Newcomb: a small astrometric interferometer

James D. Phillips; Robert W. Babcock; Marc A. Murison; Robert D. Reasenberg; Allen J. Bronowicki; Milton H. Gran; Charles F. Lillie; William McKinley; Robert J. Zielinski

doi:10.1117/12.212993

26 June 1995 Newcomb: a small astrometric interferometer

James D. Phillips, Robert W. Babcock, Marc A. Murison, Robert D. Reasenberg, Allen J. Bronowicki, Milton H. Gran, Charles F. Lillie, William McKinley, Robert J. Zielinski

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Proceedings Volume 2477, Spaceborne Interferometry II; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.212993
Event: SPIE's 1995 Symposium on OE/Aerospace Sensing and Dual Use Photonics, 1995, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Newcomb is a design concept for a low-cost astrometric optical interferometer with nominal single-measurement accuracy of 100 microseconds of arc ((mu) as). In a 30 month mission, it will make scientifically interesting measurements of O-star, RR Lyrae, and Cepheid distances, probe the dark matter in our Galaxy via parallax measurements of K giants in the disk, establish a reference grid with internal consistency better than 50 microsecond(s) , and lay groundwork for the larger optical interferometers that are expected to produce a profusion of scientific results during the next century. With an extended mission life, Newcomb could do a useful preliminary search for other planetary systems.

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James D. Phillips, Robert W. Babcock, Marc A. Murison, Robert D. Reasenberg, Allen J. Bronowicki, Milton H. Gran, Charles F. Lillie, William McKinley, and Robert J. Zielinski "Newcomb: a small astrometric interferometer", Proc. SPIE 2477, Spaceborne Interferometry II, (26 June 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.212993

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