Calculation of VGOS antenna horizon mask and its impact on UT1 measurement

doi:10.11947/j.AGCS.2022.20210314

Abstract

Abstract: The two newly-built VGOS (VLBI global observing system) antennas in Shanghai are blocked by the legacy large antennas nearby. In order to carry out joint observation using the VGOS station network, a new method for calculating the horizon mask based on the geometric position of the antennas is proposed. The horizon mask between the two antennas can be calculated from the geometric position, the antenna aperture and the distance from antenna reference point to the edge of the reflector. The maximum shielding angle of Tianma VGOS antenna is 22.3°, and the ratio between the shielded sky area and the sky area above 5° elevation is 2.19%. The maximum shielding angle of the Sheshan VGOS antenna is 23.4°, and the ratio between the shielded sky area and the sky area above 5° elevation is 3.14%. By adding the horizon mask of the antenna in the scheduling, the joint measurement of the VGOS station network was successfully implemented. The performance of UT1 measurement accuracy of the VGOS antenna on the Tianma-Wettzell baseline is simulated and analyzed by VieVS software. The result shows that the horizon mask of the Tianma VGOS antenna has no significant effect on the measurement accuracy of UT1.

Key words: VLBI, VGOS, scheduling, horizon mask, UT1

CLC Number:

P228

WU De, SHU Fengchun, LI Jinling, ZHONG Shengjian, GAN Jiangying. Calculation of VGOS antenna horizon mask and its impact on UT1 measurement[J]. Acta Geodaetica et Cartographica Sinica, 2022, 51(11): 2285-2293.

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