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| Paper: |
VSOP-2 Key Science Program Proposal: Deep Exploration of the Dynamics of the Milky Way Based on High Precision Water Maser Astrometry |
| Volume: |
402, Approaching Micro-Arcsecond Resolution with VSOP-2: Astrophysics and Technologies |
| Page: |
465 |
| Authors: |
Imai, H. |
| Abstract: |
Our Japanese astronomical community is proposing the VSOP-2 key science programs (KSPs) for study of the dynamics of the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG) on the basis of high precision astrometry of H2O maser sources. High angular resolution of VSOP-2 is expected to simultaneously perform 10 microarcsecond (μas) level astrometry, which enables the determination of annual parallaxes and secular motions of the maser sources. The proposed KSPs cover the whole scale of the MWG in both the northern or southern hemispheres, except for the Galactic center region. In the southern hemisphere, in particular, ASTRO-G’s orbit should provide a great opportunity for obtaining good image quality and astrometric accuracy with a relatively small number of ground-based telescopes. H2O maser sources located behind the Galactic center and in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are expected to be the main target sources for the proposed KSPs. |
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