Speckle Interferometry at the US Naval Observatory. X.

Abstract

The results of 3047 speckle interferometric observations of double stars, made with the 26 inch (66 cm) refractor of the US Naval Observatory, are presented. Each speckle interferometric observation of a system represents a combination of over a thousand short-exposure images. These observations are averaged into 1572 mean relative positions and range in separation from 0B20 to 62B86, with a median separation of 4B19. This is the 10th in a series of papers presenting measures obtained with this system and covers the period 2003 January 13 through 2003 December 1. Included in these data are nine older measures whose positions were previously deemed possibly aberrant but are no longer classified this way following a confirming observation. Four of these systems have new orbital elements, which are presented here as well.

Speckle Interferometry at the US Naval Observatory. XII.

“…Hartkopf et al (2006b, in preparation). (4) This measure was inconsistent with previous measures and so was not included in Mason et al (2004a). These data confirm the residual trend.…”

Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with a 0.5 m Telescope

“…In the case of the separation, these values were 0Љ .010 and 0Љ .046, respectively. Our measurements O Ϫ C for a number of stars can be directly compared to the most recent results achieved by Mason et al (2004aMason et al ( , 2004b with 0.66 m USNO refractor. On average, our values for the discrepancies between observed and ephemeris positions are close to those given by Mason et al. As a by-product of our speckle interferometry, we obtained the speckle frames of bright extended objects, such as Saturn, Io, and Ganymede.…”

“…Many such projects have been completed in the last few years (e.g., Mason et al 2004aMason et al , 2004bPrieur et al 2003;Scardia et al 2005). Substantial technical and programming improvements, as well as the widespread use of CCD cameras among small observatories and amateur astronomers, make it possible to perform both speckle observations of binary stars (with quite good precision) and diffraction-limited speckle imaging of compact extended objects.…”

Commission 26: Double and Multiple Stars

“…Most observations have been carried out on the USNO 26-inch refractor, with nearly 4,200 measures published or in press since mid-2002 (c.f., Mason et al 2004aMason et al , 2004b, despite suspension of observing during much of 2004 as the historic Clark refractor underwent extensive electrical and mechanical upgrades. Much of this observing effort has been directed toward duplicity confirmations and observations of systems not measured for many years, as well as regular monitoring of potential orbit systems.…”