Astrometry is the art and science of the precise measurement of the positions of the heavenly bodies. In stellar astronomy it has important applications in the measurement of stellar parallaxes and proper motions. This article is restricted to consideration of astrometry of solar system bodies such as comets and asteroids.
Around the middle of the 20th century, there was little incentive for carrying out large-scale precise astrometry of the more than 1000 minor planets and a few hundred comets known at the time. Not only was the computational effort required for astrometric measurement and subsequent orbit determination prohibitive, but there seemed to be little scientific purpose to this activity. Times have changed. Not only have observational techniques and computational power made it possible to track these numerous objects, but there has developed a parallel need from astrophysical observers for astrometric data. Many large telescopes used, for example, for photometry have very...
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Tatum, J.B. (1997). Astrometric observation . In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_29
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