Abstract:
Astrometry is the precise measurement of positions in the sky of stars and other celestial bodies. In this paper, measurements of asteroids and outer planet natural satellites are discussed. We used the Astro Mechanics, Ritchey-Chrétien reflecting, 0.6m telescope at Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) located in Wrightwood, CA. Equipped with a 4k CCD camera (the ProLine4096x4096 imaging array with 9μm pixels), using 180 second exposures, we imaged the asteroids and outer satellites. We calculated two to three different positions of the asteroids, with different star fields, to best obtain positions. We obtained many different accurate positions of asteroids and the observing conditions, which were noted, inputted, then reduced with other data. We submit our data to the Minor Planet Center, and by the Solar System Dynamics (SSD) group at JPL. The data are also used for predicting occulting events. Through the execution of several Linux reduction programs and scripts, we reduce the data for the most accurate orbital positions.
