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B. G. Piner (Whittier College), A. L. Fey (U.S. Naval Observatory), M. Mahmud, K. Gospidinova (Whittier College)
We present current results from our ongoing project to study the parsec-scale relativistic jet kinematics of sources in the U.S. Naval Observatory's Radio Reference Frame Image Database (RRFID). The RRFID consists of VLBA snapshot observations at 8 and 2 GHz, and is intended to allow monitoring of these sources for variability or structural changes so they can be evaluated for continued suitability as radio reference frame objects. The Image Database currently contains 3060 images of 452 sources from 1994 to 2002, with some sources having images at as many as 20 epochs. Here we present measurements of the apparent jet speeds for 60 of the best-observed sources in the database, all of which have observations at 6 or more epochs. Together these 60 sources account for roughly half of the images in the database, and include many well-known sources. Measurement of apparent jet speeds from the RRFID will constrain jet Lorentz factors and viewing angles for this source population, and provide valuable statistical information that can be compared with the results of other large VLBI kinematic surveys such as the Caltech-Jodrell Bank Survey and VLBA 2cm Survey.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: gpiner@whittier.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.