QHY-174M-GPS Camera as the Device for Photometry of Artificial Satellites

Abstract In this paper, we make an attempt to use the QHY174M-GPS camera for the photometry research of fast-rotating artificial objects including debris, satellites and rocket bodies. This device is useful for imaging occultations, eclipses, meteors, and so on due to a highly precise recording of the time (GPS-based) and location of the observation on every frame and fast readout of the CMOS detector. The precision of time registration by the QHY174M-GPS camera is at the level of microseconds. All light curves obtained by studied camera during observations of artificial satellites in this work were carried out at Derenivka Observatory of Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine. The created photometric system with QHY174M-GPS camera as the detector and reflector telescope with parameters D=120mm, F=114mm, FOV=2.82° × 1.76° was calibrated. For target observations, SharpCap software was used. For the purposes of photometry processing, ccd_phot software was developed using Python 3.8 programming language with astropy and photutils packages. Photometry observations of artificial satellites of the Earth and standard stars were carried out. Over 80 lightcurves of artificial satellites were obtained. Comparing synchronous observations from two sites, separated 15 km from each other, we can conclude that photometry on the QHY174M-GPS camera gave us the same shape of lightcurve and additional advantages, such as time of exposure or simplicity of usage.