John E. McCartney

Astrometry with Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor number 3: Position-mode stability and precision

We report results from a test exploring the long- and short-term astrometric stability of Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor #3. A test field was observed 40 times over 522 days to determine the precision and accuracy of FGS astrometry and to measure the character and magnitude of possible secular scale changes. We examine the astrometric data and the associated guide star data to determine random errors. These data are also explored to find sources of systematic error. After correcting for some systematic effects we obtain a precision of 0.002 arcsec (2 mas) per observation (RSS of x and y). This is relative astrometry within a central 2.5 arc minute FGS field of view of any orientation. We find that the scale varies over time and confirm the sense of the trend with independent data. From the 40 observation sets we produce a catalog of an astrometry test field containing 8 stars whose relative positions are well known to an average 0.7 and 0.9 mas in x and y. One reference star has a relative parallax of 3.1 ± 0.5 mas. Finally, we report that 11 observation sets acquired over 387 days produce parallaxes and relative positions with 1 mas precision.

Astrometry with the HST Planetary Camera

The astrometric capability of the Hubble Space Telescope Planetary Camera (WF/PC1) is investigated, motivated by a study of the internal velocity distribution of globular clusters. The astrometric accuracy of the HST PC will be determined ultimately by 1) the accuracy to which the aberrated images can be ‘centered’, and 2) the accuracy to which the distortions across the PC field can be modeled. A series of overlapping exposures of two clusters, NGC 6752 and M15, are utilized to examine these issues.

Pickles: A Wide-Field Imaging Tool

The program Pickles was developed as an aid for planning HST observations using the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Guide Star Catalogue, which was generated from wide-field Schmidt plates. Pickles reads the catalogue from CD-ROM and then displays a one-degree square field. The HST focal plane apertures can then be displayed singly or in any combination which is at the choice of the observer (Fig. 1). The user can generate an aperture of a different type if need be. The stars can be displayed as open or filled circles with their relative sizes indicating their magnitude. Stars or other objects can be added and saved with the field.

Current Status of the Astrometric Capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors

The Fine Guidance Sensors (FGSs) are the instrument of choice for most astrometric measurements with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The observed amount of spherical aberration in the Ritchey Chretien optical system does not affect positional measurements with perfectly aligned FGSs because they are interferometers. The FGSs combine wavefronts from points in the exit pupil with other points which are at the same radial distance from the optical axis. Asymmetric aberrations such as coma and astigmatism do affect the measured positions. The current knowledge of the HST wavefront error, the FGS operation and the implications for milliarcsecond relative astrometry are discussed. It is still planned to use the HST to tie the HIPPARCOS and VLBI Reference Frames together at the few milliarcsecond level.