Near Earth Object Detection Procedure

There are a number of objects, either being Comets or Asteroids that have been classified as “Near Earth Objects”. Those that are designated as “NEO” are Earth orbit crossing objects. These celestial objects have the potential of possible future collision with Earth. To be aware of these possibilities and know before hand if such an event is calculated to occur, researchers continue to study and identify these objects in our solar system. Everyday new objects are identified and added to this list. With out, and also with the detection of the latter objects, there still holds the potential that this Earth Orbit Crossing Objects could at some point in time be oriented just right to collide with Earth. The “NEO” project is partially designed for just this. If we are able to detect one of these objects in advance, it will allow us time to prepare. But, currently one of the major issues driving these projects is the pursuit to study and learn from these objects which can tell us of the history of our solar system, as well as that of the Universe.

Why do we continue to detect new objects everyday?

It is not that there are a continued flow of these objects coming from either the Apollo asteroid belt or the Oort cloud, but that we simply come across other objects that have not yet to be found which came along with larger groups in past collisions or gravitational influences to these various sites.

Designed by:

Errol Jud Coder
Dr. Brent Sorenson - Southern Utah University Physics/Astronomy Professor
3	Aspects of the procedure were aided by instruction by the Minor Planet Center. Said information will be preceded by: MPC Instruction
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html

References/Tools

1	Ephemeris Generator - http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eph
2	Near Earth Object website - http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo/tools.html
3	Small Body Identification - http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/sb_search
4	Small Body Orbital Elements - http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sb_elem.html
5	SkyMorph Moving Target Detection - http://skys.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/skymorph/mobs.pl
6	Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking - http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov/
7	Aladin Star atlas - http://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/java/nph-aladin.pl?-rm=14.1&-server=Aladin
8	Simbad: Astronomical Query Database - http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/sim-fid.pl
9	New Object Ephemeris Generator - http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/MPEph/NewObjEphems.html

Needed Equipment:

•	Telescope (reflector or refractor).
•	For Photographic Imaging: 35mm SLR Camera /w a T-Adapter for your telescope.
•	For Digital Imaging: The following information is based off of recommendations by the Minor Planet Center.
	You will need to know the focal length of your telescope and the physical size of your CCD's pixels to calculate the pixel scale. Your setup should be such that the pixel scale is no greater than 2"/pixel (preferably) or 3"/pixel (at worst). In practice, your optimal pixel scale is something that you will have to determine for yourself, taking into consideration the capabilities of your telescope and CCD and the seeing at your site. If your pixel scale is much larger than the values quoted above, then the quality of the astrometry will suffer. If your pixel scale is too low for your local setup, then the signal-to-noise of the images may be low as each image is spread over a large number of pixels. 
•	You will also need a computer to capture the images and software to perform the reductions. Most astrometry software packages use the Guide Star Catalogue, so a CD-ROM drive is also required. Various software packages are advertised in popular astronomy magazines: 
•	An accurate clock/watch set to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a must and this must be checked regularly (as a minimum, at the start of each observing session) against a reliable standard such as the Navel Observatory Master clock tha can be found at: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/frtime.html
•	Access to e-mail is also important, both for reporting observations to and receiving designations from the Minor Planet Center (MPC)

Introduction: 
The following procesure was designed for use by Amateur Astronomers to aid them in the search for Minor Planets, Comets and other potential Near Earth Objects (NEO). It includes detailed information regarding the process of searching, documenting, reporting and naming objects located.

Comparable Reference (Use Reference Object Log)

1.	To allow for a visual reference to compare a known traveling path, with one you may come across, select a known object of the same type of object that you are searching for, ie. Comets or Asteroids. Over two different nights, preferably a week apart, observe using a telescope as well as taking photographs. Analyze and compare the images, noticing the distance the object has traveled based off of the background sky, the difference between the two images, and any other information you may have obtained. Use these images and the object as a reference when observing/imaging future objects. This will help you to locate similar objects and understand the movement of said objects.

Equipment Limiting Magnitude (use included Limiting Magnitude information for help)

 2.     Limiting magnitude is used to evaluate the quality of observing conditions. It tells the magnitude of the faintest star visible to the unaided eye. The limiting magnitude could also be observed by some instrument. It describes well the sky's transparency: better transparency means that fainter stars are visible. 
Limiting magnitude is also used eg. in meteor and deep sky observations. It can be used also to approximate light pollution. 
The simplest way to evaluate limiting magnitude is to find suitable stars with known magnitudes from star map and check which of them are visible. A more clever way is to count visible stars inside known star squares and triangles. This method was originally invented by meteor observers.  
To make things simpiler for the user, we have included maps of areas you may use to identify your Limiting Magnitude.

Designate Observation Locations

3.     Designate the desired locations where the search will be conducted. This will include the designation of reference stars in areas you are wishing to observe. These stars act as a references in locating the area when you return to observe another night. Also, it is best to know what stars are present in your field of view. You may want to do a search to determine if any known Asteroids or Comets will be with in the field of view of your telescope during your observation period.

Regarding designating viewing locations:

The observation areas should be designated due to the field of view of the telescope or camera which will be the main piece of equipment used.

The chosen observation areas should be sectioned off in the dimensions of the field of view of the telescope or camera being used. It is also recommended to "sketched" these areas on a star atlas to aid you in locating the locations again and establishing reference stars.

Observations (use Weekly and Photography Logs)

4.     It is most efficient to make two or three observations (over a period of an hour or so) per area per night. Observations of specific areas are best made on pairs of nearby nights as the accuracy of isolated single-night observations can be difficult to judge. By observing on pairs of nights any ambiguity is removed. 
You should not make only one observation of each area per night. Neither should you make many more than three observations per area per night.
However, to make observations of of your areas in groups many hours apart on a single night can be useful, particularly in the case of already locating a newly-discovered object that may be close to the earth. Use the Weekly and Photography/Imaging Logs to keep track of the data collected. Make sure to observe and photograph the designated areas as close to the same times each observation period, i.e. if you making your observations at 9:00 PM one week, make sure you make your future observations as close to 9:00 PM each and every time.

Image Analysis (use Image Analysis log)
6.	 
6. 

•	For Digital Imaging: As soon as possible once your imaging and observations have been completed, it is best to being analyzing your images. The best way to identify possible objects is to compare past images of the areas to more recent ones. This will allow you to notice any movements of objects across the background sky.

•	For Photographic Imaging: Develope any images you take as soon as you can. You will not need your first imaged developed until after you have completed a few series of images. This will give you a set of images to compare with previous ones. This will allow you to notice any movements of objects across the background sky.
	If you have the ability to develop your own negatives and prings, it is best to do it this way. First of all it will save you the cost of developing images they not not having any objects. Secondly, it will allow you to have the analyse the negatives and be able to see any objects prior to making prints. This will also allow you to print only images you need. It will be difficult though to look at negatives with out someway to illuminate them from the back aswell as magnifying the images. 

Object Identification/Verification

7.     The checking procedures of the (Minor Planet Center) MPC are most efficient when observers do not try to identify objects, except as described in the following sentence. Note that observations of NEOCP objects should always be tagged with their NEOCP designations and observations of designated NEOs and comets should be tagged with their provisional or permanent designations, as should the initial observations made in support of an observatory code request. 
However, every reported observation should have a designation. If you don't know the designation of a particular object, or are not bothering to identify objects, use an observer-assigned temporary designation. 
•	Observations of the same object on different nights should be given the same temporary designation only if they reported in the same message and you are absolutely positive that all the nights refer to the same object. Correspondences of observer-assigned temporary and MPC-assigned provisional designations will be reported back to the observer via e-mail. 
•	Observer-assigned temporary designations should be unique--don't call everything `X'! 
•	Observer-assigned temporary designations should be six characters or less long, and beging in column 6 of the observational record. 
•	Do not continue to use your observer-assigned designations once official provisional or permanent designations have been assigned. 

Assigning Tempory Designations - MPC Instruction
8.     Once you have found an unknown object, you will need to assign a temporary designation. New provisional designations are assigned to newly-reported objects that cannot be identified with a known numbered, multi-opposition unnumbered or recently-discovered one-opposition (with or without a general orbit) minor planet. 
New designations are assigned upon the receipt of observations on two nights. The two nights should be fairly close together, certainly within a week of each other. You may use the on-line New Object Ephemeris Generator to generate ephemerides to enable you to find the object after the first night. 
If there are a number of observers involved at a particular site and assignment of credit for the discovery of particular objects is important, ensure that the observer-assigned temporary designations reflect the names of the discoverers. For example, at a particular site there are three observers--Byers, Frohike and Langly. Objects discovered by Byers alone are reported with temporary designations beginning By (e.g., By0001), objects discovered by Byers and Langly jointly by designations beginning BL or ByLa (e.g., BL0001 or ByLa01). Similarly, designations beginning FrLa indicate objects discovered by Frohike and Langly. 
It is preferred that discoveries are made by a single individual, although discoveries by pairs of discoverers are accepted. Claims for discoveries of specific objects by three or more discoverers are treated as site discoveries, where no individuals are named as the discoverer. 
If your new object (observed on two or more nights) can be matched to an earlier undesignated one-night stand, that one-night stand does not have priority and you will receive the credit for the discovery. If your new object can be matched to an earlier designated one-night stand (generally this will be a redesignation from a published two-night object), your new object will also have priority.
If you have `new' objects you will receive a list matching your temporary designations to official provisional or permanent designations. Here is a (ficticious) sample assumed to have been sent in Feb. 1999, showing most of the probable forms: 
   By0001   (03244
   ByLa01    J99A18T
   ByLa02   (J81U78A
   By0004   (By0003
   By0003   (J99A08H
This may be interpreted as follows: By0001 is the numbered object (3244); ByLa01 is a new object 1999 AT18 that is credited to Byers and Langly; ByLa02 is the known unnumbered object 1981 UA78; By0003 and By0004 refer to the same object, now designated 1999 AH8, which is a recent discovery by another team. 
In short, provisional and permanent designations not prefaced with `(' are your discoveries. Provisional and permanent designations will be in the packed form, as used on the observation record. 
New designations are not assigned to objects observed on only one night, although you may receive designations if such objects can be identified with already-known objects. 

Reporting Minor Planets and Comets - MPC Instruction

8.	Once you have identified an unknown object or you are following-up on a previous object, there is a specific format you need to follow to have your observations submitted to the Minor Planet Center.
As noted in the editorial on MPC 25457, one of the last remaining unautomated areas of Minor Planet Center operation is the collection of observational details for the monthly circulars. 
In a first step to automating this procedure, observers submitting observations by electronic means (generally e-mail) are requested to include observer, measurer and telescope details in every submission. This information is to be contained in a series of header lines, beginning with certain keywords specified below and placed before any observations. 
•	The first line should begin COD and be followed by a three-character observatory code. 
•	Other lines, which may follow in any order, begin: 
•	CON (followed by the contact details) 
•	OBS (followed by the list of observers, no programs) 
•	MEA (followed by the list of measurers, no programs) 
•	TEL (followed by details of the telescope) 
•	NET (followed by the abbreviated name(s) of the catalogue(s) used for the reductions). 
•	BND (followed by single character representing the mag band used for magnitude estimates) 
•	COM (followed by a textual comment) 
•	NUM (followed by a count of the observations in this batch) 
•	TYP (see Guide to Minor Body Astrometry)  http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/info/Astrometry.html
•	An additional keyword, ACK, enables the Minor Planet Center automatically acknowledge receipt of your observations. The contents of the ACK text are unimportant (although it should mean something to you!) and will simply be e-mailed back to you to let you know that your e-mail arrived. If it is necessary to communicate designations to you, these will be sent after the batch is processed. 
•	By default, the acknowledgement is sent to the e-mail address from which the original message was sent. You can override this default behavior by specifying the AC2 keyword, following it by one or more Internet-style e-mail address, e.g.: 
     AC2 scully@fbi.gov,mulder@fbi.gov
  
The only restriction of the number of e-mail addresses is that the total length of the line (including the four characters `AC2 ') must be less than or equal to 80 characters. Note that any e-mail address specified with the AC2 keyword is NOT enclosed within square brackets. Any of the e-mail addresses specified can be forwarding addresses at your local site. 
Please note the following requirements: 
•	All lines should be 80 columns or less in width. 
•	The keywords must be in capitals and begin in column 1. 
•	The CON, OBS and MEA lines may extend onto a second or subsequent line, repeating the keyword as necessary. 
•	Names of individuals should be specified as initials + surname with spaces separating each part of the name. 
•	Initials given should be as given on official documents (e.g., passports, driving licenses, etc.). If your name is `Robert', but you use `Bob' in day-to-day usage, you should still specify your initial as `R.' not `B.'. 
•	Names should be specified as mixture of capital and lower-case letters, they should be separated from any following name by a comma and they should not be broken across lines. 
•	Names that contain non-standard characters (e.g., accents or cedillas) may be specified using standard TeX notation--alternatively, an explanation of any special characters required should be included above the header. 
•	Specification of telescopes should follow the following format: aperture, focal ratio (optional), type of instrument and CCD specifier. Do not specify specific brands of CCD. Do not split telescope details across different TEL lines. Valid examples are 1.0-m f/4.3 reflector + CCD or 0.28-m f/6 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD. Further information on telescope details is available. 
•	All keywords may be repeated within the body of observations as required. The values associated with repeated keywords apply from the time they are first defined to the time that they are redefined. 
•	The contact's e-mail address should be specified within square brackets in the Internet style. Please note that e-mail addresses are given ONLY for the contact person. 
•	Only one contact name and address should be given. 
Examples of valid headers are as follows: 
COD 500
CON S. Holmes, 221B Baker Street, London NW1 4JW, England
CON [sholmes@mycroft.holmes.gov.uk]
OBS H. Poirot, P. Mason, L. Columbo, C. Chan
MEA J. Watson
TEL 0.50-m f/3.0 reflector + CCD
NET GSC
ACK Batch 001
AC2 dwatson@mycroft.holmes.gov.uk

COD 500
OBS D. K. Scully, F. W. Mulder, W. Skinner
ACK Batch 042: The truth is in here
The second example shows the minimal header that should be supplied: the contact address, telescope and catalogue details will be taken from a default file, and the list of measurers will be assumed to be the same as the list of observers. You should only use the minimal header form if you are the only observer at that code: don't use the form for sites with multiple programs. 
The format of the TEL and NET lines should be as illustrated in recent MPCs (note that specific makes of CCD are not mentioned). 
If this is your first submission and your observing site does yet have an observatory code, this is specified as: 
COD XXX
An observatory code will be supplied upon acceptance of the observations for publication. 
If your observatory code distinguishes between different programs you may specify the program code after the observatory code, as in the following example: 
COD 675 4
The following examples show incorrect headers (with the reason(s) given in parentheses on the offending line(s)): 
COD 500
OBS J.M. Jarre          (Initials in name not separated by a space)

COD 500
OBS Vangelis Papathanassiou              (First name in full, rather than initial)
MEA M. OLDFIELD                          (Name entirely in capitals)
TEL 0.50-m f/4.5 reflector + Graff1 CCD  (Make of CCD should not be mentioned)
NET Guide Star Catalogue                 (Use abbreviation GSC)

OBS J. Garcia           (No COD line)

OBS P. McCartney
COD 500                 (COD line must come first)
Following the HEADER you will need to include your observations in a specific format. See the Included Format instructrions for Optical Astrometry.
Once you understand the format for submitting observations, you will need to submit it to the Minor Planet Center: via eMail: mpc@cfa.harvard.edu

Within a 24 hour period, you will recieve a notification that your message was recieved. With in a few days, or as soon as MPC can verify your object, you will be contacted regarding if your object is known, new and if it is a potential Near Earth Object.

The following are supplemental instructions to the initial procedure.

Observatory Codes - MPC Instruction

	An observatory code is assigned upon receipt of acceptable observations. Codes are intended for permanent observing sites. If you continually move your telescope around, you are advised to choose a permanent site before undertaking an astrometric program. It is a waste of an observatory code if only a handful of observations are ever obtained there. 
The observation format was recently extended to allow the concept of "Roving Observers", for use by observers at temporary sites. The format is documented elsewhere. 
The first time you submit astrometric observations, you should report: 
•	A snail-mail address (used as a contact address on the observatory headers in the Minor Planet Circulars) 
•	An observatory name and site 
•	Longitude, in degrees, minutes and seconds (not decimal degrees) E of the Greenwich meridian. To avoid any possible confusion, avoid using negative longitudes. Give a longitude as either: 
•	a specific number of degrees E or W (being sure to state which direction) of the Greenwich meridian (avoid the use of negative quantities); 
•	a specific number of degrees E of Greenwich (according to the IAU convention). If a site is just west of the Greenwich meridian, give the longitude as a quantity near 360°, not as a negative quantity. 
•	Latitude, in degrees, minutes and seconds (not decimal degrees) N or S of the equator. 
•	Altitude (in meters above sea-level) 
•	Details of your telescope setup. 
The longitude and latitude should be specified as precisely as possible, preferably to the nearest arcsecond. Do not give more precision than is justified: it is quite acceptable to give, for example, a longitude as 1° 10'.3 E (which indicates that the longitude is good to 0'.1 = 6") instead of as 1° 10' 18" E (which indicates that the longitude is good to 1"). 
It is important that the longitude and latitude that you supply are geographic coordinates, not geocentric coordinates. 
It is also important that you specify COD XXX in the observation header for your initial batch. Do NOT use, for example, COD 000 or COD 999, as these are assigned codes and may be cause your initial batch to be processed as if it contained observations from the code you used. Neither should you attempt to use a currently-unused code. 
A convenient way to supply the above information in a form that is preserved by the automated processing routines is to use the COM keyword. E.g.: 
COM Long. 239 18 45 E, Lat. 33 54 11 N, Alt. 100m
Note that if you request an observatory code during MPC preparation time, you will experience a longer than usual delay before an observatory code is assigned. 

Published Observations - MPC Instruction

Observations are published in the monthly Minor Planet Circulars (MPCs) (and on the occasional Minor Planet Electronic Circulars). Early observations of new comets may be published in the International Astronomical Union Circulars. 
From time to time, the question arises as to whether inclusion of observations in the MPCs can be construed as publication in the `refereed' astronomical literature. The Minor Planet Center stresses most emphatically that astrometric observations of comets and minor planets submitted for publication in the MPCs are indeed subjected to close, critical study, and that erroneous observations are returned to their authors for amendment. Particular care is taken to ensure that all observations presented are correctly identified. The MPCs are designed specifically to handle the publication of astrometric observations of comets and minor planets and there is no need also to publish in other journals.
 
 Numbering Discovered Objects - MPC Instruction
The first requirement for getting your discovery numbered is to ensure that the observations at the discovery opposition cover a sufficient arc to enable recovery at a subsequent or previous opposition. 
Once identified (or recovered as a result of a direct search), observations should be made on pairs on nights in each of two darkruns surrounding each opposition until the object is numbered. For main-belt objects this can occur after the object has been observed on two or more nights at four oppositions (although this depends on the number and distribution [preferably two nights in each of two dark runs at each opposition] of the observations as well as their quality); NEOs can receive a number after two or three well-observed oppositions. In addition, objects to be numbered require the uncertainty parameter, U, must be less than or equal to two. 
The selection of objects for numbering is an automatic process performed just before the preparation of each batch of MPCs. There is no need to ask us "What do I need to do to get such-and-such numbered?". Simply follow the guideline above and the object will be numbered when it is ready. Objects that are ready for numbering are selected by an automatic procedure shortly before the preparation of each batch of MPCs. 

Naming New Objects - MPC Instruction
Names for minor planets are proposed by the discoverer of a specific object after the object is numbered. Proposals are accompanied by a brief citation explaining the reasons for the naming. 
Proposed names are judged by the fifteen-member Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN) of the International Astronomical Union. Except in very unusual circumstances, new names may not be assigned until a minimum of two months have elapsed since the objects were numbered. If the CSBN has objections to the name or the accompanying citation, this process can take much longer. 
Names become official when they are published in the Minor Planet Circulars. Note that the CSBN condemns the preannouncement of names, even if any such preannouncement indicates that a name is only a proposal. 
When several provisional designations belong to the same numbered minor planet, one of these provisional designations is defined as the prinicipal designations (this is decided when the object is first identified) and it is the discoverer of this principally-designated object that is defined as the discoverer of the numbered object. 
Each new name proposal from a discoverer of a numbered minor planet is accompanied by a brief citation, describing why the particular name is being bestowed. Citations should be brief and to the point. A four-line limit (as printed in the MPCs) on the body of each citation has been imposed. Avoid making political, controversial or posturing statements in the citation. 
Note that the CSBN reserves the right to edit the citation for publication. 
There is a special format for submitting names. This format is necessary to expedite processing of the proposal. The first line consist of an "index entry" containing the proposed name, the number of the object to which the name is to be applied and a very short summary of the citation. Then follows a blank line. Then the citation in the form that it will appear in the MPCs. Single name proposals or batches of proposals should be e-mailed to mpc@cfa.harvard.edu. 
The index line can extend to column 80, but the other lines should not go beyond column 78. Lines should have ragged-right margins (i.e, do not right-justify the lines), neither should words be hyphenated across line breaks. Submitted files should be plain ASCII: do not send any kind of WP/DTP/HTML file! Diacritical marks should be indicated in the TeX format. 
This is best illustrated with a couple of examples from the batch of names in the 2000 Jan. 24 batch of MPCs (the column ruler at the top is simply to show you where the entries in the index line fall: e.g., the index description begins in column 31 and the number ends in column 27): 
         1         2         3         4         5         6         7         8
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890

Flagsymphony           6582   Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra

(6582) Flagsymphony = 1981 VS
     Discovered 1985 Nov. 5 by E. Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station of
the Lowell Observatory.
     The Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 50th season in
1999-2000.  It is considered by many to be the best symphony orchestra in
a small community in the U.S.A.

Baton Rouge           11739   Louisiana state capital

(11739) Baton Rouge = 1998 SG27
     Discovered 1998 Sept. 25 by W. R. Cooney, Jr. and M. Collier at Baton
Rouge.
     Baton Rouge, the Louisiana state capital, is located on the banks of
the Mississippi river and derives its name, French for ``red stick'', from
an Indian marker at the site seen by a French expedition in 1699.  The
city is home to the Highland Road Park Observatory, where this minor planet
was discovered.
When printed in the MPCs the example citations above took up 2.2 and 3.8 lines, respectively. 
It there are multiple names being proposed at the same time, each index-citation block is separated from other blocks by a blank line, as in the example above. 
Submitted citations are subject to editing. 
Questions and Comments:
All questions and comments regarding any aspect of this procedure can be submitted via email to errolcoder@neoresearch.cjb.net