The IASC - Discovery Followup pages are aimed to help followup observations of objects discovered at the Astronomical Research Institude (H21/H55), Pan-STARRS 1 (F51), through the Sierra Star Observatory Network (G68, G84), Tarleton State University (I43) or at the Schiaparelli Observatory (204).
The data is updated every 24 hours. The automatic update is scheduled at 9:30UT, i.e. after the Daily Orbit Updates are published by the MPC.
[+] Followup Strategy
It is essential to follow up all objects observed on only one night (one-nighters) within the next 7-14 days. After this period a newly discovered object will drift away from the predicted position and a direct recovery will not be possible. The One Nighters page lists all one-nighters that require discovery confirmation (second observation) - expand the One Nighters section below for details about the page.
When observations on two nights of a new object are available, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) will assign a provisional designation to the object. If IASC keeps the discovery credit, i.e. our one-nighter was the first time the object had been observed, the provisional designation will appear on the Provisional Designations page.
[+] One Nighters
The One Nighters page displays all objects discovered at H55/H21, F51, SSON (G68, G84), TSU (I43) and 204 as a part of one of the IASC campaigns, observed on one night only.
The output can be adjusted using filters on the top. The table beneath the filters section dislays all objects that fulfill the filters criteria.
To request ephemerides for a particular object or a list of objects, simply select the designations and click on the "Get ephemerides/orbits" button.
Unlike the "Followup Candidates page", ephemerides for at most 33 designations can be can be requested at a time (otherwise the MPC Ephemerides Service will throw an error). The reason behind the limitation is that to request ephemerides for an object observed on one night only, at least two observations are needed but to improve accuracy, three observations are used whenever available.
For convenience, designations are groupped into groups of 33. To select or unselect an entire group, click on the "+" or "-" links in the first column of the table headers.
The output table contains the following columns:
1. designation checkbox - enables users to select designations for which to request ephemerides from the MPC*
2. designation - display the temporary designation of the object
3. date tt - the date & time (in day fractions) for which the next four columns, namely RA, Decl, Elong and V, are given
4. R.A - object's right ascension for the date & time given in column 3
5. Decl.- object's declination for the date & time given in column 3
6. Elong. - object's elongation for the date & time given in column 3
7. V - object's predicted apparent magnitude for the date & time given in column 3
8. Motion - the motion speed and direction (PA)
9. Last Observed - the date of the last observation
10. INT - This is the percentage probability that the object is an MPC interesting object
11. RMS - An RMS of residuals in arc seconds of the observations against a great circle fit
12. OBS - The observatory code of the discovery station
13. Note - List of observatories suitable for follow ups (or other useful notes)
[+] Provisional Discoveries
The Provisional Discoveries page lists all objects discovered at H55/H21, F51, SSON (G68, G84), TSU (I43) and 204 with provisional designations
[+] Numbered Discoveries
The Numbered Discoveries page lists all numbered objects discovered at H55/H21, F51, SSON (G68, G84), TSU (I43) and 204.
[+] Lost Discoveries
The Lost Discoveries page lists all objects originally discovered at H55/H21, F51, SSON (G68, G84), TSU (I43) and 204 for which the discovery credit was lost once the objects were linked to a previously observed asteroid.