We present the results of asteroid images’ identification and creation of positional catalogs based on digitized photographic observations within the framework of the Northern Sky Survey (FON project). Namely, the cooperation between the Ukrainian Virtual Observatory and the Institute of Astrophysics of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan makes it possible to expand this work by involving numerous additional archives of digitized observations and processing services to obtain new original data about the small Solar system bodies. The Dushanbe part of the FON project is represented by about 1570 photographic plates obtained in 1985—1992 at the Gissar As- tronomical Observatory of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan. To the moment, their digitization and further scanning processing were completed, and a catalog of equatorial coordinates and stellar magnitudes for all registered objects on the plates was created. In parallel with solving the main task of the project to create a catalog of stars and galaxies, we analyzed the results of processing the plates to search for images of asteroids and comets and to create a catalog of their coordinates and magnitudes. More than 2200 positions of asteroids and comets were obtained with visual magnitudes from 7m to 16.5 m. All positions of the asteroids were compared with the ephemeris. A preliminary analysis of the O-C differences and their comparison with similar results obtained from the digitized observations of the Kyiv and Kitab parts of the FON project are conducted. The authors note some differences in the accuracy of the compared catalogs and also analyze the reasons for this and the possibilities of reducing their impact. In addition, the catalog includes several positions of Pluto and comets that were also identified in the negatives.
The process of treatment of about 500 digitized plates has started in MAO NAS of Ukraine. Plates were taken with the Tautenburg 2m Schmidt telescope in 1963-1989. Linear dimensions of plates are 24x24 cm with a working field of 3.3x3.3 degrees and a scale of 51.4 "/ mm. Astronegatives were digitized on the Tautenburg Plate Scanner in five strips with linear dimensions of 5 400x23 800 px. The software developed in MAO NAS of Ukraine for the image processing of these scans takes into account the horizontal overlap and the vertical offset of strips. The photometric range of fixed objects is 12 magnitudes, around V = 7 m - 19 m , due to the separation of objects into faint and bright parts by their images’ diameters. Positions of stars and other fixed objects are obtained in the GAIA DR2 reference system. Magnitudes are defined in the V-band of the Johnson color system. The resulted positional accuracy defined from 180 plates’ processing is σ RA,DEC = 0.10"for both coordinates, photometric error on the whole range of magnitudes is σ V = 0.14 m . The convergence of resulted magnitudes with ones from photoelectric standards’ data is 0.19 m . In parallel with image processing and plate data reduction, the search for minor planets’ images was carried out. Nine positions and magnitudes of 4 asteroids registered on the plates obtained in 1963-1965 were defined and used for further analysis.
Photographic observations of XX century contained numerous and varied information about all objects and events of the Universe fixed on plates. The original and interesting observations of small bodies of the Solar system in previous years can be selected and used for various scientific tasks. Existing databases and online services can help make such selection easily and quickly. The observations of chronologically earlier ppositions, photometric evaluation of brightness for long periods of time allow refining the orbits of asteroids and identifying various non-stationaries. Photographic observations of Northern Sky Survey project and observations of clusters in UBVR bands were used for global search for small bodies of Solar system. Total we founded 2486 positions of asteroids and 13 positions of comets. All positions were compared with ephemeris. It was found that 80 positions of asteroids have a moment of observation preceding their discovery, and 19 of them are chronologically the earliest observations of these asteroids in the world.
The paper discusses the construction ofcharacteristic curves for various astronegatives with asingle exposure. Particular attention is paid to the questionof extrapolation of the characteristic curve for the regionof the weakest stars in the absence of standards. A newmethod for constructing an individual characteristic curvefor digitized films and plates in the UBVR system hasbeen proposed and implemented. The processing offrames of digitized plates and films with sky areas is car-ried out using LINUX/MIDAS/ROMAFOT softwaretools. ROMAFOT application allows us to extract astro-metric rectangular coordinates X,Y and photometric char-acteristics such as instrumental photometric magnitudesm, FWHM, and the intensity in the center of the star im-age I c for all fixed objects on each astronegative. For allframes, the connection between instrumental photometricvalues m with stellar magnitudes in any system (JohnsonUBVR, Tycho-2 or GAIA catalogs, etc.) is not linear andmultipurpose. It is presented as the characteristic curve foreach astronegative. Currently, the determination of U, B,V, R magnitudes of stars and other space objects is in pro-gress for astronegatives with the single exposure obtainedin the frameworks of selected observational projects.
Catalogue of star positions and B-magnitudes based on UkrVO Joint Digital Archive has been created in 60-degree declination zone of FONAK(FON) observational program as the first attempt to use the commercial scanners for astrometri c purposes. The height of zone is 8 degree, number of involved plates is 120. Digital images of plates were obtained using Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL TMA commercial scanner, with plate resolution 1200 dpi, linear dimensions 13,000x13,000 px for plates 30x30cm. The catalogue includes 1, 263, 932 stars and galaxies down to B 16.5 mag at the epoch 1984.76+/-0.50. Positions of objects are in TYCHO-2 reference frame, B-magnitudes in the system of photoelectric standards. The internal accuracy for all objects on both coordinates RA,DEC is +/-0.26 arcsec.The accuracy of B magnitudes determination is +/-0.17 mag, except stars in the B-interval 8-13 mag having the positional errors +/-0.13 arcsec and photometric ones +/-0.11 mag. The convergence of star positions with TYCHO-2 system is +/-0.06 arcsec on both coordinates(based on 93,925 stars), the convergence with photoelectric standards system is +/-0.16 mag (based on 4,458 stars). External comparison with UCAC-4 gives the positional errors +/-0.34 arcsec based on 1, 099, 005 cross-identified objects.