2023-01-27, 05:48 PM
Hi Bob,
The easiest way to get the most up-to-date elements for all of the known NEOs is to have SkyTools download them directly from the MPC. Select the Data->Minor Planets Menu option to open the MP DB, then Clk the 'Download/Import Data' button to open the Update dialog, then Clk the 'MPC NEA Today' button to download the MPC's elements for the known NEOs (currently >30k objects). SY4 will use these elements when calculating the positions of the NEOs. This covers 99% of the cases for close approaches. For really close approaches like 2023 BU you'll need to get better elements from the HORIZONS website like Bigmasterdrago does. HORIZONS can provide a data file with elements for multiple times during the pass.
Hope this helps,
Phil S.
The easiest way to get the most up-to-date elements for all of the known NEOs is to have SkyTools download them directly from the MPC. Select the Data->Minor Planets Menu option to open the MP DB, then Clk the 'Download/Import Data' button to open the Update dialog, then Clk the 'MPC NEA Today' button to download the MPC's elements for the known NEOs (currently >30k objects). SY4 will use these elements when calculating the positions of the NEOs. This covers 99% of the cases for close approaches. For really close approaches like 2023 BU you'll need to get better elements from the HORIZONS website like Bigmasterdrago does. HORIZONS can provide a data file with elements for multiple times during the pass.
Hope this helps,
Phil S.