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The Celestial Reference Frame Defined by VLBI

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2017

C. Ma  and
D. B. Shaffer
C. Ma
Affiliation:
Goddard Space Flight Center, Geodynamics Branch 621.9, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 USA
D. B. Shaffer
Affiliation:
Interferometrics Inc., 8150 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia 22180 USA

Abstract

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VLBI currently produces the most accurate positions of celestial objects. From 1979 to 1987, 114 extragalactic radio sources have been observed with dual-frequency Mark III VLBI as part of the NASA Crustal Dynamics Project and the NGS POLARIS/IRIS program. The formal statistical errors of conventional celestial coordinates are as small as 0.3 milliarcseconds. The fundamental quantity measured by VLBI is the arc length between radio sources. Thus, we suggest that VLBI be used to establish a coordinate reference frame based solely on radio positions, and that this system not necessarily be coupled to right ascension and declination.

Type
Astrometry
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 129: The Impact of VLBI on Astrophysics and Geophysics , 1988 , pp. 325 - 326
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1988 

References

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