2018/01/31 by Donald G. Bruns · 2 voices · 43 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Deflection (physics) #Eclipse #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Optics #Physics #Sky #Solar eclipse #Starlight #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.IM #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1361-6382/aaaf2a
published in Classical and Quantum Gravity 35(7), 075009 (IOP Publishing) · 21 pages, 11 figures, 6 tables. Submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity
arxiv created 2018/01/31 · openalex publication_date 2018/02/14 · arxiv updated 2018/03/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Precise star positions near the Sun were measured during the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse in order to measure their gravitational deflections. The equipment, procedures, and analysis are described in detail. A portable refractor, a CCD camera, and a computerized mount were set up in Wyoming. Detailed calibrations were necessary to improve accuracy and precision. Nighttime measurements taken just before the eclipse provided cubic optical distortion corrections. Calibrations based on star field images 7.4° on both sides of the Sun taken during totality gave linear and quadratic plate constants. A total of 45 images of the sky surrounding the Sun were acquired during the middle part of totality, with an integrated exposure of 22 s. The deflection analysis depended on accurate star positions from the USNO’s UCAC5 star catalog. The final result was a deflection coefficient L = 1.7512 arcsec, in perfect agreement with the theoretical value, with an uncertainty of only 3%.