Observational Astrometry Laboratory and Ephemeris Provision Sector of Pulkovo Observatory carry out a joint multipurpose research on asteroids belonging to various groups. Astrometric and photometric observations are done using ZA–320M and MTM–500M telescopes located at Pulkovo and in Northern Caucasus mountains, correspondingly. We obtain lightcurves that allow us to determine spin parameters and shapes of asteroids. Their color indices and taxonomy classes are derived from wideband filter observations. Improvement of asteroid orbits is achieved by doing positional measurements. Orbital evolution of asteroids is modelled, taking into account also non-gravity forces, including light pressure and Yarkovsky effect. NEAs, as well as binary asteroids, take an important place in our investigations. Quasi-satellites of Venus, Earth, and Mars are new targets of our research, one of the examples being 2012DA14 that approached Earth in early 2013; many MTM–500M observations of this asteroid were obtained around the date of approach.

The astrometric and photometric observations of the potentially hazardous 2009 WZ104 asteroid were carried out at the MTM-500M and ZA-320M automatic telescopes of the Pulkovo Observatory in December 2009. A total of 686 observations were performed in the integral band and 146 observations with B , V , R , and I filters on an arc of the orbit of 17°; these accounted for about 77% of all worldwide observations ( http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ECS/MPCOBS/MPCOBS.html ). On the basis of the obtained data, the orbit was improved and an estimation of the physical parameters of the asteroid was made. Estimates of the absolute stellar magnitude of the asteroid, H = (20.52 ± 0.04) m , as well as its size and mass, were obtained. The taxonomic class of the 2009 WZ104 asteroid (R or Q) was determined. A frequency analysis of the series of observations was carried out; periodicities in the asteroid’s light variation were revealed using this method.

Exoplanet observations have been performed on the automated Pulkovo Observatory telescopes. We have obtained 33 transit light curves for 16 known exoplanets and six transit observations for three exoplanet candidates discovered by the Kepler telescope. Based on our observations, we have reliably confirmed the existence of an exoplanet with an extremely large radius, R pl = 1.83 ± 0.16R Jup, in the system KOI 256 and detected a strong deviation of its orbital revolution from the theoretically predicted one. During the transit of the exoplanet WASP-12b across the stellar disk, we detected bursts that could be caused by the planet transit across spots on the star or by the presence of a satellite around this exoplanet. We detected possible periodic variations in the duration of the exoplanet transit across the stellar disk with time for HAT-P-12b that could be caused by variations in orbital inclination. The transit duration and depth, the central transit time, and the radius and orbital inclination of the planet have been estimated. The equilibrium temperature and albedo have been estimated for several exoplanets.

Laboratory of observational astrometry of Pulkovo astronomical observatory of Russian Academy of science takes part in prelaunch training observations of GAIA-FUN-SSO program. Two asteroids were observed for this program after training alerts in 2011-2012.

More than 20000 observations of Near Earth asteroids and comets are collected and reduced in Pulkovo Observatory during last 10 years. For observations of these objects two robotic telescopes are used – ZA-320M (Cassegrain system, D = 320 mm, F = 3200 mm) at Pulkovo and MTM-500M (Maksutov – Cassegrain system, D = 500 mm, F = 4100 mm) at Kislovodsk mountain station. These telescopes perform CCD observations of objects up to 18.0 and 20.5 magnitude, correspondingly. The results of observations are regularly submitted to Minor Planet Center.

The 2009 WZ104 asteroid was discovered with 68-cm Schmidt Catalina Sky Survey telescope of Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona (USA) in 25 of November 2009. The observations of the new object were confirmed with 60-cm reflector of Schiaparelli observatory (Italy) and 35-cm Schmidt - Cassegrain telescope of Alter Saltzberg observatory (Vienna, Austria). The asteroid was attributed as potentially hazardous near Earth asteroid. The minimal orbit intersection distance is 0.0304 a.e. The observations of the 2009 WZ104 asteroid were continued with MTM-500M 50-cm meniscus telescope and ZA-320M 32-cm mirror astrograph of Pulkovo observatory (Russia) since late 2009. The observations were made in the framework of NEOs investigation program. The following tasks were established for the investigation: to get astrometric and photometric (in BVRI bands) series of observations, to improve the asteroid orbit on the base of the observational data, to determine its taxonomic class and absolute magnitude, to investigate the dynamics of its rotation, to estimate its physical parameters. The asteroid was attributed to Aten group among NEAs.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Astrometric and Photometric Observations of Solar System Bodies with Telescopes of Pulkovo Observatory A. V. Devyatkin, I. A. Vereshchagina, E. N. Sokov, D. L. Gorshanov, E. S. Romas, E. J. Aleshkina, V. J. Slesarenko, S. V. Karashevich, A. S. Bechteva, K. N. Naumov, et al.

In 2009, in five Russian observatories photometric observations of Jupiter’s Galilean satellites during their mutual occultations and eclipses were carried out. Based on these observations, an original method was used to ascertain astrometric results such as the difference between the coordinates of pairs of satellites. Fifty-three phenomena were successfully observed. A total of 94 light curves of satellites were measured. The error in the coordinates of satellites due to random errors in photometry, calculated on all data obtained, was 0.041″ in right ascension and 0.046″ in declination. The discrepancies between the theory and observations in these coordinates was found to be 0.060″ and 0.057″, respectively. The results were uploaded to the common database for all observations of natural satellites of planets at the Natural Satellites Data Center (NSDC), which is available online at http://www.sai.msu.ru/neb/nss/index.htm . For the first time in the practice of photometric observations of satellites in epochs of mutual occultations and eclipses a new method of observation was tested, which eliminates from astrometric results the major systematic errors caused by an inaccurate account of the background level. The tests were conducted in the Terskol Observatory and the observatory of the Crimean laboratory of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of the Moscow State University. The application of the new method showed that the elimination of the background level at these observatories was carried out correctly.