All Topics  
Minor Planet Center

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Minor Planet Center
 
 
  Topics Minor Planet Center Topic Home

The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a "research institute" of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it is joined with the Harvard College Observatory to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics ....
 (SAO), which is part of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) along with the Harvard College Observatory
Harvard College Observatory

The Harvard College Observatory is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomy research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy....
 (HCO).

Under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy....
, it is the official organization in charge of collecting observational data for minor planet
Minor planet

An asteroid group or minor planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid....
s (asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
s) and comet
Comet

A comet is a Small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma or a tail?both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the Comet nucleus....
s, calculating their orbit
ORBit

ORBit is a Common Object Request Broker Architecture 2.4 compliant Object Request Broker . It features mature C , C++ and Python bindings, and less developed bindings for Perl, Lisp , Pascal , Ruby , and Tcl....
s and publishing this information via the Minor Planet Circular
Minor Planet Circular

The Minor Planet Circulars are published generally on the date of each full moon by the Minor Planet Center. The Circulars contain astrometric observations, orbits and ephemerides of both minor planets and comets....
s. It runs a number of free on-line services for observers to assist them in observing minor planets and comets.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Minor Planet Center'
Start a new discussion about 'Minor Planet Center'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a "research institute" of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it is joined with the Harvard College Observatory to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics ....
 (SAO), which is part of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) along with the Harvard College Observatory
Harvard College Observatory

The Harvard College Observatory is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomy research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy....
 (HCO).

Under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy....
, it is the official organization in charge of collecting observational data for minor planet
Minor planet

An asteroid group or minor planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid....
s (asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
s) and comet
Comet

A comet is a Small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma or a tail?both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the Comet nucleus....
s, calculating their orbit
ORBit

ORBit is a Common Object Request Broker Architecture 2.4 compliant Object Request Broker . It features mature C , C++ and Python bindings, and less developed bindings for Perl, Lisp , Pascal , Ruby , and Tcl....
s and publishing this information via the Minor Planet Circular
Minor Planet Circular

The Minor Planet Circulars are published generally on the date of each full moon by the Minor Planet Center. The Circulars contain astrometric observations, orbits and ephemerides of both minor planets and comets....
s. It runs a number of free on-line services for observers to assist them in observing minor planets and comets. The complete catalogue of minor planet orbits (MPCORB, sometimes referred to as the 'Minor Planet Catalogue') may also be freely downloaded.

The Minor Planet Center was set up at the University of Cincinnati in 1947, under the direction of Paul Herget
Paul Herget

Paul Herget was an American astronomer.Herget taught astronomy at the University of Cincinnati. He was a pioneer in the use of machine methods, and eventually digital computers, in the solving of scientific and specifically astronomical problems ....
. Upon Herget's retirement in 1978, the MPC was moved to the SAO, under the direction of Brian Marsden.

See also

  • Minor planet designation


External links