Measuring Astronomical Distances with Linear Programming

Autor/in	Narain, Akshar
Titel	Measuring Astronomical Distances with Linear Programming
Quelle	In: Physics Teacher, 53 (2015) 5, S.300-303 (4 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0031-921X
DOI	10.1119/1.4917439
Schlagwörter	Science Instruction; Measurement Techniques; Space Sciences; Astronomy; Laboratory Equipment; Computation; Educational Technology; Photography; Mathematical Applications + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Messtechnik; Astronomie; Laborausstattung; Unterrichtsmedien; Fotografie; Angewandte Mathematik; Innermathematische Anwendung
Abstract	A few years ago it was suggested that the distance to celestial bodies could be computed by tracking their position over about 24 hours and then solving a regression problem. One only needed to use inexpensive telescopes, cameras, and astrometry tools, and the experiment could be done from one's backyard. However, it is not obvious to an amateur what the regression problem is and how to solve it. This paper identifies that problem and shows how to solve it with linear programming. It also takes into account the body's celestial latitude to improve the method's accuracy. The new method is validated both with simulated and actual data to compute distances to asteroids to within 1% of correct values. It can be used as a new tutorial for amateurs to see how consumer-grade astrophotography and free astrometry and optimization tools come together to solve an important problem. It can also be used as a tool in crowdsourced detection of dangerous asteroids. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01