Use of the Long Baseline Array in Australia for Precise Geodesy and Absolute Astrometry

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Contents Vol 26(1)

doi:10.1071/AS08030

Use of the Long Baseline Array in Australia for Precise Geodesy and Absolute Astrometry

Leonid Petrov ^A ^G, Chris Phillips ^B, Alessandra Bertarini ^C, Adam Deller ^D, Sergei Pogrebenko ^E, Ari Mujunen ^F

^A ADNET Systems, Inc./NASA GSFC, Code 610.2, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
^B Australia Telescope National Facility, Australia
^C Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Nussallee 17, Bonn, Germany
^D Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing Swinburne University, Hawthorn VIC 3123, Australia
^E Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry in Europe, The Netherlands
^F Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Helsinki University of Technology TKK, Finland
^G Corresponding author. Email: Leonid.Petrov@lpetrov.net





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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 26(1) 75–84 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AS08030
Submitted: 29 October 2008 Accepted: 12 January 2009 Published online: 2 April 2009

Abstract

We report the results of a successful 12-hour 22-GHz VLBI experiment using a heterogeneous network that includes radio telescopes of the Long Baseline Array (LBA) in Australia and several VLBI stations that regularly observe in geodetic VLBI campaigns. We have determined positions of three VLBI stations, atca-104, ceduna and mopra, with an accuracy of 4–30 mm using a novel technique of data analysis. These stations have never before participated in geodetic experiments. We observed 105 radio sources, and amongst them 5 objects which have not previously been observed with VLBI. We have determined positions of these new sources with the accuracy of 2–5 mas. We make the conclusion that the LBA network is capable of conducting absolute astrometry VLBI surveys with an accuracy better than 5 mas.

Keywords: instrumentation: interferometers — techniques: interferometric — reference systems