info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Using stars to determine the absolute pointing of the fluorescence detector telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory
Registro en:
de Donato, Cinzia; Prouza, Michael; Sanchez, Federico; Santander, Marcos; Camin, Daniel; et al.; Using stars to determine the absolute pointing of the fluorescence detector telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory; Elsevier Science; Astroparticle Physics; 28; 2; 10-2007; 216-231
0927-6505
Autor
de Donato, Cinzia
Prouza, Michael
Sanchez, Federico
Santander, Marcos
Camin, Daniel
Garcia, Beatriz Elena
Grassi, Valerio
Grygar, Jirí
Hrabovsky, Miroslav
Rídky, Jan
Schovánek, Petr
Trávnícek, Petr
Resumen
We describe in this paper two methods to accurately determine the absolute pointing of the fluorescence detector (FD) telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Our aim is to provide reliable and precise procedures to check and monitor the absolute telescope’s pointing and its long-term stability during the whole life of the project, estimated to be about 20 years. The two methods described, called ‘‘single pixel method’’ and ‘‘star track method’’, are based on the FD capability to be sensitive to signals left by stars traversing the telescope field of view. As the star positions in the sky are known with very high precision, the identification of the star signals provides a powerful tool to check the telescope alignment. We used data acquired during regular observation periods in 2004 and we demonstrated that the two methods presented in this paper provide compatible sets of pointing directions. Fil: de Donato, Cinzia. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italia Fil: Prouza, Michael. Columbia University; Estados Unidos. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Checa Fil: Sanchez, Federico. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Santander, Marcos. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina Fil: Camin, Daniel. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italia Fil: Garcia, Beatriz Elena. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Grassi, Valerio. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italia Fil: Grygar, Jirí. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Checa Fil: Hrabovsky, Miroslav. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Checa Fil: Rídky, Jan. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Checa Fil: Schovánek, Petr. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Checa Fil: Trávnícek, Petr. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Checa