Combined astrometric catalogue EOC-3. An improved reference frame for long-term Earth rotation studies

Abstract

Context: In the past, we collected the astrometric observations of latitude/universal time variations made worldwide at 33 observatories. These observations, re-analyzed with the Hipparcos Catalogue, were then used to determine the Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) at 5-day intervals, covering the interval 1899.7-1992.0. Later on, new astrometric catalogues (such as ARHIP or TYCHO-2) appeared as combination of Hipparcos/Tycho positions with ground-based catalogues. These catalogues yield more accurate proper motions than the original Hipparcos Catalogue.
Aims: Many of the objects observed in the programmes of monitoring Earth orientation from the ground are double or multiple systems, having non-negligible periodic motions. We aim at obtaining a star catalogue with improved proper motions and quasi-periodic terms reflecting orbital motions of the stars observed in these programmes.
Methods: We used about 4.5 million observations of latitude/universal time variations, and combined them with the catalogues ARIHIP, TYCHO-2, etc. to obtain a new Earth Orientation Catalogue (EOC). These are the same ground-based observations that were used to construct the previous version, EOC-2. Spectral analysis of ground-based data is performed to discover which of the observed objects display periodic motion, and the method of least squares is then used to estimate corresponding amplitudes and phases.
Results: The third version of the catalogue, EOC-3, contains 4418 different objects (i.e., stars, components of double stars, photocenters). Our attempt leads to a description of more accurate paths of the observed objects that will be eventually used for another determination of the Earth Orientation Parameters in the twentieth century.

Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/463/783