astronomy

Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle

Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle rather than just read about it. In short: The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle (PMC) is a meridian circle that observes and records the positions of stars and planets, which are then reported in the PMC catalogs. Meridian circle The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is a fully automated photoelectric meridian circle at the Mitaka campus of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (formerly of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory) in Tokyo, Japan.

Key takeaways

Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle (PMC) is a meridian circle that observes and records the positions of stars and planets, which are then reported in the PMC catalogs.

Meridian circle

The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is a fully automated photoelectric meridian circle at the Mitaka campus of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (formerly of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory) in Tokyo, Japan. It was manufactured by Carl Zeiss Oberkochen, Germany, and installed in Mitaka in 1982. The telescope is equipped with a double-slit photoelectric micrometer, a photomultiplier with a photon counting device, and a set of filters. Systematic observations with the PMC began in December 1985 for about 33,000 stars selected from several source catalogs. The results of the observations were divided into sequential groups according to the observation years and reduced into a corresponding annual catalog. Each annual catalog contains the positions of several thousand stars. All of the annual catalogues published up to 1993 are available on request in machine-readable form, either directly from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan or from the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS).

List of catalogs The PMC catalogues are astronomical catalogues which report the results of observations made with the Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle.

Tokyo PMC Catalog 85 (PMC85) (CDS ID: I/186) Catalog of positions of 1007 stars observed in 1985 Tokyo PMC Catalog 86 (PMC86) (CDS ID: I/167) Catalog of positions of 3974 stars observed in 1986 Tokyo PMC Catalog 87 (PMC87) (CDS ID: I/187) Catalog of positions of 5748 stars observed in 1987 Tokyo PMC Catalog 88 (PMC88) (CDS ID: I/188) Catalog of positions of 3800 stars observed in 1988 and planetary positions observed in 1986 to 1988 Tokyo PMC Catalog 89 (PMC89) (CDS ID: I/198) Catalog of positions of 3866 stars observed in 1989 Tokyo PMC Catalog 90-93 (PMC90-93) (CDS ID: I/248) Catalog of positions of 6649 stars observed in 1990 through 1993

See also Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (another 20th century electric meridian telescope)

References Yoshizawa M; Miyamoto M; Soma M; Kuwabara T; Suzuki S (1994-10-31). "Ten Years of the Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle (Tokyo PMC) : An activity report for the years from 1982 to 1993". Publications of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. 3 (4): 289–301. Bibcode:1994PNAOJ...3..289Y. Archived from the original on 2006-02-06.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle

In research: Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical catalogues of stars, Astronomical observatories in Japan, Astronomical surveys, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle in simple terms?

The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle (PMC) is a meridian circle that observes and records the positions of stars and planets, which are then reported in the PMC catalogs. Meridian circle The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is a fully automated photoelectric meridian circle at the Mitaka camp…

Why does Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle.