CCD ASTROMETRY OF ASTEROIDS AND COMETS USING THE GUIDE STAR CATALOG

We found that CCD astrometry of star-like objects has high internal ac curacy of several hundredths of a pixel size. The use of the Guide Sta r Catalog (GSC) as the source of reference stars allows the measuremen t of absolute positions with accuracy between 0.1'' and 1.0'' (typical ly about 0.5''), which is suitable for most observations of asteroids and comets. The density of the GSC (on average 370 stars/degree2) allo ws the use of even smaller fields of view of only several hundredths o f a square degree. Efficient position observations of small Solar Syst em bodies can be done with small and moderate CCD equipped telescopes using the Guide Star Catalog.