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Abteilung Astronomie

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GAL_UVW Source code in gal_uvw.pro

GAL_UVW

Name
     GAL_UVW
Purpose
     Calculate the Galactic space velocity (U,V,W) of star
Explanation
     Calculates the Galactic space velocity U, V, W of star given its
     (1) coordinates, (2) proper motion, (3) distance (or parallax), and
     (4) radial velocity.
Calling Sequence
     GAL_UVW, U, V, W, [/LSR, RA=, DEC=, PMRA= ,PMDEC=, VRAD= , DISTANCE=
              PLX= ]
Output Parameters
      U - Velocity (km/s) positive toward the Galactic *anti*center
      V - Velocity (km/s) positive in the direction of Galactic rotation
      W - Velocity (km/s) positive toward the North Galactic Pole
Required Keywords
      User must supply a position, proper motion,radial velocity and distance
      (or parallax).    Either scalars or vectors can be supplied.
     (1) Position:
      RA - Right Ascension in *Degrees*
      Dec - Declination in *Degrees*
     (2) Proper Motion
      PMRA = Proper motion in RA in arc units (typically milli-arcseconds/yr)
      PMDEC = Proper motion in Declination (typically mas/yr)
     (3) Radial Velocity
      VRAD = radial velocity in km/s
     (4) Distance or Parallax
      DISTANCE - distance in parsecs
                 or
      PLX - parallax with same distance units as proper motion measurements
            typically milliarcseconds (mas)
Keyword Parameters
      /LSR - If this keyword is set, then the output velocities will be
             corrected for the solar motion (U,V,W)_Sun = (-9,+12,+7)
             (Mihalas & Binney, 1981) to the local standard of rest
Example
      (1) Compute the U,V,W coordinates for the halo star HD 6755.
          Use values from Hipparcos catalog, and correct to the LSR
      ra = ten(1,9,42.3)*15.    & dec = ten(61,32,49.5)
      pmra = 627.89  &  pmdec = 77.84         ;mas/yr
      dis = 144    &  vrad = -321.4
      gal_uvw,u,v,w,ra=ra,dec=dec,pmra=pmra,pmdec=pmdec,vrad=vrad,dis=dis,/lsr
          ===>  u=154  v = -493  w = 97        ;km/s
      (2) Use the Hipparcos Input and Output Catalog IDL databases (see
      http://idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftp/zdbase/) to obtain space velocities
      for all stars within 10 pc with radial velocities > 10 km/s
      dbopen,'hipparcos,hic'      ;Need Hipparcos output and input catalogs
      list = dbfind('plx>100,vrad>10')      ;Plx > 100 mas, Vrad > 10 km/s
      dbext,list,'pmra,pmdec,vrad,ra,dec,plx',pmra,pmdec,vrad,ra,dec,plx
      ra = ra*15.                 ;Need right ascension in degrees
      GAL_UVW,u,v,w,ra=ra,dec=dec,pmra=pmra,pmdec=pmdec,vrad=vrad,plx = plx
      forprint,u,v,w              ;Display results
Procedure
      Follows the general outline of Johnson & Soderblom (1987, AJ, 93,864)
      except that U is positive outward toward the Galactic *anti*center, and
      the J2000 transformation matrix to Galactic coordinates is taken from
      the introduction to the Hipparcos catalog.
Revision History
      Written, W. Landsman                       December   2000

Last modified by pro2html on 2001 April 26 at 03:10 UTC

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Jörn Wilms (wilms@astro.uni-tuebingen.de)
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