Blind date: using proper motions to determine the ages of historical images.
BARRON J.T., HOGG D.W., LANG D. and ROWEIS S.
Abstract (from CDS):
Astrometric calibration is based on patterns of cataloged stars and therefore effectively assumes a particular epoch, which can be substantially incorrect for historical images. With the known proper motions of stars we can "run back the clock" to an approximation of the night sky in any given year, and in principle the year that best fits stellar patterns in any given image is an estimate of the year in which that image was taken. In this paper, we use 47 scanned photographic images of M44 spanning the years 1910-1975 to demonstrate this technique. We use only the pixel information in each image; we use no prior information or metadata about image pointing, scale, orientation, or date. Blind Date returns date metadata for each input image. It also improves the astrometric calibration of the image because the final astrometric calibration is performed at the appropriate epoch. The accuracy and reliability of Blind Date are functions of image size, pointing, angular resolution, and depth; performance is related to the sum of proper-motion signal-to-noise ratios for catalog stars measured in the input image. All of the science-quality images and 90% of the low-quality images in our sample of photographic plate images of M44 have their dates reliably determined to within a decade, while 75% of our science-quality images have their dates reliably determined to within 3 years. This method has the potential to insert "lost" data into incomplete sets of time-domain imaging, improving constraints from historical data on transients, variable stars, stellar motions, and minor planet orbits.
(Ref) Object type as listed in the reference "Ref"
(acronym) Object type linked to the acronym according to the original reference
() Anterior to 2007, before we can link the objet type to a reference, or given by the CDS team in some particular cases
Syntax of coordinates is : "ra dec (wtype) [error ellipse] quality bibcode" :
ra dec : right ascension and declination (unit and frame defined according to your Output Options)
Grey values are increasing the original precision due to the computation of frame transformations
(wtype) : wavelength class for the origin of the coordinates (Rad, mm, IR, Optical, UV, Xray, Gam)
[error ellipse] : measurement uncertainty, on (ra,dec) if the positional angle is 90 degrees, on (majaxis,minaxis) otherwise (in mas at defined epoch in the original catalogue),
position angle (in degrees North celestial pole to East)
Syntax of coordinates is : "ra dec (wtype) [error ellipse] quality bibcode" :
ra dec : right ascension and declination (unit and frame defined according to your Output Options)
Grey values are increasing the original precision due to the computation of frame transformations
(wtype) : wavelength class for the origin of the coordinates (Rad, mm, IR, Optical, UV, Xray, Gam)
[error ellipse] : measurement uncertainty, on (ra,dec) if the positional angle is 90 degrees, on (majaxis,minaxis) otherwise (in mas at defined epoch in the original catalogue),
position angle (in degrees North celestial pole to East)
quality : flag of quality
E ≥ 10"
D : 1-10" (and some old data)
C : 0.1-1"
B : 0.01-0.1" + 2MASS, Tyc
A : VLBI, Hipparcos
bibcode : bibcode of the coordinates reference
FK4
coord.
(ep=B1950 eq=1950) :
08 37 20.9 +19 47 56
[
]
Syntax of coordinates is : "ra dec (wtype) [error ellipse] quality bibcode" :
ra dec : right ascension and declination (unit and frame defined according to your Output Options)
Grey values are increasing the original precision due to the computation of frame transformations
(wtype) : wavelength class for the origin of the coordinates (Rad, mm, IR, Optical, UV, Xray, Gam)
[error ellipse] : measurement uncertainty, on (ra,dec) if the positional angle is 90 degrees, on (majaxis,minaxis) otherwise (in mas at defined epoch in the original catalogue),
position angle (in degrees North celestial pole to East)
quality : flag of quality
E ≥ 10"
D : 1-10" (and some old data)
C : 0.1-1"
B : 0.01-0.1" + 2MASS, Tyc
A : VLBI, Hipparcos
bibcode : bibcode of the coordinates reference
Gal
coord.
(ep=J2000) :
205.9525 +32.4278
[
]
Syntax of proper motions is : "pm-ra pm-dec [error ellipse] quality bibcode"
pm-ra : mu-ra*cos(dec) (expressed in the ICRS system in mas/yr)
pm-dec : mu-dec (expressed in the ICRS system in mas/yr)
[error ellipse] : error major axis and minor axis (in mas), orientation angle (in deg)
quality : flag of quality (A=best quality -> E=worst quality, {� } =unknown quality)
Syntax of radial velocity (or/and redshift) is : "value [error] (wavelength) quality bibcode"
value : radial velocity or/and redshift (Heliocentric frame) according to your Output Options
(redshift may be not displayed if the data value is <0 and the database inside value is a radial velocity)
[error] : error of the corresponding value displayed before
(wavelength) : wavelength range of the measurement : Rad, mm, IR, Opt, UV, Xray, Gam or '∼'(unknown)
quality : flag of quality ( A=best quality -> E=worst quality, ∼=unknown quality)
References (1568 between 1850 and 2024) (Total 1568)
Simbad bibliographic survey began in 1850 for stars (at least bright stars) and in 1983 for all other objects (outside the solar system).
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