An improved astrometric calibration technique for space debris observation  

作　　者：Rong-Yu Sun Chang-Yin Zhao Yao Lu 

机构地区：[1]Purple Mountain Observatory,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Nanjing 210008,China [2]Key Laboratory of Space Object and Debris Observation,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Nanjing 210008,China [3]University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China

出　　处：《Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics》2016年第2期81-88,共8页天文和天体物理学研究（英文版）

基　　金：funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11125315,11403108 and 11273069);the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS(2015252)

摘　　要：An optical survey is the main technique for detecting space debris. Due to the specific character- istics of observation, the pointing errors and tracking errors of the telescope as well as image degradation may be significant, which make it difficult for astrometric calibration. Here we present an improved method that corrects the pointing and tracking errors, and measures the image position precisely. The pipeline is tested on a number of CCD images obtained from a 1-m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory while observing a GPS satellite. The results show that the position measurement error of the background stars is around 0.1 pixel, while the time cost for a single frame is about 7.5 s; hence the relia- bility and accuracy of our method are demonstrated. In addition, our method shows a versatile and feasible way to perform space debris observation utilizing non-dedicated telescopes, which means more sensors could be involved and the ability to perform surveys could be improved.An optical survey is the main technique for detecting space debris. Due to the specific character- istics of observation, the pointing errors and tracking errors of the telescope as well as image degradation may be significant, which make it difficult for astrometric calibration. Here we present an improved method that corrects the pointing and tracking errors, and measures the image position precisely. The pipeline is tested on a number of CCD images obtained from a 1-m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory while observing a GPS satellite. The results show that the position measurement error of the background stars is around 0.1 pixel, while the time cost for a single frame is about 7.5 s; hence the relia- bility and accuracy of our method are demonstrated. In addition, our method shows a versatile and feasible way to perform space debris observation utilizing non-dedicated telescopes, which means more sensors could be involved and the ability to perform surveys could be improved.

关 键 词：TECHNIQUES image processing -- space vehicles -- astrometry -- methods data analysis 

分 类 号：P129[天文地球—天体测量]