Bill....
The problem is in the inherent Guide8 library of asteroids. If you are using Guide8 to
find a target, say 7889, with mpcorb.dat loaded, it is pulling the location data from
the oldest files in the directory file and not from the latest mpcorb files. NOW, if
you image that field and attempt to determine the astrometric location via CHARON, that
is pulling from the neatod.dat files and the two might be totally different. The only
solution is to manually EDIT out the older data and use MPC Ephemeris to Add
Asteroids/Comets on the Extra tool in Guide8.

In other words, Guide8 and Charon and putting the target in two different
locations....Charon is always right because it is using the latest neatod.dat files, but
Guide8 will always attempt to locate an asteroid by the internal library first. Only by
editing out the old orbital parameters (delete the asteroid manually under EDIT), will
Guide8 go to the latest mpcorb position. Many times these fields will be off several
degrees.

I think my question would be: is there a way to completely eliminate the internal
library of asteroids in Guide8 so that it searches out minor planets using ONLY
mpcorb.dat files?
If the directed file is empty, then I would think that Guide would go to the MPC files
as it does when we manually edit out an object.

This is a pretty big problem in older numbered as well as some year-designation NEOs as
well, even as recent at 2003 or 2004 objects.

Please advise.

Clay
-------------
Dr. P. Clay Sherrod
Arkansas Sky Observatories
Harvard MPC/ H43 (Conway)
Harvard MPC/ H41 (Petit Jean Mountain)
Harvard MPC/ H45 (Petit Jean Mtn. South)
http://www.arksky.org/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill J Gray" <pluto@...>
To: <guide-user@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: [guide-user] Re: Asteroids and Comets


> Hi Dave,
>
> Simplest solution to this is to download this file:
>
> http://www.projectpluto.com/comets.dat
>
> (42473 bytes) and use it to replace the existing
> 'comets.dat' in your Guide folder.
>
> Most people won't run into this issue. But if you've
> used the 'Add MPC Comets/Asteroids' option to add asteroids,
> then the headache in question will most definitely arise.
> You may have downloaded an object known as, say, 2003 XY123,
> long ago; since then, it's become numbered object (123456)
> Randomname, listed under that name in the latest 'mpcorb.dat'.
> Guide has no way to realize that these objects are really one
> and the same, so it plots them both.
>
> The above 'comets.dat' contains only comets, with no
> asteroids at all, so no chance of doppelgangers.
>
> Even more people will run into a related issue: comets are
> often found under one designation, then given a permanent
> periodic designation. For example, P/1997 V1 (Larsen) just
> got the designation Larsen (200P). Unless you go in by hand
> to remove the first one (or download the above file, in which
> all such cases are corrected), Guide will show them both.
>
> It occurs to me that there's a solution to the asteroid
> problem: if 'mpcorb.dat' is in use, then MPC comets from
> 'comets.dat' should be suppressed. (Guide can tell which
> objects came from MPC and which didn't.) The comet problem
> is a much hairier one. Ideally, MPC (or someone) would
> provide a comprehensive comet file, much as it does for
> asteroids. But it doesn't look as if that's in the works.
>
> -- Bill
>
> ------------------------------------
>
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>
>
>

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