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Stellar photometry with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide-field/Planetary camera - A progress reportThe prospects for the use of the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) for stellar photometry are described. The large halos of the point-spread function (PSF) resulting from spherical aberration and from spatial, temporal, and color variations of the PSF are the main limitations to accurate photometry. Degradations caused by crowding are exacerbated by the halos of the PSF. An attempt is made to quantify these effects and determine the current accuracy of stellar photometry with the WFPC. In realistic cases, the brighter stars in crowded fields have 0.09 mag errors; fainter stars have larger errors depending on the degree of crowding. It is shown that measuring Cepheids in Virgo Cluster galaxies is not currently possible without inordinate increases in exposure times.
Document ID
19910041861
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Holtzman, Jon A.
(Lowell Observatory Flagstaff, AZ, United States)
Hunter, Deidre
(Lowell Observatory Flagstaff, AZ, United States)
Groth, Edward J.
(Princeton University NJ, United States)
Light, Robert M.
(Lowell Observatory Flagstaff, AZ, United States)
Faber, S. M.
(Lick Observatory Santa Cruz, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
March 10, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters
Volume: 369
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
91A26484
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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