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mpcorb.hdr
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The format of these orbits is that of the Minor Planet Center's
MPCORB dataset. Each object's elements are stored on a single line,
the format of which is described at:
http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/info/MPOrbitFormat.html
Note that certain parameters such as the number of oppositions and
internal MPC data are replaced in the following with spaces or asterisks.
Also note that this is a lousy format for objects with large semimajor
axes, because the precision of the mean anomaly drops. Also, this
format cannot handle parabolic or hyperbolic orbits at all. To get around
this, Find_Orb can create MPCORB.DAT-like files in which the mean anomaly
and mean motion are replaced with the integer and fractional parts,
respectively, of the JD of periapsis; and the semimajor axis is replaced
by the perihelion distance. (At some point, non-heliocentric orbits
could also be supported.) Unfortunately, this is not readable with most
existing software.
Also, be advised that more verbose elements, including such data
as state vectors and MOIDs with all major planets (and JD of periapsis
and perihelion distance) are written to the file 'state.txt' in something
resembling the MPC's eight-line format.
A brief header is given below:
Des'n H G Epoch M Peri. Node Incl. e n a Reference #Obs #Opp Arc rms Perts Computer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------