Struve - Space Astrometry and Photometry Project

Extract

The Space Astrometry and Photometry Project Struve is being designed at the Pulkovo Observatory in cooperation with other Russian space institutes. It is expected to be launched before 2010 with a duration of mission of at least 36 months.

The main objectives are to extend at milliarcsecond accuracy the Hipparcos satellite reference system to fainter objects including quasars and to get a second epoch for Hipparcos stars. The project Struve, along with the recently suggested project DIVA, will fill the intermediate place between Hipparcos and microarcsecond astrometry. Unlike DIVA, we propose far more extensive astrometric and photometric surveys.

We expect an Output Catalogue of 20 million stars (density of about 500 stars per square degree). A sky survey will be complete down to V = 14 (about 15 million stars), and selected objects down to V = 19.5 will be observed within a special program. The proper motions of the Hipparcos stars will be determined with an accuracy of about 0.1 mas/yr. The mean accuracy of star positions in the output catalogue is expected to be 0.6 mas which could be achieved by proper design of the satellite (symmetry, smooth rotation etc.), optics and the micrometer. A properly designed micrometer (with CCD arrays, special processors for image processing and the compression of the data flux to the ground station) will give the possibility of observing all objects of the sky down to a definite limiting magnitude.