Measure color of natural satellite


  • Differential Color Refraction (DCR) effect is position error caused by the atmosphere, bending blue and red light differently.


  • Johnson–Cousins system (BVRI)  is color system used in astronomy which measures how bright an object looks through four color filters: B = blue, V = visible (green-yellow) R = red, I = infrared


  • Gaia system (G, BP, RP): is the modern color system used by the Gaia space telescope. Gaia measures brightness through: G = general (broad) brightness, BP = blue photometer, RP = red photometer


  • Scientists converted  traditional Johnson–Cousins filter data (like B and I) into Gaia’s BP–RP color through a “hidden transformation,” they achieved high precision (errors below 0.01 magnitudes). They corrected the DCR effect and improved the accuracy of the satellites’ position.


  • To Measure the color of a natural satellite (like Himalia or Triton) in the Gaia color system (BP − RP), they created a mathematical transformation


  • Fundamental Transformation Equation

This equation adjusts raw brightness measurement to make it comparable to a standard reference system. This equation tells us how to correct the raw brightness measured by a telescope for atmospheric and instrumental effects so it matches a standardized, true brightness scale like Gaia’s.

  • Hidden Transformation equation

  • m is the instrumental magnitude, X is the air mass for the observation, M denotes the standard system magnitude (e.g., V), and CI indicates the standard color index (e.g., V − R). 

  • K’ and k’’ are the first- and second-order extinction coefficients for filter f, Tf—the transformation coefficient, and ZPf—the nightly zero point


source

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/adee0e

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