Search Comet database

[Bobbo]

Starting at the Comet Database window, trying to search for C/2021 A1 Leonard.

In the Designation window, I have tried entering full designation (C/2021 A1 Leonard), along with C/2021 A1 and get no match. If I enter Leonard only then I get a match, but of course not the correct comet.

If I enter A1 in the Find Num I get no match either.

So, what is the secret?

Thanks
Bob

[PMSchu]

Starting at the Comet Database window, trying to search for C/2021 A1 Leonard.

In the Designation window, I have tried entering full designation (C/2021 A1 Leonard), along with C/2021 A1 and get no match. If I enter Leonard only then I get a match, but of course not the correct comet.

If I enter A1 in the Find Num I get no match either.

So, what is the secret?

Thanks
Bob

Hi Bob,

Firstly, make sure that you've downloaded the Current Comets Observing List (OL) from the Skyhound website. You can set ST4v to check automatically at startup using the menu option 'Setup>Manage Subscriptions' then checking the box for 'Current Comets...'. Clk the 'Update Now' button to force the Update manually. 

In the designation search box try using 'C/2021 A1(Leonard)' as the search string. I think you have your parentheses in the wrong config for the search to work properly.  I'm surprised that 'C/2021 A1' doesn't work. The search string 'c/2021 A1' worked for me just now, as did 'c/2021 A1 leonard' with no parens at all.

C/2021 A1 (Leonard) is one of the comets in the Current Comets OL, so if you have that OL you can open it & Clk on the comet.

I just tried to repeat your initial search of Comet Leonard in the Comet DB as you initially described using the search string 'C/2021 A1 (Leonard)' & got the 'No Match' message too. However, scrolling to the end of the DB shows that the comet is there. It has the same designation as we entered for the search too.

You may have found a bug, thanks.

Hope this helps,

Phil S.

[bigmasterdrago]

I find that a simple search for C/2021 A1 suffices to find it. Is it possible that the OP is not having the current comets updated at startup?

   

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But if I hunt using Data/Comets, then the "No Match" appears even though the comet is in the list.

[Bobbo]

I find that a simple search for C/2021 A1 suffices to find it. Is it possible that the OP is not having the current comets updated at startup?

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But if I hunt using Data/Comets, then the "No Match" appears even though the comet is in the list.

The "simple search" (Tools/Designation Search) works fine for me as well, for the record.

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Starting at the Comet Database window, trying to search for C/2021 A1 Leonard.

In the Designation window, I have tried entering full designation (C/2021 A1 Leonard), along with C/2021 A1 and get no match. If I enter Leonard only then I get a match, but of course not the correct comet.

If I enter A1 in the Find Num I get no match either.

So, what is the secret?

Thanks
Bob

Hi Bob,

Firstly, make sure that you've downloaded the Current Comets Observing List (OL) from the Skyhound website. You can set ST4v to check automatically at startup using the menu option 'Setup>Manage Subscriptions' then checking the box for 'Current Comets...'. Clk the 'Update Now' button to force the Update manually. 

In the designation search box try using 'C/2021 A1(Leonard)' as the search string. I think you have your parentheses in the wrong config for the search to work properly.  I'm surprised that 'C/2021 A1' doesn't work. The search string 'c/2021 A1' worked for me just now, as did 'c/2021 A1 leonard' with no parens at all.

C/2021 A1 (Leonard) is one of the comets in the Current Comets OL, so if you have that OL you can open it & Clk on the comet.

I just tried to repeat your initial search of Comet Leonard in the Comet DB as you initially described using the search string 'C/2021 A1 (Leonard)' & got the 'No Match' message too. However, scrolling to the end of the DB shows that the comet is there. It has the same designation as we entered for the search too.

You may have found a bug, thanks.

Hope this helps,

Phil S.

Yes, the comet is definitely there, so there does appear to be a bug lurking.

Thanks

[theskyhound]

1. You don't need to enter the "C/" when searching for a designation via the Designation search. "2021 A1" will suffice.

2. In the Comet Database there are two search boxes. The one on the left is for comet numbers only. The one to the right is for comet names or designations. The trick is to enter only the information required. To find a numbered comet, you enter the number only, e.g. "10." For a comet designation you enter a partial name match, such as "Halley" or "Hal" or"Leonard".

The designation is the "2021 A1" part. You do not supply the "C/" or P" parts. So to find this comet in the database you would use "2021 A1". Note there are other comets named Leonard.

3. There is litte reason to search the Comet Database. This is an advanced feature and most people should just ignore it. A better approach, if you want to look at the comets in the database, is to use the Browse tab on the Designations search tool and set it to "comets."

[Bobbo]

Thanks for the explanation. I found the comet names or designations to work fine. Entering just the number (left hand box) was a bit hit and miss. I couldn't get it to find Leonard. Anyhow that's fairly moot as the designation search works well.

Thanks
Bob

[PMSchu]

Hi Bob,

I don't think that C/2021 A1 (Leonard) has been assigned a number, so a search by the number shouldn't work. I guess it's the inclusion of the 'C/' in your original search that caused it to fail. A case of TMI.

At least that's how I interpret Greg's answer.

Phil S.

[theskyhound]

Comet Designations:

C/ P/ D/ /I - these are called the comet (orbit) "type" and refer to a "long period" comet with a parabolic or near-parabolic orbit ©, a short period comet (P), deleted (D), and interstellar comet (I)

Only periodic comets are numbered, so you won't see a "C" comet with a number. Numbered comets look like this: "108P/Ciffreo" The number is 108. You can search by typing "108P" or by entering 108 in a search box dedicated just to comet numbers.

The discovery designation for a comet is a code assigned that signifies the date of discovery. This is the "2021 A1" part. In this case 2021 is the year, not the number. "A1" tells us about the week and order of the discovery.

Lastly, comets can have a name, such as Leonard or NEOWISE. This is the name of the discoverer or survey project. Names are not unique, which is why I cringe a little every time I see the media talk about "Comet NEOWISE" or "Comet Leonard" because technically, someone might ask, "which one?" A historian will have to go back and look at which "Leaonard" was bright in late 2021 to figure that out.

BTW this is explained in the help. The quickest way to find answers about how to format designation searches, is to click the "Designation Help" button on the Designation Search dialog.

[Bobbo]

Apologies, I only got to the "Comet Database Dialog" help page which, correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't explain what Find Num refers to.

Essentially then, Find Num will only locate periodic comets, correct?

Thanks
Bob

[theskyhound]

Yes. I hope you have understood that you shouldn't be using the Comet Database to look up comets. Use the Browse tab on the Designation Search dialog instead.