Issue |
Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser.
Volume 138, Number 1, July 1999
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 155 - 162 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/aas:1999269 | |
Published online | 15 July 1999 |
Error due to atmospheric turbulence effects on solar diameter measurements performed with an astrolabe
1
C.R.A.A.G, Observatoire d'Alger, BP. 63, Bouzaréah Alger, Algeria e-mail: irbah@unice.fr
2
Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, UMR 6525 Astrophysique, Parc Valrose, F-06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
3
Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Département C.E.R.G.A, Avenue Copernic, F-06130 Grasse, France
Send offprint request to: J. Borgnino
Received:
15
March
1999
Accepted:
26
May
1999
Diameter measurements performed with the solar astrolabe are affected by
instrumental and atmospheric effects. The problem is to know how these effects
contribute to the error on diameter measurements. Thus, a numerical simulation
is developed to bring some responses to this problem. For this purpose,
synthetic images of the Sun similar to the ones obtained by the instrument
through the Earth atmosphere are simulated. A fractal model is used to
generate randomly perturbed wavefronts and therefore optical response of the
whole system, atmosphere and instrument. Many sequences of solar images are
then simulated for various observation conditions (Fried's parameter r0,
spatial coherence outer scale and atmospheric characteristic
times). They are used to define the time of contact of the direct and
reflected solar images which is fundamental in the solar astrolabe experiment.
It is then studied as a function of the observation conditions relatively to
the experimental characteristics (exposure time).
Key words: Sun: fundamental parameters / atmospheric effects / methods: numerical
© European Southern Observatory (ESO), 1999