The improvement of star positions by photographic methods

A brief description is given of the new astrometric camera and of the program on which it is being employed. This is the photography of the southern sky so that each star appears on at least four overlapping plates. Sets of star coordinates measured on each plate are combined with a limited set of provisional meridian places to give an accurate set of relative star positions which are independent of the meridian system together with a set of residuals for each plate-star. The technique is based on a simple geometrical model of image formation on photographic plates. Current investigations are concerned with the elimination of sources of systematic deviation from this model.