High Accuracy Astrometry Benefits for Celestial Mechanics

Abstract

Achieving angular accuracies at milli- and microarcsecond levels for objects within the solar system presents real challenges concerning the meaning of the observations due to the effects of phase and due to the sizes of the objects being observed. The use of retroreflectors or transmitters located on solar system objects may be the most promising technique.

However, if these accurate observations can be achieved, this provides the opportunity for significant improvements in the orbits of the planets, satellites, and minor planets, and will provide, or require, improvements in the models for the tidal interactions, secular accelerations, and masses. The observations will provide a test, or improvement, of the ties between radar, optical, and radio observations. This should provide an opportunity for improving the reductions of pulsar timing observations and improve our determination of the solar system reference system. This will also test the accuracy of the equivalence between Atomic Time and Dynamical Time. These accuracy levels should permit the discovery of other solar systems and the resulting increase in our knowledge, based on more than a single solar system.

Improvements in the accuracy level of observations provide increases in our knowledge and raises new challenges to explain the signatures detected by the observations.