Precision Tracking of Low-Earth Objects with a Modified Astronomical Mount.

摘要

A Boller & Chivens astronomical mount has been modified and upgraded to enable precision tracking of near-earth objects. A two-step process is employed: 1) ephemeris-based pointing to bring the object in or near the telescope field-of-view, and 2) automatic video tracking (AVT) to grab and center the object. Tracking rates in excess of 3 deg/s in each coordinate have been achieved. When operated in the AVT mode, observed pointing errors, even at the above rates, rarely exceed 1 pixet (2-5 arcsec). Keywords: Ephemeris based pointing; Automatic video tracking; Precision tracking; Reprints. (JHD)