MPC Orbits (mpc_sbn.mpc_orbits)
Description
The mpc_orbits table contains orbits and orbital related information of minor planets, comets and natural satellites. The table is continuously updated every time 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.
Schema and field descriptions follow the MPC mpc_orbits documentation.
Attribution
This research has made use of data and/or services provided by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.
Columns
| Name | Type | UCD | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| id | int |
meta.id meta.main |
PostgreSQL automatically generated identifier. |
|
| packed_primary_provisional_designation | char | meta.id |
Packed form of the primary provisional designation (e.g. K17P08M). |
|
| unpacked_primary_provisional_designation | char | meta.id |
Unpacked form of the primary provisional designation (e.g. 2017PM8). |
|
| mpc_orb_jsonb | char | meta.note |
MPC JSON format used to describe MPC orbits. The public python package is available as part of the MPC public Github https://github.com/Smithsonian/mpc-public/ with additional information. |
|
| created_at | timestamp | time.creation |
Date and time of initial row insert. |
|
| updated_at | timestamp | time.modification |
Date and time of latest row update. |
|
| orbit_type_int | int | meta.code |
Orbit classification based on the object orbital element. For more information please see https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpcops/documentation/orbit-types/. |
|
| u_param | int | meta.code |
MPC defined U parameter. For more information please see https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/info/UValue.html. |
|
| nopp | int | meta.number |
MPC computed number of oppositions. |
|
| arc_length_total | double | time.interval | d |
Arc length of all the observations associated to the object, computed as the difference between the time of the last observations and the time of the first observation. |
| arc_length_sel | double | time.interval | d |
Arc length of all the observations selected by the fit, computed as the difference between the time of the last selected observations and the time of the first selected observation. |
| nobs_total | int | meta.number |
Total number of observations associated to the object. |
|
| nobs_total_sel | int | meta.number |
Total number of observations used by the fit. |
|
| a | double |
src.orbital phys.size.smajAxis |
au |
Semi-major axis [au]. |
| q | double |
src.orbital pos.distance |
au |
Perihelion distance [au]. |
| e | double | src.orbital.eccentricity |
Eccentricity. |
|
| i | double | src.orbital.inclination | deg |
Inclination [degrees]. |
| node | double | src.orbital.node | deg |
Longitude of the ascending node [degrees]. |
| argperi | double | src.orbital.periastron | deg |
Argument of the pericenter [degrees]. |
| peri_time | double |
time.epoch src.orbital |
d |
Time of the passage at the pericenter [days]. |
| yarkovsky | double |
phys.acceleration src.orbital |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
A2 component of the Yarkovsky acceleration [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| srp | double |
phys.acceleration src.orbital |
m^2/ton |
Solar radiation pressure [m^2/ton]. |
| a1 | double |
phys.acceleration src.orbital |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
A1 component of the non-gravitational acceleration for comets [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| a2 | double |
phys.acceleration src.orbital |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
A2 component of the non-gravitational acceleration for comets [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| a3 | double |
phys.acceleration src.orbital |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
A3 component of the non-gravitational acceleration for comets [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| dt | double |
time.interval src.orbital |
d |
DeltaT component of the non-gravitational acceleration [days]. |
| mean_anomaly | double | src.orbital.meanAnomaly | deg |
Mean anomaly [degrees]. |
| period | double | time.period.revolution | d |
Orbital period [days]. |
| mean_motion | double | src.orbital.meanMotion | deg/d |
Orbital mean motion [degrees per day]. |
| a_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital |
au |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the semi-major axis [au]. |
| q_unc | double |
stat.error pos.distance |
au |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the perihelion distance [au]. |
| e_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital.eccentricity |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the eccentricity. |
|
| i_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital.inclination |
deg |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the inclination [degrees]. |
| node_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital.node |
deg |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the longitude of the node [degrees]. |
| argperi_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital.periastron |
deg |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the argument of the pericenter [degrees]. |
| peri_time_unc | double |
stat.error time.epoch |
d |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the time of the pericenter passage [days]. |
| yarkovsky_unc | double |
stat.error phys.acceleration |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the A2 component of the Yarkovsky acceleration [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| srp_unc | double |
stat.error phys.acceleration |
m^2/ton |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the solar radiation pressure [m^2/ton]. |
| a1_unc | double |
stat.error phys.acceleration |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the A1 component of the non-gravitational acceleration [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| a2_unc | double |
stat.error phys.acceleration |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the A2 component of the non-gravitational acceleration [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| a3_unc | double |
stat.error phys.acceleration |
10^-10 au/d^2 |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the A3 component of the non-gravitational acceleration [10^(-10) au/d^2]. |
| dt_unc | double |
stat.error time.interval |
d |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the DeltaT component of the non-gravitational acceleration [days]. |
| mean_anomaly_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital.meanAnomaly |
deg |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the mean anomaly [degrees]. |
| period_unc | double |
stat.error time.period |
d |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the orbital period [days]. |
| mean_motion_unc | double |
stat.error src.orbital.meanMotion |
deg/d |
Post-fit 1-sigma uncertainty in the mean motion [degrees]. |
| epoch_mjd | double | time.epoch | d |
Orbit epoch [TT, MJD]. |
| h | double | phys.magAbs | mag |
Absolute magnitude as computed by OrbFit. |
| g | double |
phot.mag arith.grad |
Slope parameter. |
|
| not_normalized_rms | double | stat.rms | arcsec |
Not normalized post-fit RMS [arcseconds]. |
| normalized_rms | double |
stat.rms stat.fit |
Normalized post-fit RMS. |
|
| earth_moid | double |
pos.distance src.impactParam |
au |
Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance [au] with respect to the orbit of the Earth. |
| fitting_datetime | timestamp | time.processing |
Date and time recorded when the orbital fit was performed. |