2005AJ....129.2907A

We present results of a pilot investigation on the astrometry of International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) sources using small- to medium-sized telescopes and the second US Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC2). For this purpose, 31 ICRF sources were observed, mostly south of the equator, during 1997-2000. We used the automated 0.6 and 1.6 m Cassegrain telescopes equipped with CCD detectors located at Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, Brazil. The source positions were referred to UCAC2, with fainter 0.6 m telescope stars serving as a reference frame to the reductions of the 1.6 m telescope CCD fields. Observations were made in the V band in a compromise between the 579-643 nm bandpass (between V and R) of UCAC2 and the bluer ICRF sources. To ensure that UCAC2, with its magnitude bandpass system, is a reliable reference catalog for our V-band CCD frame reductions, we have also compared it against an independent set of star positions with similar characteristics obtained in the V band with the Valinhos CCD Meridian Circle, Brazil. Average values and errors for the optical-radio position offsets using the 0.6 m telescope were +4±8 mas (41 mas) and +1±8 mas (42 mas) for right ascension and declination, respectively. (Parenthetical values refer to standard deviation, i.e., to the typical error of a single measurement given the quantity of sources.) For the 1.6 m telescope, offsets were -12±9 mas (45 mas) and +8±9 mas (46 mas). An expected random error that increases with magnitude and affects the positions of the fainter 0.6 m telescope secondary stars is verified. No systematic errors were found within the attained position precision, including differential color refraction. External comparisons with independent telescope/catalog sets of precise source positions were also made, showing consistent results within the respective errors.