The Bordeaux and Valinhos CCD meridian circles
Teixeira, R.; Colin, J.; Mazurier, J. M.; Viateau, B.; Rapaport, M.; Daigne, G.; Bosq, F.; Montignac, G.; Réquième, Y.; Benevides-Soares, P.; Le Campion, J. F.; Monteiro, W.; Chauvet, F.; Desbats, J. M.; Dominici, T. P.; Périé, J. P.; Raffaelli, J.
France, Brazil
Abstract
A first CCD 512x 512 camera working in scan mode (declination field 14') was mounted in 1994 on the Bordeaux CCD meridian circle. After a testing period, this camera was installed on the Valinhos CCD meridian circle (near S\ ao Paulo, Brazil), as part of a collaboration between Bordeaux Observatory and the Instituto Astronomico e Geofisico of S\ ao Paulo. A second improved CCD 1024x 1024 camera, with a declination field of 28', was installed on the Bordeaux instrument in June 1996. The mean internal precision of a single observation is about 0.04'' in both coordinates for 9<= V<= 14. In the same magnitude range, magnitudes can also be obtained with an internal precision of about 0.05 mag. Both instruments can participate efficiently in extending the Hipparcos- Tycho frame, during the next decade. Among other duties, the Bordeaux CCD meridian circle is being used since January 1997 for completing the Méridien 2000 project. The characteristics of both instruments and some results obtained with them are presented in this paper.