Will not update new objects

[ncwolfie]

Why can or I not update the database to include new minor planets, namely NEO's?
I have downloaded the MPCOrb.dat file, then tried update by the to read option but nothing gets updated.


Thanks
Randy

[theskyhound]

Hello,


There have been some changes made to MPCOrb such that it doesn't read properly anymore. But there are other, better, options.

If you are interested in NEOs, then choose to download the NEO and Unusual data via the direct option on the Supplemental Data Download dialog. This will download and read the data.

As far as MPCORB goes, it isn't generally a good choice for plotting accurate positions because it isn't updated often enough. It goes something like six months before the orbital element epochs are updated. Because of this the positions can be several arc seconds off, particularly near opposition. This is why the ASTORB database is offered instead. This database is basically MPCORB, but updated to the current epoch. So I suggest using the direct download for ASTORB instead.

[ncwolfie]

Thanks! The ASTORB download did the trick. I never could get a list of 2018 objects to load using the update NEO and unusual object option. It showed downloading and said it read 32 new objects but I never could find anything new from 2018. After running ASTORB, I found what I was looking for, 2018 DT etc.

Regards,
Randy