Geodetic astronomy or astronomical geodesy (astro-geodesy) is the application of

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, ...

methods into

geodetic network A geodetic control network (also geodetic network, reference network, control point network, or control network) is a network, often of triangles, which are measured precisely by techniques of terrestrial surveying or by satellite geodesy. A ...

s and other technical projects of

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), Earth rotation, orientation in space, and Earth's gravity, gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properti ...

Applications

The most important applications are: * Establishment of

geodetic datum A geodetic datum or geodetic system (also: geodetic reference datum, geodetic reference system, or geodetic reference frame) is a global datum reference or reference frame for precisely representing the position of locations on Earth or other p ...

systems (e.g.

ED50 ED50 ("European Datum 1950", EPSG:4230) is a geodetic datum which was defined after World War II for the international connection of geodetic networks. Background Some of the important battles of World War II were fought on the borders of Ger ...

) or at expeditions *

apparent places The apparent place of an object is its position in space as seen by an observer. Because of physical and geometrical effects it may differ from the "true" or "geometric" position. Astronomy In astronomy, a distinction is made between the ''mean ...

of stars, and their

proper motion Proper motion is the astrometric measure of the observed changes in the apparent places of stars or other celestial objects in the sky, as seen from the center of mass of the Solar System, compared to the abstract background of the more dista ...

s * precise astronomical navigation * astro-geodetic

geoid The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is exten ...

determination * modelling the rock densities of the topography and of

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

layers in the

subsurface In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bedro ...

* Monitoring of the

Earth rotation Earth's rotation or Earth's spin is the rotation of planet Earth around its own axis, as well as changes in the orientation of the rotation axis in space. Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion. As viewed from the northern polar star Polar ...

and polar wandering * Contribution to the time system of physics and

geosciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spher ...

Measuring techniques

Important measuring techniques are: *

Latitude determination In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north po ...

and

longitude determination Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter ...

, by

theodolite A theodolite () is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying, but it is also used extensively for building and ...

s, tacheometers,

astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate incli ...

s or zenith cameras *

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

and

star position Star position is the apparent angular position of any given star in the sky, which seems fixed onto an arbitrary sphere centered on Earth. The location is defined by a pair of angular coordinates relative to the celestial equator: right asce ...

s by observation of

star transit A star transit is the passage of a star across the field of view of a telescope eyepiece. The precise observation of star transits is the basis of many methods in astronomy and in geodesy. The measurements can be done in different ways: # visually ...

s, e.g. by

meridian circle The meridian circle is an instrument for timing of the passage of stars across the local meridian, an event known as a culmination, while at the same time measuring their angular distance from the nadir. These are special purpose telescopes mount ...

s (visual, photographic or CCD) *

Azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematicall ...

determination ** for the exact orientation of

s ** for mutual

transformation Transformation may refer to: Science and mathematics In biology and medicine * Metamorphosis, the biological process of changing physical form after birth or hatching * Malignant transformation, the process of cells becoming cancerous * Tran ...

s between terrestrial and space methods ** for improved accuracy by means of "

Laplace point Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the ...

s" at special fixed points *

Vertical deflection determination The vertical deflection (VD) or deflection of the vertical (DoV), also known as deflection of the plumb line and astro-geodetic deflection, is a measure of how far the gravity direction at a given point of interest is rotated by local mass anom ...

and their use ** in

geoid determination The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extend ...

** in mathematical reduction of very precise networks ** for geophysical and

purposes (see above) * Modern

spatial Spatial may refer to: *Dimension *Space *Three-dimensional space Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determ ...

methods **

VLBI Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. T ...

with radio sources (

quasar A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass rangin ...

s) **

Astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way. Histor ...

of stars by scanning satellites like

Hipparcos ''Hipparcos'' was a scientific satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 1989 and operated until 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions of celestial obj ...

or the future

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthe ...

. The

accuracy Accuracy and precision are two measures of '' observational error''. ''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their '' true value'', while ''precision'' is how close the measurements are to each ot ...

of these methods depends on the instrument and its spectral wavelength, the measuring or scanning method, the time amount (versus economy), the

atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

situation, the stability of the surface resp. the satellite, on mechanical and

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...

effects to the instrument, on the experience and skill of the

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

, and on the accuracy of the physical-mathematical models. Therefore, the accuracy reaches from 60" (navigation, ~1 mile) to 0,001" and better (a few cm; satellites, VLBI), e.g.: *

angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

s (

vertical Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...

deflections and

azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematicall ...

s) ±1" up to 0,1" * geoid determination & height systems ca. 5 cm up to 0,2 cm *

lat/long and star positions ±1" up to 0,01" *

HIPPARCOS ''Hipparcos'' was a scientific satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 1989 and operated until 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions of celestial obj ...

star positions ±0,001" *

quasar positions and Earth's rotation poles 0,001 to 0,0001" (cm...mm) Astrogeodetic

leveling Levelling or leveling (American English; see spelling differences) is a branch of surveying, the object of which is to establish or verify or measure the height of specified points relative to a datum. It is widely used in geodesy and cartogra ...

is a local

method based on

vertical deflection The vertical deflection (VD) or deflection of the vertical (DoV), also known as deflection of the plumb line and astro-geodetic deflection, is a measure of how far the gravity direction at a given point of interest is rotated by local mass anom ...

measurements. Given a starting value at one point, determining the

geoid undulation The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is exten ...

s for an area becomes a matter for simple

integration Integration may refer to: Biology * Multisensory integration * Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technolo ...

of vertical deflection, as it represents the horizontal

spatial gradient {{unreferenced, date=July 2016 A spatial gradient is a gradient whose components are spatial derivatives, i.e., rate of change of a given scalar physical quantity with respect to the position coordinates. Homogeneous regions have spatial gradient ...

of the geoid undulation.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geodetic Astronomy Geodesy Astronomical sub-disciplines

Applications

Measuring techniques

See also

References

External links