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The HR Diagram and the Galactic Distance Scale After HIPPARCOS

Reid, I. Neill

The completion and publication of the Hipparcos astrometric catalogue has revitalized studies in many fundamental areas of Galactic structure and stellar evolution. This article reviews the impact of the new parallax results on our understanding of the location of the main-sequence as a function of abundance, of the luminosity calibration of prima…

Reference Frames in Astronomy

Johnston, K. J.; de Vegt, Chr.

Advances in wide-angle astrometric measurements of three to four orders of magnitude in the last thirty years have resulted in a redefinition of the fundamental astronomical reference frame. This new frame, the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF), is based on the radio positions of 212 compact extragalactic radio sources. The ICRF defin…