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The Luyten – Control Data Stellar Proper Motion Measuring Machine*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

James Newcomb*
Affiliation:
Control Data Corporation

Extract

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The discovery and measurement of stellar proper motions has always been associated with machines: for proper motion measurements involve four activities: observation, recording, comparison and measurement. Participation by the astronomer in these activities has step by step been replaced partically or wholly by machines. First the observation and recording functions changed from visual to photographic – with the fine guiding done by the astronomer; then the comparison by the blink microscope and the measurement by visually operated measuring machines. On a comparative time scale, the next step – automation of the comparison and measurement function – has been much money, time, and effort away from the previous steps, but as this presentation and other presentations at this conference will show, machines of varying degrees of automation and astronomer participation are now in operation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Minnesota 1970

Footnotes

*

This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the University of Minnesota, Prime Contract NSR24-005-062.

References

* This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the University of Minnesota, Prime Contract NSR24-005-062.