Circle Scanning Systems of the U.S. Naval Observatory

Abstract

The transit circle telescope is a well known astrometric instrument which produces accurate right ascensions and declinations of celestial objects. This paper is primarily concerned with systems developed at the U.S. Naval Observatory to read divided circles electronically and subsequently generate more precise declinations of the observed objects. The development of these sophisticated circle scanning systems has led to the discovery of short period instabilities of the circles.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA594907

Entities

People

  • B. L. Klock
  • T. J. Rafferty

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Arc Lamps
  • Charge Coupled Devices
  • Data Acquisition
  • Electronics
  • Focal Planes
  • Images
  • Instability
  • Lamps
  • Observation
  • Observatories
  • Photodiodes
  • Precision
  • Scanning
  • Stainless Steel
  • Steel
  • Telescopes

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Data Science/Digital Signal Processing.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects