Minor Planet Center (MPC) - SBN mirror (mpc_sbn)

Description

Schema of the MPC orbits table

The MPC orbits table contains orbits and orbital related information of minor planets, comets and natural satellites. The table is continously updated everytime a new orbit is updated.

Known issues

This table should be considered as a work in progress, and as such at the moment does not contain all the information. The MPC goal was to replicate the table so that the community could familiarize with the mpc_orb.json format and provide feedback.

• The table is not fully populated. Comet and natural satellite orbits are not saved (for now).
• The fields are not fully populated.
• Some orbit consistency work is needed. The table may contain orbits with secondary designations or old orbits that have not been updated.

Useful information

• Both packed and unpacked forms are included in the table for the primary provisional designations.
• Only the unpacked numbered without parenthesis are included in the table for the primary permanent designations.
• The table can be linked to the current identification table using one of the primary provisional designation fields.

Attribution

This research has made use of data and/or services provided by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.

Tables

• Observations SBN (mpc_sbn.obs_sbn)

  Replica of the MPC internal PostgreSQL observations table. Contains published observations and those in the ITF (Initial Treatment File).

• MPC Orbits (mpc_sbn.mpc_orbits)

  Table containing orbits and related information for any minor planet that has been designated and for which it is possible to fit an orbit with the available observations. Partially populated.

• Comet Names (mpc_sbn.comet_names)

  Maps comet designations (packed and unpacked) to official names and naming references.

• Current Identifications (mpc_sbn.current_identifications)

  Links primary and secondary provisional designations for the same object (current identifications).

• Minor Planet Names (mpc_sbn.minor_planet_names)

  Numbered minor planets with their official names, discovery/citation info, and naming references.

• Numbered Identifications (mpc_sbn.numbered_identifications)

  Links provisional designations to numbered designations and IAU names (when numbered/named).

• Observatory Codes (mpc_sbn.obscodes)

  Table used to keep a record of all the observatory codes assigned by the MPC.

• Primary Objects (mpc_sbn.primary_objects)

  Table containing a record of all the primary designations for minor planets, comets and natural satellites that have been designated by the MPC.