Completing the K-band Celestial Reference Frame in the Southern Hemisphere
Loading...
Permanent Link
Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2014
Type of Work
Department
Program
Citation of Original Publication
de Witt, A.; Bertarini, A.; Horiuchi, S.; Jacobs, C.S.; Jung, T.; Lovell, J.E.J.; McCallum, J.N.; Quick, J.F.H.; Sohn, B.W.; Phillips, C.; Ojha, R.; Completing the K-band Celestial Reference Frame in the Southern Hemisphere; http://ivscc.bkg.bund.de/publications/gm2014/093_deWitt_etal.pdf
Rights
This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
Public Domain Mark 1.0
This is a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law
Public Domain Mark 1.0
This is a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law
Subjects
Abstract
K-band (22 GHz) radio observations have the potential to form the basis for the most accurate Celestial Reference Frame(CRF) ever constructed. Relative to the standard S/X (2.3/8.4 GHz) observing bands, K-band is expected to exhibit a reduction in extended source morphology and core-shift. This reduction in astrophysical systematics should allow for a more stable CRF at K-band and should also be advantageous in tying the VLBI radio frame to the Gaia optical frame. K-band CRF observations currently exist only from the all-northern Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and therefore must be complimented by observations from southern arrays in order to realize this potential. A collaboration was formed with the goal of completing sky coverage at K-band with specific emphasis on the Southern Hemisphere where K-band CRF coverage is weak. Southern hemisphere observations to densify the CRF at K-band are under way and preliminary astrometric observations were carried out on 23 August 2013 between telescopes in Australia (Hobart 26m), Korea (Tamna 21m), and South Africa (HartRAO 26m). More extensive astrometric observations were carried out on 21/22 December 2013 that also included the Tidbinbilla 70-m DSN antenna in Australia. A proposal for imaging source structure at K-band has been submitted to the Australian Telescope-Long Baseline Array (AT-LBA). We discuss some of our results as well as the implications for K-band CRF work.