"Pseudo-MPEC" for ZTF00pm = ZTF01Ls
Created 2018 Sep 21 15:41:13 UT using Find_Orb
Click here for an explanation of pseudo-MPECs
TLEs are available for this object, and for some of the other objects on these pages. Be warned that, for reasons discussed below, the TLEs for this particular object may not be all that good.
This is an ETBO ("Empty Trash Bag Object"), so called because it has roughly the size and mass of an empty trash bag. As a result, it tends to get kicked around a lot by solar radiation pressure, and its future motions are unpredictable, much like an empty trash bag being blown down a street : you have a general idea that it will go downwind, but the specifics are unknown.
When ZTF00pm was initially found by the Zwicky Transient Facility, I suspected it of being an artificial satellite. An SSTO (super-synchronous transfer orbit) fit reasonably well. However, I couldn't conclusively say one way or another. I made a note of its orbital elements and hoped a similar object would eventually turn up.
And six days later, it did, in the form of ZTF01Ls. That object was only observed for about three minutes, though, and I couldn't be entirely certain the linkage was correct. Normally, under such circumstances, I'd ask Peter Birtwhistle at Great Shefford to try to recover it. It often happens that when data for a new artsat (or rock) appears on NEOCP, nightfall has arrived in the UK and Peter is nicely placed to follow it up. In this case, though, the object would have been faint, fast, and low in the sky for Peter, and about to set. So I had to give up on that possibility.
Instead, I sent ephemerides to Ye Quanzhi at PTF, suggesting the object might show up that night in PTF data. Quanzhi pointed out that it might well have appeared in the nights in between, and did a check for the previous night. Almost immediately, he found the two positions shown below for 2018 September 16, confirming that the linkage was real.
Astrometry: ZTF00pm C2018 09 11.34519 23 54 53.50 +07 15 26.8 UNEOCPI41 ZTF00pm C2018 09 11.34553 23 54 57.05 +07 15 16.2 UNEOCPI41 ZTF00pm C2018 09 11.36857 23 58 58.01 +07 03 26.8 UNEOCPI41 ZTF00pm C2018 09 11.36892 23 59 01.68 +07 03 15.4 UNEOCPI41 ZTF00pm C2018 09 11.36947 23 59 07.64 +07 02 57.3 17.67RUNEOCPI41 ZTF00pm C2018 09 11.36981 23 59 11.31 +07 02 45.9 17.67RUNEOCPI41 ZTF01Ls tC2018 09 16.41534 00 44 01.49 +04 48 52.4 17.46RU I41 ZTF01Ls tC2018 09 16.41569 00 44 07.24 +04 48 27.2 17.46RU I41 ZTF01Ls tC2018 09 17.31735723 22 22.01 +08 01 04.7 18.40gUNEOCPI41 ZTF01Ls tC2018 09 17.31770423 22 24.96 +08 00 59.0 18.40gUNEOCPI41 ZTF01Ls tC2018 09 17.31918323 22 37.52 +08 00 31.9 18.69gUNEOCPI41 ZTF01Ls tC2018 09 17.31953023 22 40.57 +08 00 25.6 18.69gUNEOCPI41 Station data: (I41) Palomar Mountain--ZTF (N33.357340 W116.859780) US/California. Observer A. U. Tomatic. Measurer Q.-Z. Ye. Orbital elements: ZTF00pm = ZTF01Ls Perigee 2018 Sep 14.222944 +/- 0.000373 TT = 5:21:02 (JD 2458375.722944) Epoch 2018 Sep 14.0 TT; AMR 27.978 +/- 0.19 m2/kg Gray M 294.483711 +/- 0.10 (J2000 equator) n 293.868186151 +/- 0.00128 Peri. 291.267046 +/- 0.019 a 48361.72590 +/- 0.14 Node 236.661128 +/- 0.0031 e 0.79585323 +/- 0.000224 Incl. 10.766045 +/- 0.0037 P1764.02m/1.225d H 33.9 G 0.15 U 8.3 q 9872.890051 +/- 10.9 Q 86850.56174 +/- 10.6 From 12 observations 2018 Sept. 11-17; mean residual 1".058
Residuals in arcseconds: 180911 I41 2.47- .555+ 180911 I41 1.24+ .477- 180917 I41 1.52+ 1.10- 180911 I41 1.43- .318- 180911 I41 1.65+ .596- 180917 I41 .978+ .299- 180911 I41 1.21+ .729- 180916 I41 .779+ .176- 180917 I41 1.61- .482+ 180911 I41 .139+ .578- 180916 I41 1.36- .418+ 180917 I41 .699- .762+ Ephemerides (geocentric): Date (UTC) HH RA Dec delta elong mag " sig PA ---- -- -- -- ------------- ----------- ------ ----- --- ---- --- 2018 09 17 00 22 03 39.811 +10 48 07.83 72906 153.2 18.6 83.8 95 2018 09 17 01 22 16 17.819 +10 43 37.25 76745 155.9 18.6 65.4 96 2018 09 17 02 22 27 49.208 +10 37 49.31 79911 158.3 18.6 50.6 97 2018 09 17 03 22 38 32.485 +10 30 59.46 82449 160.4 18.6 38.4 98 2018 09 17 04 22 48 41.245 +10 23 15.72 84393 162.3 18.6 28.0 100 2018 09 17 05 22 58 26.052 +10 14 41.37 85765 164.0 18.6 19.1 101 2018 09 17 06 23 07 55.597 +10 05 16.30 86583 165.5 18.6 11.5 104 2018 09 17 07 23 17 17.473 +09 54 57.55 86854 166.7 18.5 4.79 112 2018 09 17 08 23 26 38.756 +09 43 39.55 86583 167.6 18.5 1.57 60 2018 09 17 09 23 36 06.495 +09 31 13.82 85766 168.1 18.4 6.33 92 2018 09 17 10 23 45 48.201 +09 17 28.38 84394 168.3 18.4 10.6 97 2018 09 17 11 23 55 52.414 +09 02 06.62 82451 167.9 18.4 14.0 99 2018 09 17 12 00 06 29.458 +08 44 45.50 79914 167.0 18.3 16.4 102 2018 09 17 13 00 17 52.572 +08 24 52.37 76749 165.6 18.3 17.5 104 2018 09 17 14 00 30 19.715 +08 01 39.66 72912 163.7 18.2 16.9 107 2018 09 17 15 00 44 16.746 +07 33 55.20 68341 161.1 18.2 13.7 113 2018 09 17 16 01 00 23.434 +06 59 43.36 62951 157.9 18.1 6.98 139 2018 09 17 17 01 19 46.047 +06 15 45.10 56626 153.7 18.0 12.2 71 2018 09 17 18 01 44 27.309 +05 15 41.96 49191 148.0 17.9 44.5 91 2018 09 17 19 02 18 51.940 +03 45 42.92 40385 139.9 17.7 119 96 2018 09 17 20 03 15 11.881 +01 07 45.22 29795 126.2 17.4 336 99 2018 09 17 21 05 28 16.998 -05 04 05.43 17022 93.2 17.2 1431 99 2018 09 17 22 14 08 29.168 -04 13 20.16 11253 37.5 20?? 4220 80 2018 09 17 23 18 30 12.965 +07 28 28.21 24018 102.0 17.7 1036 83 2018 09 18 00 19 50 52.003 +09 44 49.84 35635 121.5 17.9 487 86 2018 09 18 01 20 34 18.522 +10 29 16.22 45221 131.9 18.1 300 89 2018 09 18 02 21 03 32.986 +10 46 43.23 53263 138.8 18.3 208 91 2018 09 18 03 21 25 37.125 +10 53 03.67 60085 143.9 18.4 154 92 2018 09 18 04 21 43 28.783 +10 53 50.73 65898 147.9 18.5 117 94 2018 09 18 05 21 58 38.214 +10 51 27.07 70842 151.3 18.6 90.6 95 2018 09 18 06 22 11 57.183 +10 47 01.93 75015 154.3 18.6 70.4 96 2018 09 18 07 22 23 58.155 +10 41 11.58 78489 156.9 18.6 54.3 97 2018 09 18 08 22 35 02.982 +10 34 15.65 81316 159.2 18.6 41.2 98 2018 09 18 09 22 45 27.295 +10 26 24.57 83534 161.2 18.6 30.1 100 2018 09 18 10 22 55 22.925 +10 17 43.11 85171 163.1 18.6 20.7 102 2018 09 18 11 23 04 59.340 +10 08 12.22 86246 164.8 18.6 12.6 105 2018 09 18 12 23 14 24.583 +09 57 49.89 86772 166.2 18.5 5.57 113 2018 09 18 13 23 23 45.919 +09 46 31.46 86755 167.4 18.5 1.54 42 2018 09 18 14 23 33 10.360 +09 34 09.54 86194 168.3 18.4 6.38 89 2018 09 18 15 23 42 45.148 +09 20 33.58 85083 168.8 18.4 11.0 95