Abstract

The formation of a photographic image of a star on a plate by having a telescope assume the functions of the camera is described. The factors which contribute to the spreading of the light from a star on the emulsion, and those which bring about deviations from a “flawless” (usually gnomonic) projection of the stars onto the plate are analyzed. The amount by which the measured position of an image deviates from the position prescribed by the flawless projection depends on the position of the image on the plate, the intensity, and the spectrum of the star. Methods are given to show how measured positions can be freed from these deviations and thus reduced to “flawless” positions, and examples are quoted showing where and how these methods have been applied.

© 1963 Optical Society of America

A Direct Analyzer for Stellar Images

Stanley H. Zisk and Robert A. Fish
Appl. Opt. 2(1) 31-39 (1963)

Problems of Long-Focus Photographic Astrometry

Peter van de Kamp
Appl. Opt. 2(1) 9-15 (1963)

The 60-in. (152-cm) Astrometric Reflector of the U.S. Naval Observatory

K. Aa. Strand
Appl. Opt. 2(1) 1-7 (1963)

Image Orthicon Astronomy at the Dearborn Observatory

William T. Powers and Richard S. Aikens
Appl. Opt. 2(2) 157-163 (1963)

The Effects of Telescopes on Astronomical Polarization Measurements

R. H. Miller
Appl. Opt. 2(1) 61-65 (1963)