Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-hybrid arrays have become competitive optical detectors for use in ground- and space-based astronomy. Interpixel capacitance (IPC) is one source of error that appears in most CMOS arrays. In this paper, we use a single-pixel-reset method to model IPC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObservations of the long-lived emission--or 'afterglow'--of long-duration gamma-ray bursts place them at cosmological distances, but the origin of these energetic explosions remains a mystery. Observations of optical emission contemporaneous with the burst of gamma-rays should provide insight into the details of the explosion, as well as into the structure of the surrounding environment. One bright optical flash was detected during a burst, but other efforts have produced negative results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerbig-Haro (HH) objects have been known for 50 years to be luminous condensations of gas in star-forming regions, but their underlying physical nature is still being elucidated. Previously suggested models encompass newborn stars, stellar winds clashing with nebular material, dense pockets of interstellar gas excited by shocks from outflows, and interstellar 'bullets' (ref. 6).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNear-Earth asteroids are small (diameters < 10 km), rocky bodies with orbits that approach that of the Earth (they come within 1.3 AU of the Sun). Most have a chance of approximately 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe high level of spatial uniformity in modern CCD's makes them excellent devices for astrometric instruments. However, at the level of accuracy envisioned by the more ambitious projects such as the Astrometric Imaging Telescope, current technology produces CCD's with significant pixel registration errors. We describe a technique for making high-precision measurements of relative pixel positions.
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