AGK3R
Smith Jr. C.A.
<unpublished, 1990)
Abstract:
A catalog of positions of reference stars distributed uniformly on the celestial sphere north of declination -5 deg. contains meridian observations of 21,499 stars with a mean epoch 1958.5. This catalog was compiled from more than 300,000 observations made with 11 northern meridian circles during the period 1956 to 1963. The observations are on the FK4 system.
Introduction:
There is a need for reference catalogs with good modern positions. Recently, positions were redetermined for Northern Hemisphere reference stars to form the AGK3R catalog that was used to determine the plate constants for the AGK3 Photographic Catalog (Dieckvoss 1975). The AGK3R catalog contains 21,499 stars evenly distributed on the surface of the celestial sphere from -5 deg. to +90 deg. The observations were made with 11 northern meridian circles during the period 1956 to 1963. Stars were selected from two lists: one selected at the U. S. Naval Observatory and the other at the Pulkovo Observatory and the Sternberg Institute. The participating observatories were Bergedorf, Bordeaux, Greenwich, Heidelberg, Nicolaev, Ottawa, Paris, Pulkovo, Strasbourg, and the U. S. Naval Observatory (Smith, 1980). Both the seven-inch and the six-inch transit circles were employed at the U. S. Naval Observatory. All observations were reduced on a nightly basis by the observers to the FK3R system and, later to the FK4 either by the observer himself or at the U.S. Naval Observatory.
File Summary:
| FileName | Lrecl | Size | Records | Explanations |
| ReadMe | 80 | 9KB | This file | |
| data.dat | 72 | 630KB | 21499 | Data |
Byte-by-byte Description of file: data.dat
| Bytes | Format | Units | Label | Explanations |
| 1-5 | I5 | ID | *AGK3R number | |
| 6 | A1 | lcode | *List code | |
| 7-11 | I5 | ob_id | AGK3R number in the observing list | |
| 12-14 | I3 | DMz | ?BD Zone | |
| 15-19 | I5 | DMno | *?BD number | |
| 20-22 | F3.1 | mag | mag | Magnitude |
| 23-24 | A2 | Sp | *Spectral type | |
| 25-26 | I2 | h | RAh | Right ascension, hours (1950) |
| 27-28 | I2 | min | RAm | Right ascension, minutes (1950) |
| 29-34 | F6.3 | s | RAs | Right ascension, seconds (1950) |
| 35-41 | F7.4 | s | e_RAs | Mean error of RA reduced to equator |
| 42-43 | I2 | o_RAs | No. observations in right ascension | |
| 44-49 | F6.3 | ma | Ep_RA | Epoch of right ascension - 1900.000 |
| 50 | A1 | DE- | Declination sign (1950) | |
| 51-52 | I2 | deg | DEd | Declination, degrees (1950) |
| 53-54 | I2 | arcmin | DEm | Declination, minutes (1950) |
| 55-59 | F5.2 | arcsec | DEs | Declination, seconds (1950) |
| 60-64 | F5.2 | arcsec | e_DEs | Mean error of declination. |
| 65-66 | I2 | o_DEs | No. Observations in declination. | |
| 67-72 | F6.3 | ma | Ep_DE | Epoch of declination. - 1900.000 |
Note on ID:
Four stars appeared twice in the original AGK3R observing list under different serial numbers. The data from the duplicate stars have been combined and the stars renumbered (AGK3R numbers). The duplicate stars removed and the number assigned in the new numbering system are as follows:
Current AGK3R Number Duplicate AGK3R Numbers in Observing List 1930C 1931, 1932 2405C 2407, 2408 2951C 2954, 2955 3633C 3637, 3638
Note on lcode:
S = U. S. Naval Observatory List
Z = Pulkovo Observatory and Sternberg Institute List
C = Both lists
Note on DMno:
The only star without a DM number is 1135Z. It was formerly listed as BD-01 deg.170A but has no connection with BD-01 deg.170.
Note on Sp:
An & in byte 23 indicates that the spectrum is composite. The types for these stars are as follows:
AGK3R Number Spectral Types 4536C A + G 4996S F8 + A0 5217S A0 + G0 5739S F0 + A2 6063S F5 + A5 6123S F5 + A3 6324S F5 + A 6754S A2 + G 7251S F2 + A2 8698S F2 + A2 10048S F5 + A5 11154S F5 + A3 12871S F5 + A0 13650S A2 + G 16982S A0 + G 17619S K0 + A0 17641S F5 + B8p 18095S G0 + A 18453S F5 + A3 18727S K0 + A2 19812S G5 20257S A3 + G
Additional Information:
Changes in the catalog as received from the U.S. Naval Observatory have been minor. The false DM number was removed for 1135Z and several bytes were changed to make their meaning more obvious to the user. Bytes 66 - 80 were dropped. In the version received, bytes 66 - 75 were blank and bytes 66 - 80 contained only the second numbers for the stars that had duplicate entries . The spectral types for the stars with composite spectra were obtained from the Henry Draper Catalogue or the Transactions of the Yale University Observatory v.25.
We thank Clayton A. Smith for assistance with the preparation of this document.
References:
Argelander F.W.A. 1859-1862, Bonner Sternverzeichniss, erste bis dritte Sektion, Astronomischen Beobachtungen auf der Sternwarte des Koeniglichen Rhein., Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet zu Bonn, Baende vol.3.-vol.5..
Barney I. 1954, Revised Catalogue of 8703 Stars, +20 deg. to +25 deg., Trans. Astron. Obs. Yale Univ. vol.25..
Becker F. 1949, Bonner Durchmusterung, Suedlicher Teil, Deklinations-Zonen -2 deg. bis -22 deg. Sternverzeichnis, zweite, berichtigte Auflage, Ferd. Duemmlers Verlag, Bonn.
Becker F. 1951, Bonner Durchmusterung, Noerdlicher Teil, Deklinations-Zonen -1 deg. bis +89 deg. Sternverzeichnis, dritte, berichtigte Auflage, Ferd. Duemmlers Verlag, Bonn.
Cannon A. J. and Pickering E. C. 1918-1924, The Henry Draper Catalogue, Ann. Astron. Obs. Harvard College, vol.91-99..
Dieckvoss W. (in collaboration with H. Kox, A. Guenther and E. Brosterhus) 1975, AGK3 Star Catalog of Positions and Proper Motions North of -2.5 deg. Declination, Hamburg-Bergedorf.
Kuestner F. 1903, Bonner Durchmusterung des Noerdlichen Himmels, zweite berichtigte Auflage, Bonn Universit aets Sternwarte, A. Marcus und E. Weber's Verlag, Bonn.
Schoenfeld E. 1886, Bonner Sternverzeichniss, vierte Sektion, Astronomische Beobachtungen auf der Sternwarte der Koeniglichen Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universit a dotdot:ef.t zu Bonn vol.8., Part IV, Adolph Marcus, Bonn.
Scott F. P. and Smith C. A. Jr. 1971, Comparison of the SAO and AGK3R Star Catalogues, ed. Eichhorn H. K., NASA CR-1825, Conference on Photographic Astrometric Technique.
Smith C. 1980, The International Reference Star Programs, Mitt. Astron. Ges. Nr. 48.
(End) Nancy Grace Roman [ADC/SSDOO] Dec-8-95 J.A. Watko [SSDOO/ADC] 27-DEC-1995