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The “black drop” phenomenon and reduction of the mercury transits observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

A.M. Sveshnikov  and
M.L. Sveshnikov
A.M. Sveshnikov
Affiliation:
Physical Faculty, State St. Petersburg University, Stary Peterhof, St. Petersburg, 198904 Russia
M.L. Sveshnikov
Affiliation:
Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, RAS Nab. Kutuzova 10, St. Petersburg, 191187 Russia

Extract

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Mercury transits are important for the investigation of long-term variations in the Earth rotation. They have been observed for more than 300 years. The basic array of this set is the visual observation of contacts (as a rule the second and third ones). The detection of the instant corresponding to the geometrical contact of the solar and Mercury limbs is a difficult task, since during 10s to 60s, the set of phases is observed transforming continuously from one to another. One of the encumbering factors, is the so-called “black drop” phenomenon, i.e., the dark cross-bar formed between the limbs (Struve, 1882; Kuhl, 1929; Wittman, 1974; Morrison et al., 1975). The influence of this factor could be negleted if the observations were distributed uniformly with regard to contacts, observers and observational conditions. In fact, it is far from that and the necessity of reduction corrections arises.

Type
Part X - Solar System Astrometry
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 172: Dynamics, Ephemerides and Astrometry of the Solar System , 1996 , pp. 453 - 454
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1996 

References

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Struve, H.: 1882. Mem. Acad. Sci. St.-Peterburgh, T.30, pp.1–104.Google Scholar
Sveshnikov, A.M. et al.: 1995. Preprint ITA RAS No. 43 (in russian).Google Scholar
Wittmann, A.: 1974. Astron. and Astrophys. 31, 239–243.Google Scholar