Observatory Codes (mpc_sbn.obscodes)

Description

Resolve observatory codes (e.g. used in obs_sbn.stn) to observatory name, longitude, and other metadata. Essential for interpreting who observed what and where.

Schema and field descriptions follow the MPC obscodes 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	Description
id	int	meta.id meta.main	PostgreSQL automatically generated identifier.
obscode	char	pos.earth.obs	MPC observatory code (e.g. 500, F52).
longitude	double	pos.earth.lon	Observatory longitude.
rhocosphi	double	pos.cartesian.x	rho cos(phi) for geodetic position.
rhosinphi	double	pos.cartesian.y	rho sin(phi) for geodetic position.
name	char	meta.id	Observatory name.
firstdate	char	time.epoch	First date of use.
lastdate	char	time.epoch	Last date of use.
web_link	char	meta.ref.url	URL for observatory.
created_at	timestamp	time.creation	Date and time of initial row insert.
updated_at	timestamp	time.modification	Date and time of latest row update.
short_name	char	meta.id	Short name for the observatory.
uses_two_line_observations	boolean	meta.code	Whether the observatory uses two-line elements.
old_names	char	meta.id	Previous names for the observatory.
name_utf8	char	meta.id	Observatory name (UTF-8).
name_latex	char	meta.id	Observatory name (LaTeX).
observations_type	char	meta.code	Type of observations from this observatory.