Astronomical Institute of the University of Berne,
Sidlerstrasse 5, CH--3012 Bern, Switzerland
Optical observations of artificial satellites differ significantly from the observations of `classical', `slow moving' astronomical objects like asteroids, comets or stars. In order to record the faint moving objects in front of reference stars new observation techniques using CCD cameras have to be applied. The proper time tagging of the exposures (better than 1 ms) requires special attention. As opposed to the classical astrometry there is generally only one reference star in the small field of view. Therefore a new approach for the determination of the mapping geometry was developed.
The new Zimmerwald 1 m telescope has been designed as a multi-purpose instrument but with special emphasis on artificial satellite observation capability (the telescope is used for satellite laser ranging during daytime). The detector system consists of a 2k x 2k four section CCD with fast readout electronics.
The CCD image acquisition systems allow for large series of exposures, each with a very short exposure time of the order of 1 second. Consequently it is necessary to automate the processing of the huge data volumes generated (up to 1 MByte/sec). In particular algorithms for the on-line recognition of moving objects and reference stars were developed.
The performance of the observation system and the algorithms will be illustrated by observations of artificial satellites in different orbits.