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Critical-list minor planet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A critical-list minor planet (critical list numbered object or critical object) is a numbered minor planet for which existing measurements of the orbit and position are especially in need of improvement.[1]

The IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC) regularly publishes a list of these critical objects in their Minor Planet Electronic Circular.[2] The list typically contains asteroids that have been observed at a small number of apparitions, especially on opposition, or that have not been adequately observed for more than 10 years, while other observatories create their own, customized lists.[3] The MPC also lists currently observable critical objects on their website,[4] providing differently formatted lists of orbital elements to the worldwide astrometric community.[5]

Lowell Observatory publishes their own critical list, distinctly different from the MPC, instead focusing on objects with high ephemeris uncertainty. Specifically, objects with computed ephemeris uncertainty greater than 2 arcseconds over the next 10 years, and objects whose orbits degrade significantly when temporally isolated observations are ignored, are included in the list.[3]

Minor Planet Center List

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As of December 2024, the MPC includes 650 objects in their observable critical list. The following list contains all critical objects within the first 100,000 numbered minor planets, the full list can be found in the MPL website:[4][6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Monet, A. K. B. (December 1994). "CCD Astrometry of "Critical List" Minor Planets". American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts. 185: 43.11. Bibcode:1994AAS...185.4311M.
  2. ^ "Minor Planet Electronic Circulars – Sample MPECs". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Critical Lists of Asteroids". Lowell Observatory. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Observable Critical-List Minor Planets". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Orbital Elements: Critical-List Minor Planets". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Data Available from the Minor Planet Center – MPCORB.DAT". Minor Planet Center. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2023. (doc)
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