andrew_j_walker Jan 15, 2011
--- In find_orb@yahoogroups.com, Bill J Gray <pluto@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> The "in development" version of Find_Orb at
>
> http://home.gwi.net/~pluto/devel/find_orb.htm
>
> has some new features for ephemeris output. It'll still default to
> showing "observables" such as RA/dec, magnitude, and so on; and one
> can also have radial velocity, phase angle, and so on displayed. But
> one can also get state vector output and tables of orbital elements,
> and compute times of close approach of an object to the Earth, Moon,
> or other planet.
>
> Also, when you click on an observation, the reference catalog used
> for that observation (UCAC-3, GSC, USNO-B1, etc.) will be shown. I
> also fixed a bug in reading .rwo-formatted (AstDyS) data.
>
> Also, the "mean residual" shown in the orbital elements should now
> match that shown on MPC-created orbital elements. I'd recommend
> upgrading to this version.
>
> A couple of weeks ago, I announced on MPML that I'd produced an
> off-line version of the MPC's MPChecker service. Based on some feedback,
> I've made some significant improvements:
>
> http://home.gwi.net/~pluto/devel/astcheck.htm
>
> In particular, asteroids are now checked on the basis of both
> position _and_ motion. This seemingly simple step makes the checking
> much better; it means a larger search radius can be used without giving
> you a huge table of meaningless matches, so you have some hope of
> being able to identify objects even when they are far off the nominal
> prediction. (Exactly how far off remains to be seen. I think matches
> could be found within several degrees in most cases, but for the nonce,
> I'm leaving the default search radius at one degree.)
>
> Also, matching can be done against either 'astorb.dat' or 'mpcorb.dat'.
>
> As always, feedback is welcome.
>
> -- Bill
>