Geodynamic observations on the quasar VLBI network in 2009–2011

A. M. Finkelstein, A. V. Ipatov, E. A. Skurikhina, I. F. Surkis, S. G. Smolentsev, L. V. Fedotov

Astronomy Letters, 38(6), 394-398 (2012)

Keywords: methods of astronomical observations, VLBI geodynamics, Earth orientation parameters, GLONASS

Abstract

The hardware and software upgrades to the Quasar VLBI network have allowed one to increase the measurement accuracy of the Earth orientation parameters (EOPs) and to improve the quality of geodynamic observations. At present, the observations are performed within two national programs: 24-h sessions on three radio telescopes of the network to determine all five EOPs (the Ru-E program) and 1-h sessions on the Zelenchukskaya-Badary and Svetloe-Badary baselines (the Ru-U program) for a prompt determination of the Universal Time. The results of processing the observations from January 2009 to November 2011 are presented. The rms deviations of the EOPs obtained in the Ru-E program from the IERS 08 C04 series are 1 mas for the coordinates of the Earth’s pole, 0.38 mas for the coordinates of the celestial pole, and 34 µs for the Universal Time. The rms deviations of the Universal Time obtained in the Ru-U program are 53 µs.