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+--- Thread: Where is Pallas ? (/showthread.php?tid=3036)
Where is Pallas ? - carlomuccini - 2024-04-01
I can't find asteroid no. 2 Pallas no way. Everyone except him!
https://youtu.be/V5GpFshFVHY
Carlo
RE: Where is Pallas ? - obrazell - 2024-04-01
have you tried searching for just Pallas rather than 2 Pallas? That works for me.
RE: Where is Pallas ? - carlomuccini - 2024-04-01
Thanks but I've already tried them all in Visual and Imaging edition. Same problem
I tried
2
2 Pallas
2 PALLAS
Pallas
PALLAS
MPN 2
MPN PALLAS
MPN Pallas
MPN 2 Pallas
MPN 2 PALLAS
RE: Where is Pallas ? - theskyhound - 2024-04-01
Asteroids require fresh orbital elements, which have to be downloaded regularly. There are now so many minor planets that its not practical to have all of them downloaded and displaying on your charts unless you really need them. So it takes a little bit of effort to download the data. The exception to this is the minor planets included with the monthly current minor planets observing list (subscription). If you have that enabled under subscriptions, then a selection of bright (like Pallas) and interesting minor planets that are at opposition each month are downloaded along with the current minor planets observing list. The next opposition of Pallas (when it will be best observed) is in May, so it won't be included with the current minor planets list until then. But that doesn't mean you can't observe it now if you want to.
So what can you do to add Pallas to your database?
1. Open your subscriptions from the top level setup menu and ensure that you have the subscription to the Current Bright and Interesting Minor planets list enabled. This will keep you up to date on most of the bright minor planets and asteroids.
2. Select Minor Planets from the top level Data menu. Click the Download/Import Data button. Click the Bright Asteroids button. This will install Pallas along with many a manageable number of bright asteroids.
3. Follow the instructions in (2) but click the Get single minor planet from the MPC button and enter Pallas. This will download the latest elements for Pallas only.
The orbital elements for minor planets are only good for 3-6 months so if you want to observe them in the future, start with the data download to ensure that you have the latest elements.
RE: Where is Pallas ? - carlomuccini - 2024-04-01
Thanks Greg
As you may know, I have been a user of this program for many years and I know the update procedures quite well
I have already done all the steps you mentioned.
I repeated them again by recording them in a second video
https://youtu.be/_0tsD3IxHA8?si=HfrAo3MhWfKB3K03
thanks again
Carlo
RE: Where is Pallas ? - theskyhound - 2024-04-01
Hello Carlo,
Thanks for the video, it really helped me see whats going on.
I hate to say it, but mentioning that you had the object in your database from the beginning would have saved a lot of time.
In your video I see this:
Why is the dialog blank? There should be data there. I have never seen anything like that before. In order to understand what is going on and to find you a solution, I have the following questions:
1. Does the data for any of the other minor planets appear in this dialog?
2. If so, does the data appear for any of the other sets of Pallas elements (the older ones further down)?
RE: Where is Pallas ? - carlomuccini - 2024-04-01
Yes Pallas is in the database and all the orbital parameters are there
That window was empty because I hadn't selected any asteroids and had clicked on by mistake "Enter new minor planet"
Pallas's data and all the others are all there
I noticed by chance that Pallas isn't recognized because for everyone else it doesn't happen and everything is fine
For my association I present a small list of asteroids to observe every month. Now I was preparing the text for the month of May and I mentioned Pallas precisely because he will be in opposition in May. And that's when I realized that it wasn't recognized anywhere in the program. Also in "Event Finder" Solar opposition of minor planet is not there even though it should be
This happens for no other asteroid; only Pallas....
Thanks Greg for your time
Carlo
RE: Where is Pallas ? - theskyhound - 2024-04-01
Hello Carlo,
Please accept my apology for missing your first video entirely, and missing why the the dialog was empty in the second video. This is my busiest day of the month as I am updating the comets, which now also involved creating a Youtube video. Lets just say I am very distracted, but that doesn't excuse my not reading your message more carefully the first time. I thank you for your patience.
I don't see any obvious reasons why Pallas isn't showing up in the search for you. Your database looks ok at first glance. I can confirm that it works for me, so it isn't something basic in the software. There must be a corruption in the file that is used for searching minor planet names and numbers. There should be a way to force it to be rebuilt, but its going to take a little investigation on my part. I'll get back to you soon.
RE: Where is Pallas ? - carlomuccini - 2024-04-01
Thanks Greg you are very kind
If I can be useful in any way I will be happy to help you.
Carlo
RE: Where is Pallas ? - PMSchu - 2024-04-01
Hi Carlo,
I've had the situation where I've searched for a particular MP and the search has returned the wrong one as in your video. This is not a good position to be in. When that happened to me I had to delete all of the Observing Lists that referred to minor planets, delete all of the MPs and repopulate the database. Hopefully you won't have to go through that exercise. Not fun. Greg will help you out there.
I also noticed that the epoch of osculation that you showed in your attachment was 2024 Apr 1 13h54m40s. That's a rather odd time for the epoch of osculation when elements are downloaded from the MPC. For example, my most recent download of MPCORB of the MPC's minor planet elements from several weeks ago has an epoch of osculation for the main belt objects of 2024 Mar 31 0h0m0s, as shown here:
Actually, that was the epoch for all of the MPs in the MPCORB datafile. Maybe you use a different source for your elements. I also noticed that (2) Pallas is in the March list of Current Bright & Interesting MPs.
I hope this helps you solve your problem.
Phil S.