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Published December 14, 2017 | Version Submitted
Discussion Paper Open

Astrometry with the WFIRST Wide-Field Imager

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Abstract

The Wide-Field InfraRed Space Telescope (WFIRST) will be capable of delivering precise astrometry for faint sources over the enormous field of view of its main camera, the Wide-Field Imager (WFI). This unprecedented combination will be transformative for the many scientific questions that require precise positions, distances, and velocities of stars. We describe the expectations for the astrometric precision of the WFIRST WFI in different scenarios, illustrate how a broad range of science cases will see significant advances with such data, and identify aspects of WFIRST's design where small adjustments could greatly improve its power as an astrometric instrument.

Additional Information

This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium). Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. RES is supported by an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship under grant AST-1400989.

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Eprint ID
91940
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20181220-112917445

Related works

Describes
http://arxiv.org/abs/1712.05420 (URL)

Funding

NASA/JPL/Caltech
Gaia Multilateral Agreement
NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship
AST-1400989

Dates

Created
2018-12-21
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Updated
2023-06-02
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