How I set These Up

[theskyhound]

Its easy to know if an object is being predicted correctly, even visually. The best way to observe these things visually is to set up on a field way ahead of time, have a plot of the path of the asteroid, use a wide field eyepiece, and wait. You don't need to do accurate astrometry. Choose a star near the predicted path and note how close it comes. Most of the time the path will be close, but the time will be off. So simply note the time when the asteroid passes the star and compare it to the prediction. Again, the point isn't to do astrometry, its to get a feel for how close these things are so you ca ben better prepared the next time.

The idea I am trying to get across is that that how close it will be depends on much more than just the epoch of the element set. Most of the time, especially for newly discovered asteroids, it is the least of your worries. Better to pick a field, use a very wide field eyepiece, and start looking way early for anything moving, and have the patience to keep looking for a long while after the prediction. I've been doing this off and on for 20 years.

Because you really can't polish a turd!