The Astrometric Performance Test of 80-cm Telescope at Yaoan Station and Precise CCD Positions of Apophis

TL;DR

This study evaluates the astrometric performance of a newly installed 80-cm telescope at Yaoan Station, focusing on geometric distortion, limiting magnitude, and accuracy in tracking faint moving objects like asteroid Apophis.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive assessment of the telescope's astrometric capabilities, including distortion stability, star detection limits, and precise positioning of a potentially hazardous asteroid.

Findings

Geometric distortion is stable over a year with maximum 0.79 pixel.

Stars of magnitude 20.5 can be detected with 0.14 arcsec error.

Astrometric measurements of Apophis show high consistency with minimal residuals.

Abstract

The 80-cm azimuthal telescope is newly mounted at Yaoan Station, Purple Mountain Observatory in 2018. The astrometric performance of the telescope is tested in the following three aspects. (a) The geometric distortion of its CCD attached. It is stable in both a single epoch and multi epochs. Eight distortion solutions are derived over about one year. The maximum values range from 0.75 to 0.79 pixel and the median values range from 0.14 to 0.16 pixel. (b) The limit magnitude of stars. About 20.5 magnitude (Gaia-G) stars can be detected with Johnson-V filter exposured in 300 seconds. The astrometric error of about 20.5 magnitude stars is estimated at 0.14 arcsec using the fitted sigmoidal function. (c) The astrometric accuracy and the precision of stacked fast-moving faint object. 24 stacked frames of the potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) (99942) Apophis are derived on April 14 and 15, 2021 (fainter than 18 mag) based on the ephemeris shifts. During data reduction, the newest Gaia EDR3 Catalog and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons ephemeris are referenced as theoretical positions of stars and Apophis, respectively. Our results show that the mean (O-C)s (observed minus computed) of Apophis are -0.018 and 0.020 arcsec in right ascention and declination, and the dispersions are estimated at 0.094 and 0.085 arcsec, respectively, which show the consistency of the stacked results by Astrometrica.