
Ignoring this fact leads to biased results in the scientific interpretation of the data. Hence, the chosen sample almost never represents the true distribution of sources in the astrophysical parameter space. In addition, they may depend on the location on the sky or the source properties. A considerable amount of research and teaching related to astronomy is done in other units at Berkeley, including the Space Science Laboratory, Lawrence. By studying the parallax of stars, their absolute distances can be measured, and by measuring small angular changes over a long period of time, proper motion can be determined. Both issues are related to the properties of the astrometric survey and how the sample is chosen. Astrometry The measurement of angular distance s between objects in the sky. The main effects that can complicate the interpretation of astrometric data for samples of objects are summarized below.Īny sample chosen from an astrometric catalog will suffer from incompleteness in the data and selection effects. This chapter is focused on discussing these complicating effects with the aim of providing guidance on the optimal use of astrometric data in statistical studies.Įffects complicating the interpretation of astrometric data However, there are a number of effects that can lead to errors in the inference of astrophysical quantities and thus complicate the interpretation of astrometric data. Exoplanets - This section covers the study of planets known to exist around other stars. There is also information on some of the projects dealing with this - like SETI.

These studies become especially interesting now that astrometric catalogs are available with large numbers of parallaxes. Astrobiology - This section covers the relatively new field in astronomy - the possibility of life in our Solar System and the Universe. The applications are numerous and include luminosity calibration, star-cluster membership determination, separating the Galaxy's structural components, detecting low-contrast substructure in the Galactic halo, etc. It is extremely helpful to know the pixel scale (arcsec/pixel).

Often the mean value of the astrophysical quantity or a description of its distribution is sought. to Piotr Panik, astrometry Also, if you have images from the same instrument (same pixel scale, eg), please send links to those too. The term “statistical astrometry” refers to the inference of astrophysical quantities from samples (i.e.
