The Hipparcos Extragalactic Link

Abstract

In conformity with the IAU resolutions on reference frames adopted in 1991, the Hipparcos catalogue will represent, in the visible spectrum, the celestial reference system defined by fixed positions of extragalactic radio-sources. This will be realized by the strongest possible link between the IERS celestial reference frame with positions and/or proper motions of the largest possible number of Hipparcos stars determined also with respect to extragalactic objects. The data which will be used must be available before April 1995. It will include the following: positions and proper motions of radio stars observed by VLBI, VLA and MERLIN; photographic positions in fields including quasars; proper motions with respect to galaxies of the Lick, Yale, and Kiev programs, proper motions derived from pairs of photographic plates taken at large time intervals; and possibly data acquired by Hubble Space Telescope and from Earth’s rotation data. The organization of the tasks within the working group is briefly described. The final accuracy of the link is expected to be of the order of, or better than, half a milliarcsecond.