method is a catalogue-driven plate solution approach, making use of the right ascension and declination coordinates for the target objects. In contrast to existing methods of photographic plate reduction, we digitize the entire plate and extract spectra off-line. This approach has the advantages that it can be applied to CCD objective prism images and spectra can be re-extracted (or additional spectra extracted) without having to re-scan the plate. After a brief initial interactive period, the subsequent reduction procedure is completely automatic, resulting in fully reduced, wavelength-justified spectra. We also discuss a method of removing stellar continua using a combination of non-linear filtering algorithms.   The method described is used to extract over 12 000 spectra from a set of 92 objective prism plates. These spectra are used in an associated project to develop automated spectral classifiers based on neural networks.     

Genauigkeitserwartung photographischer Sternpositionen bei geschlossener Blockausgleichung

The theoretical accuracy of photographically determined star positions is studied, based on the assumption that the whole sphere is covered by a net of fields, 4 plates each, and that all the plates are adjusted simultaneously in a closed block. The influence of the number of fields on the accuracy is estimated by computing schematized spheric blocks containing only a few reference stars. If the plates are taken with a focal length of 2 meters, the block will consist of 2500 fields, and a mean accuracy of star position of 0.1 can be expected.     

天文底片保存和我国天文底片数字化的建议

阐述了国际上天文照相底片数字化工作的进展:底片的保存、底片数字化的意义和相关技术。扼要地介绍了国际虚拟天文台的情况及其与底片数字化的关系。分析了我国天文底片资料的保存现状,并提出了底片数字化建议:成立由各天文台专家组成的全国底片数字化协调小组,建立各单位保存底片的信息库、改进底片的保存条件、有步骤地对有价值底片上的全部目标进行扫描,以便将其与现代高精度的观测资料相结合,开展有意义的课题研究。     

A new reduction of digitized photographic plates with selected asteroids obtained with the normal astrograph of the Pulkovo Observatory from 1948 to 1990

The results of a new reduction of 1545 photographic observations of 14 selected asteroids obtained with the Normal Astrograph of the Pulkovo Observatory from 1948 to 1990 are presented. Photographic plates stored in the archive of the observatory were digitized with a general purpose flatbed scanner using a specially developed technique. The accuracy of the reduction of photographic plates is measured. The UCAC3 catalogue has been used as a reference. Residual differences between coordinates of stars in the reference catalogue are used to analyze and tacking into account obtained instrumental systematic errors. Equatorial coordinates of 1378 individual observations of target asteroids are obtained. They are compared with the results of the reduction of the material made earlier. Among the objects of the background, positions of 1475 stars with large proper motions from the LSPM catalogue are measured.     

The Digital Archive of the Photographic Images of the Córdoba Observatory Plates Collections

The astronomical events registered in photographic plates are unique. A remarkable interest in using old plates in many areas of the current astronomical research is widely recognized by the IAU. There are almost ten thousand plates in several collections at the Córdoba Observatory and most of them are nearly one century old. This photographic material is difficult to handle in order to get the information stored in it. The goal of this project is to make a digital archive of images of these collections. In this first survey plates are being scanned with a standard commercial transparency scanner. These low spatial resolution, low digital resolution and low signal-to-noise ratio images are intended for facilitating handling and visual inspection. However, one arc-second positions can be obtained. Photometric quality has not been yet determined. Otherwise high quality digital images can be acquired with a microdenstitometer based on a scientific grade CCD whose implementation is at its final stage. The possibility of using a better-performance scanner is being evaluated. It is planned to permit the access to low-resolution images via internet. High-resolution images of selected zones will be available upon request. At this first stage, collections totally digitized at low resolution are:Carte du Ciel and Small Magellanic Cloud Zones. Gaviola's Eta Carinae Spectra and Pulkovo Zones are still in process.     

Photographic observations of comet Hale–Bopp at the Zvenigorod Observatory

We describe the archive of scans of the astronomical plates obtained in the observations of comet Hale–Bopp. The observations were carried out from August 17, 1996, to April 29, 1997, at the Zeiss-400/2000 astrograph of the Zvenigorod Observatory of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INASAN). The archive contains the images that can be used in astrometric, photometric, and astrophysical studies. In some of the plates, the size of the comet reaches 6.3° (23 cm). In many scans, the details of the cometary tail, including individual jets, vortexes, etc., are clearly distinguishable. The archive of the images is available free.     

Digital stacking of photographic plates with SuperCOSMOS

Photographic Schmidt plates are among the most effective tools in wide-field astronomy. One of the principal difficulties of photographic plates when compared to modern detectors is lack of image depth. We present a technique for stacking plates digitized using the SuperCOSMOS microdensitometer, aimed at maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio in faint images. The efficacy of several image combination algorithms is tested by stacking plate frames in the presence of spurious images. We find that an 'average sigma clipping' type pixel rejection in conjunction with our weighting scheme is most effective in delivering a clean, high signal-to-noise ratio stack. The gain in limiting magnitude obtained from stacking is found to be consistent with that expected: Δ M ∼1.5 for a stack of 16 good-quality plates.     

Asteroids observed at the GPO,La Silla

Continuing the observational programme, which was started in 1976 at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), La Silla, by Debehogne a lot of new photographic plates was obtained during February-March in 1989. These plates are used for the determination of positions of asteroids selected by „Ephemerides of Minor Planets for 1989”︁, edited by the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy of Leningrad (ITA) in 1988. They permit also discoveries of new celestial bodies as well as reidentifications of lost or badly observed asteroids during the last years. For the part treated here, the examination of the plates has revealed nine asteroids not mentioned in the Russian Ephemerides or in the disquettes as fournished by the Minor Planet Centre (MPC) of SAO. Seven were present in the ITA source.     

An astrometric model for Tautenburg Schmidt plates

The major principles of establishing a statistical model for plates of the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope (134/200/400) are described. The model is intended to be used for the Monte Carlo simulation of the determination of coordinates and proper motions. It has been tested with orthogonal polynomials by determining positions of stars. Under certain conditions linear equations are sufficient for the reduction of measured to standard coordinates when using the AGK3 as the reference system.     

Copper Mosaic Crystals for Laue Lenses

Large single crystals of copper with an uniform and very narrow mosaic spread between 25 seconds and 1 minute of arc are now available at I.L.L. This result is of great interest in the construction of a Laue lens for astrophysical applications for which such quality copper single crystals may be used. The X-ray diffraction properties of copper single crystals produced at I.L.L. were studied for x-ray energies ranging from 100 keV to 400 keV. Several monocrystalline plates with different thicknesses and mosaic distributions were then prepared from the as-grown crystals in order to measure their diffraction efficiency as a function of energy. As expected, the value of the peak reflectivity depends on the crystal thickness. Reflectivity measurements show the excellent properties of copper crystals for gamma-ray diffraction. A peak reflectivity of 24% was measured at 220 keV from a copper single crystal of 3.75 mm thickness having a mosaic spread of 1.5 minutes of arc. Some technical aspects on the preparation of copper single crystal plates are also discussed.     

Liste et classification d'étoiles M,C et à émission nouvelles

We present a new list of 156 M, C or emission line stars discovered on objective-prism plates taken at Haute Provence Observatory. The good spectra are classified by means of criteria used in previous publications, principally from the ratio of TiO bands.     

Etude de l'eclipse solaire partielle du 25 Fevrier, 1971 au Pic du Midi

The scattering in the neighbourhood of the Sun is investigated on photographs taken in Pic-du-Midi Observatory during the partial solar eclipse of february 25th 1971. Briefly mentioned, the diffraction theory is used to determine the image of a crescent with incoherent illumination, and to compare the ‘diffracted’ isophote curves with those drawn from the plates. An accurate photometry of the plates enables us to give charts of the electronic density in a coronal sector, and also to determine some physical quantities, values of which are rather uneasy to get from usual observations, such as the polarisation ratio and the electron density of the first Fexiv excited level. In this last case, an original calculation was used to find the source function. A superimposition of a coronal enhancement in white light with a monochromatic arch, gives coherent results without any major assumptions. These assumptions are explained step by step and some interpretations are compared with those given by other authors.     

On the variability of the “blue objects”

The reality of the high percentage of variability among Blue Objects which was found in previous investigations was examined on 170 Tautenburg Schmidt plates of two test fields near M 31. The high percentage could not be confirmed. Spurious amplitudes can be explained by the large probable errors of the photometry (especially near the plate limit) and by bad suitability of good-looking plates. Out of 37 Blue Objects examined, only two (van den Bergh 5 and 12) are distinctly variable, but the final examination of Blue Objects which are suspected of variability can only be done by photoelectric photometry.     

Search for optical counterparts of gamma-ray burst sources

The examination of nearly 9600 archival photographic plates covering six gamma-ray burst error boxes has unveiled several star-like images. Unfortunately, the reality of none of these images can be proved by duplicate plates.A laboratory test was performed to get a more detailed estimation of the number of plate faults. The result emphasizes the necessity of duplicate synchronous plates to exclude plate defects.     

Method of density moment sums for photometric calibration of photographic plates

A new method — the method of moment density sums — is suggested for determining the characteristic curve of a plate as well as the magnitude zero point, using PDS microdensitometer measurements of stars of known brightness. It may be used for surface photometry of plates without sensitometer spots.     

Proper motions of 59 766 stars absolutized using galaxies in 149 sky fields (PUL2)

The PUL2 catalog has been photographically compiled in Pulkovo according to Deutch's plan. The catalog contains the mean coordinates of stars in the ICRS system at epoch J2000.0 and their original absolute proper motions. The photographic observations were performed with a normal astrograph. The first and second epochs of the photographic plates are 1937–1965 and 1969–1986, respectively. The PUL2 fields uniformly cover the northern sky. The mean difference between the epochs is 24 years. At least three pairs of plates are available for each field. There are one-hour and five-minute exposures on all plates. One pair of plates was taken with a diffraction grating. Only bright reference stars were measured on the pairs of plates with a grating. Based on a reduction model with six constants and using faint (\(15\mathop m\limits_. 2\)) reference stars, we determined the relative proper motions of the stars. We used ～700 galaxies for absolutization. The mean errors in the relative proper motions of the PUL2 stars are 5.5 mas yr^?1 (milliarcseconds per year) in μ_α cos δ and 5.9 mas yr^?1 in μ_δ. When using galaxies, the mean absolutization error is 7.9 mas yr^?1 in both coordinates. By comparing the PUL2 and HIPPARCOS catalogs, we determined the components of the residual rotation vector ω for HIPPARCOS relative to the extragalactic (equatorial) coordinate system: ω_x,y,z=(?0.98, ?0.03, ?1.66)±(0.47, 0.38, 0.42) mas yr^?1. The mean error of one absolute proper motion of a bright PUL2 star in external convergence is 9 mas yr^?1 in both coordinates.