Moon camera

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The moon camera is an astrometry measuring instrument with which the apparent path of the moon under the fixed stars can be precisely measured.

There are two problems to be overcome:

  • the rapid movement of the moon, which is the width of a full moon in about 50 minutes;
  • its high brightness , which requires special filters for a good photographic image.

The most accurate lunar camera to date was developed by geodesist W. Markowitz in the early 1960s . With her, filtering and tracking were solved by an optical plane plate with a recording micrometer .

The moon camera has a high level of precision that can reach around 0.01 " with longer series of measurements . However, it is rarely used today, as laser measurements to the moon ( lunar laser ranging ) are now more precise and largely automatic.

literature

Markowitz Wm .: Photographic determination of the moon's position, and applications to the measure of time, rotation of the earth, and geodesy . Astronomical Journal, Vol. 59, p. 69 (1954) ( online )

Markowitz Wm .: Variations in rotation of the earth, results obtained with the dual-rate moon camera and photographic zenith tubes . Dirk Brouwer, ed .: The Rotation of the Earth and Atomic Time Standards, IAU Symposium no.11, Moscow, August 1958. Lancaster Press 1959, p.26 ( online )