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Topic: Minor Planet Center

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Brian Marsden

	Minor Planet Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), which is part of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) along with the Harvard College Observatory (HCO).
		Under the auspices of the IAU, it is the official organization in charge of collecting observational data for minor planets (asteroids) and comets and calculating their orbits, and publishing this information.
		The Minor Planet Center was set up at the University of Cincinnati in 1947, under the direction of Paul Herget.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Minor_Planet_Center (162 words)

	IAU: Minor Planet Center
		The Minor Planet Center (MPC) operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, under the auspices of Division III of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), with significant funding coming from subscriptions to the various services offered by the Center.
		The MPC is responsible for the designation of minor bodies in the solar system: minor planets; comets (in conjunction with CBAT); and natural satellites (also in conjunction with CBAT).
		Ephemerides and orbital elements for comets, NEOs, distant objects and bright minor planets.
	cfa-www.harvard.edu /iau/mpc.html (497 words)

	Essay: A Major Fracas Over a Small, but Not Quite Minor, Planet
		The Minor Planet Center, a clearinghouse for all observations and measurements of minor planets, keeps an official tally of "Small Objects" (called either asteroids or minor planets) whose orbits are precisely known.
		Everyone agrees that Pluto is like major planets in that it is spherical, that it is a lot bigger than the garden variety of "minor planets," that it has a thin atmosphere and that it has a large moon -- traits that distinguish it from common asteroids.
		Trans-Neptunian Objects, of which nearly 100 have been discovered since the first one was found in 1992, are minor planets beyond the orbit of Neptune.
	partners.nytimes.com /library/national/science/020999sci-planet-pluto.html (832 words)

	Minor Planet Names (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Minor planets are each given a provisional designation when they are discovered and confirmed.
		A general discussion of the system of designations of minor planets is available at the MPC.
		Further details of the procedures for naming minor planets are available at the MPC.
	www.ss.astro.umd.edu /IAU/csbn/mp.shtml (215 words)

	IAU / FAQ / How Minor Planets are Named (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		The assignment of a particular name to a particular minor planet is the end of a long process that can take many decades.
		The provisional designations are based on the date of discovery and are assigned by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) according to a well defined formula that involves the year of discovery, two letters and, if need be, further digits (for example 1989 AC or 2002 LM60).
		When a Minor Planet receives a permanent number, the discoverer of the Minor Planet is invited to suggest a name for it.
	www.iau.org /IAU/FAQ/MPdesignation.html (573 words)

	MPC Observation
		After you have positively identified a minor planet on three or more images, you may wish to report this observation to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
		If the date of the minor planet or comet observation is not specified in Universal Time, enter your Time Zone to make this adjustment automatically.
		Displays the declination of the center of the image.
	www.bisque.com /Help/CCDSoft/MPC_Observation.htm (413 words)

	Minor Planet Center (MPC)
		An organization based at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory that collects, computes, checks, and disseminates information about minor planets, including asteroids, comets, and Kuiper Belt objects.
		The MPC operates under the auspices of Commission 20 of the International Astronomical Union and is funded mainly by subscriptions to its various services.
		The Institute for Theoretical Astronomy in St. Petersburg, Russia, fulfills a complementary function by publishing each year the Ephemerides of Minor Planets, which contains the orbital elements of all numbered asteroids, together with their opposition dates and ephemeredes.
	www.daviddarling.info /encyclopedia/M/Minor_Planet_Center.html (163 words)

	USATODAY.com - Asteroid scare prompts NASA to formalize response (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		The measurements were sent as part of a daily batch to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass, on the Tuesday in January.
		Yeomans called the Minor Planet Center to try and get access to the original data set (the actual observations are not posted on the Minor Planet Center web site until after an official announcement circular is published, usually in a couple days).
		NASA does not fund the follow-up work at all, and the Minor Planet Center operates on a shoestring budget relying partly on subscriptions to its data mailings.
	www.usatoday.com /tech/news/2004-03-22-asteroid-response_x.htm (1884 words)

	[No title]
		These small planets are generally named by their discoverers, who may honor a family member, a colleague, a place, even an admired writer or musician.
		And while classical musicians are popular among German astronomers, the Minor Planet Center's naming committee recently vetoed what Marsden thought was a clever naming proposal from a British source: “Wewilroku,” honoring a member of the rock group Queen who trained in astronomy at University of London.
		“When a minor planet is named for a well-known person or place, no explanation is needed, but often the meaning is more obscure.” He cited the name of minor planet 10195, “Nebraska.” The reason: It was the first minor planet discovered from a new observatory in that state.
	www.russellmark.com /news/news_071300.html (769 words)

	New Planet Discovered in the Solar System?
		If 2003 UB313 is to be called a planet, then a couple of dozen other Kuiper belt objects should be too, as well as the asteroid Ceres and perhaps a dozen other objects in the asteroid belt, Marsden added.
		The U.S. astronomers, though, had not reported their EL61 discovery to the Minor Planet Center, which is the official governing body for the recognition of such discoveries.
		Scientists disagree over the definition of "planet" and therefore over whether UB313 is actually the tenth planet in the solar system—or just a big round chunk of rock and ice.
	news.nationalgeographic.com /news/2005/08/0801_050801_newplanet_2.html (993 words)

	2004 DW (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		If subsequent measurements verify this size estimate, this would make 2004 DW the largest minor planet known, and larger than Pluto's moon Charon, which is about 1300 km in diameter.
		In the above image, the known planets are in fl and 2004 DW is in red, note the similarity to Pluto's orbit (the fl oval shaped orbit).
		This is due to rules of the Minor Planet Center and the International Astronomical Union.
	www.gps.caltech.edu /%7Echad/2004dw (1332 words)

	University of Toronto Astronomy and Astrophysics Library :'UofT asteroids
		Information is from the MPC shown and the information on living persons is probably out of date now.
		This minor planet, the first to be found at a Canadian Observatory, is named in honour of University of Toronto, during whose sesquicentennial celebration it was discovered, to acknowledge the central role played by the university in the development of astronomy in Canada.
		This planet was detected at the David Dunlap Observatory on plates taken by Sidney van den Bergh at the Tautenberg Observatory, East Germany.
	www.astro.utoronto.ca /asteroids.html (1059 words)

	A Rose By Any Other Name: The Peculiar Case of Pluto - Case Teaching Notes - Case Study Collection - National Center ...
		She is faced with the dilemma of evaluating this information and deciding “What is Pluto?” by answering the question “What is a planet?” While the characters and the scenes in this case study are fictional, the arguments and events are factual (for example, see Freedman, 1998).
		They may be surprised that the IAU’s definition for “planet” is not as concrete or as “scientific” as they might have expected, or may think that it is arbitrary.
		In addition, the classification “Minor Planet 10,000” was given to a small asteroid in the main belt and officially named “Myriostos,” which means “10,000” in Greek (Minor Planet Center, 2004).
	www.sciencecases.org /pluto/pluto_notes.asp (986 words)

	LAMP OBSERVATORY
		of Minor Planets” is a small, private, optical observatory committed to astrometric observations.
		which is the official clearinghouse for all minor planet data.
		In general, the observatory provides follow-up observations and on call confirmations as needed by the minor planet community.
	www.geocities.com /srloucks/home.html (157 words)

	Minor planet groups/families
		Notice on the MPC plot that groups are loose regions, families are very tight groupings.
		The Minor Planet Center holds that the name for a group comes from the first asteroid in that group to be named (except for those in the Trojan and more distant groups.) So far, we aren't even close to having a named object for these groups, or even one that is unambiguously in the group.
		The perihelion of such an object tends to be close to Neptune's orbit (much as happens with Pluto), but when the object comes to perihelion, Neptune alternates between being 90 degrees ahead of and 90 degrees behind of the object, so there's no chance of a collision.
	www.projectpluto.com /mp_group.htm (1202 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		With their 12 observations spanning 3 nights, The Minor Planet Center determined a preliminary orbit that suggested the object is 43 AU from the Sun and 42 AU from the Earth.
		The orbit is now known well enough that the Minor Planet Center has assigned 2000 WR a permanent number; it is minor planet (20000).
		Minor Planet (20000) 2000 WR106 has been named by the IAU.
	spacewatch.lpl.arizona.edu /2000wr106.html (504 words)

	House Committee on Science
		Awards also are made for those who provide the greatest service to update the Minor Planet Center's catalogue of known asteroids.
		Guidelines for Awarding Prizes - The prizes are awarded in recognition of a single or group of amateur(s) with the greatest contribution to NEO survey as determined by the Minor Planet Center.
		Eligibility - Applicants must demonstrate that they are not funded to use professional telescopes or observations while participating in the program, and Government and professional astronomers associated with surveys of NEOs, as well as their family members, are ineligible for the awards.
	www.house.gov /science/hearings/full04/feb04/hr912/summary.htm (266 words)

	San Marcello Pistoiese Astronomical Observatory (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Apart from this work that employes two people part-time, the Observatory activity is devoted to minor planet research and is designated with code 104 by the Minor Planet Center.
		The first astrometric measure of a minor planet was taken in April 1991 by Luciano Tesi, director of this facility, from a Tech Pan film, hypered with hydrogen.
		The asteroid program at San Marcello is also part of a wider network of many Italian observing stations involved in astrometric work of minor planets (Italian Group of Astrometrists or GIA).
	www.arcetri.astro.it /%7Eforti/sanmarc/sanmaeng.html (236 words)

	Minor Planet Research, Inc. - (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Minor Planet Research, Inc. (MPR) is dedicated to the search for, orbital measurement of, and physical studies of, Near Earth Objects (NEOs).
		NEOs are asteroids or comets that pose a potential collision hazard with Earth by virtue of their mass, velocity, and orbital paths through space.
		Minor Planet Research, Inc. is a proud recipient of a Gene Shoemaker NEO Grant from
	www.minorplanetresearch.org (126 words)

	Comet Resources (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		The Minor Planet Center (MPC) operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, under the auspices of Commission 20 of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and is a nonprofit organization, with principal funding coming from subscriptions to the various services offered by the Center.
		The MPC is the professional organization responsible for the efficient collection, (computation,) checking and dissemination of astrometric observations and orbits for minor planets and comets, via the Minor Planet Circulars (issued monthly) and the Minor Planet Electronic Circulars (issued as necessary).
		Ephemerides may be computed and finder charts may be generated which show the minor planets and available reference stars.
	yorty.sonoma.edu /~gordon/oa/comet_mp_resources.html (684 words)

	Planetary Society
		They are quick to act on the notifications of the new NEO candidates, posted on the Minor Planet Center's NEO confirmation page.
		Amateur astronomers are sometimes the first to make NEO observations after the night of discovery, and their persistence on subsequent nights frequently speeds up the process of making the formal announcement of a confirmed NEO on a Minor Planet Electronic Circular.
		They may savor for a moment seeing their names as contributors on that first circular, but they keep performing follow-up during the ensuing weeks and months.
	www.planetary.org /html/neo/NEOinTPR/tpraaanswer.htm (201 words)

	IAU CSBN
		The actual naming is administered, under the guidance of the committee, by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) and the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT).
		Interactive web pages are available to look up most of the alternative designations and names of an object at the CBAT for comets and at the MPC for minor planets.
		Another cross-reference, combining comets and minor planets together, but not having a complete listing of all the preliminary designations of minor planets, is available at the Small Bodies Node (SBN) of the Planetary Data System.
	www.ss.astro.umd.edu /IAU/csbn (390 words)

	Masi Astro_images_ast
		Following observations have been used by G. Williams, G. Williams, Minor Planet Center, to link the object to 1996 SM7; the second one is the main designation.
		This animation shows the minor planet as it was during this second night: some galaxies are visible in the same field.
		1999 RA On Sept. the 1th, during a survey deticated to the research of new minor planets, I've found a new body in Capricornus, which was not present on the Minor Planet Center database.
	www.bellatrixobservatory.org /astei.html (2836 words)

	Comets
		They are a mixture of ices (both water and frozen gases) and dust that for some reason didn't get incorporated into planets when the solar system was formed.
		By far the most famous comet is Comet Halley but SL 9 was a "big hit" for a week in the summer of 1994.
		Charts showing the positions in the sky of some comets can be created with a planetarium program.
	www.seds.org /nineplanets/nineplanets/comets.html (673 words)

	SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
		Sometimes when the sun is setting over the ocean, and it is just about to vanish beneath the waves, observers see a surprising flash of emerald green.
		None of the known PHAs are on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.
		NOAA Space Environment Center -- The official U.S. government bureau for real-time monitoring of solar and geophysical events, research in solar-terrestrial physics, and forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances.
	www.spaceweather.com (682 words)

	Asteroids with satellites
		The first minor planet with multiple satellites, (87) Sylvia, was identified in 2005.
		Additionally, the inner planets and the Moon show a number of double craters, apparently formed by the near-simultaneous impact of two objects.
		Observed Minor Planet Occultation Events by D. Dunham (2003).
	www.johnstonsarchive.net /astro/asteroidmoons.html (1139 words)

	MPChecker: Minor Planet Checker
		Use the form below to prepare a list of known minor planets in a specified region.
		If you have an older suspect you wish to check, please contact the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (for novae and supernovae) or the Minor Planet Center (for minor planets).
		This means that in the period immediately after MPC preparation there may be very few objects selected.
	scully.harvard.edu /%7Ecgi/CheckMP (593 words)

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