Speaker
Fengchun Shu
(Shanghai Astronomical Observatory)
Description
The goal of VLBI Ecliptic Plane Survey (VEPS) is to increase the number of calibrator radio sources within 7.5 degree of the ecliptic plane by surveying a complete sample of sources with single dish flux densities at 5 GHz greater than 50 mJy. A dense grid of calibrators along ecliptic plane with very accurate coordinates is required for many applications, including observations of spacecrafts in the phase referencing mode. Such observations are used for spacecraft navigation, improvement of planet ephemerides and determination of the Moon’s libration. The VEPS observing program is underway with participation of 3 core Chinese VLBI stations: Seshan25, Kunming and Urumqi, and several international stations that join on ad hoc basis. We will present the current status of the VEPS observing program and show preliminary results.
Primary author
Fengchun Shu
(Shanghai Astronomical Observatory)
Co-authors
Jim Lovell
(University of Tasmania)
Jinling Li
(Shanghai Astronomical Observatory)
Leonid Petrov
(Astrogeo Center)
Sang-Oh Yi
(National Geographic Information Institute)
Wu Jiang
(Shanghai Astronomical Observatory)
