Astronomical Photometry brings together experts in the field of astronomical photometry to discuss how their specialized subfields provide the precision and accuracy in astronomical energy flux measurements needed to permit tests of astrophysical theories.

This book will bring together experts in the field of astronomical photometry to discuss how their subfields provide the precision and accuracy in astronomical energy flux measurements that are needed to permit tests of astrophysical theories. Differential photometers and photometry, improvements in infrared precision, the improvements in precision and accuracy of CCD photometry, the absolute calibration of flux, the development of the Johnson UBVRI photometric system and other passband systems to measure and precisely classify specific types of stars and astrophysical quantities, and the current capabilities of spectrophotometry, and polarimetry to provide precise and accurate data, will all be discussed in this volume. The discussion of differential' or two-star' photometers will include those developed for planetary as well as stellar photometry and will range from the Princeton polarizing photometer through the pioneering work of Walraven to the differential photometers designed to measure the ashen light of Venus and to counter the effects of aurorae at high latitude sites; the last to be discussed will be the Rapid Alternate Detection System (RADS) developed at the University of Calgary in the 1980s.

No other current title offers a comprehensive discussion of the development, importance, and practice of astronomical photometry The importance of standardization has received much attention in recent years, however, especially for space missions and for infrared photometry, as evidenced by a conference on the subject held in Blankenberge, Belgium in May, 2006 This volume will build on that conference as well as the AAS session to be held at Long Beach, California in Jan., 2006 The book will be of particular use to newer generations of researchers who need to see to the standards to which they should aspire in order to improve on the precision produced by the best techniques of astronomical photometry Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Inhalt

Photometric Precision and Accuracy.- The High Road to Astronomical Photometric Precision: Differential Photometry.- High Precision Differential Photometry with CCDs: A Brief History.- The Pierce-Blitzstein Photometer.- Johnson Photometry and its Descendants.- The Rise and Improvement of Infrared Photometry.- On the Use of Photometry in Spectral Classification.- Absolute Photometry: Past and Present.- Optical Region Spectrophotometry: Past and Present.- Measurement of Polarized Light in Astronomy.- Index.- References.