Abstract
We have estimated the antenna axis offsets of VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) telescopes using VLBI data from 1995 to 2013. These were compared to values estimated in terrestrial surveys. We generally found an agreement of a few millimeters, however, occasionally the differences were larger than 1 cm. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of the axis offset on the terrestrial and the celestial reference frames derived by VLBI. This was done by comparing the reference frames estimated simultaneously with the axis offset with those estimated when the axis offsets were fixed to their a priori values. For a telescope with azimuth-elevation mount we found that an error in the axis offset of 1 cm causes an error in the station height of about 1.3 cm.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Altamimi Z, Collilieux X, Métivier L (2011) ITRF2008: an improved solution of the international terrestrial reference frame. J Geod 85(8):457–473. doi:10.1007/s00190-011-0444-4
Böhm J, Böhm S, Nilsson T, Pany A, Plank L, Spicakova H, Teke K, Schuh H (2012) The new Vienna VLBI software. In: Kenyon S, Pacino MC, Marti U (eds) IAG Scientific Assembly 2009, no. 136 in International Association of Geodesy Symposia. Springer, Buenos Aires, pp 1007–1011. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-20338-1_126
Combrinck WL, Merry CL (1997) Very long baseline interferometry antenna axis offset and intersection determination using GPS. J Geophys Res 102(B11):24741–24743. doi:10.1029/97JB02081
Fey A, Gordon D, Jacobs CS (eds) (2009) The second realization of the international celestial reference frame by very long baseline interferometry. Verlag des Bundesamts für Kartographie und Geodäsie, Frankfurt am Main, IERS Technical Note 35
Harvey BR (1991) Telescope axis surveys. Aust J Geod Photogram Surv 54:1–18
Hase H, Behrend D, Ma C, Petrachenko B, Schuh H, Whitney A (2012) The emerging VGOS network of the IVS. In: Behrend D, Baver KD (eds) IVS 2012 General Meeting Proceedings Launching the Next-Generation IVS Network, NASA/CP-2012-217504, pp 8–12. http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/gm2012/hase.pdf
Heinkelmann R, Nilsson T, Karbon M, Liu L, Lu C, Mora-Diaz JA, Parselia E, Raposo-Pulido V, Soja B, Xu M, Schuh H (2014) The GFZ VLBI solution—characteristics and first results. In: Behrend D, Baver KD, Armstrong K (eds) Proceedings of the Eight IVS General Meeting: VGOS: The New VLBI Network, pp 330–334. ftp://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/general-meeting/2014/pdf/071_Heinkelmann_etal.pdf
Krásná H, Böhm J, Plank L, Nilsson T, Schuh H (2014a) Atmospheric effects on VLBI-derived terrestrial and celestial reference frames. In: Rizos C, Willis P (eds) Earth on the edge: science for a sustainable planet. International Association of Geodesy Symposia, vol 139. Springer, Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-37222-3_26
Krásná H, Nickola M, Böhm J (2014b) Axis offset estimation of VLBI telescopes. In: Behrend D, Baver KD, Armstrong K (eds) Proceedings of the Eight IVS General Meeting: VGOS: The New VLBI Network, pp 339-343. ftp://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/general-meeting/2014/pdf/073_Krasna_etal.pdf
Kurdubov S, Skurikhina E (2010) Antenna axis offset estimation from VLBI. In: Behrend D, Baver KD (eds) Proceedings 6th IVS General Meeting. Hobart, Tasmania, pp 247–250. http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/gm2010
Lösler M, Haas R, Eschelbach C (2013) Automated and continual determination of radio telescope reference points with sub-mm accuracy: results from a campaign at the Onsala Space Observatory. J Geod 87(8):791–804. doi:10.1007/s00190-013-0647-y
Nothnagel A (2009) Conventions on thermal expansion modelling of radio telescopes for geodetic and astrometric VLBI. J Geod 83:787–792. doi:10.1007/s00190-008-0284-z
Schuh H, Behrend D (2012) VLBI: a fascinating technique for geodesy and astrometry. J Geod 61:68–80. doi:10.1016/j.jog.2012.07.007
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the IVS providing the VLBI data used in this study. We would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Nilsson, T. et al. (2016). Antenna Axis Offsets and Their Impact on VLBI Derived Reference Frames. In: van Dam, T. (eds) REFAG 2014. International Association of Geodesy Symposia, vol 146. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/1345_2015_126
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1345_2015_126
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-45628-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-45629-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)