Please acknowledge the following paper if you use this server: Vaduvescu et al. 2009 AN 330, 698

This program searches for all known asteroids imaged serendipitiously in an archive of images or photographic plates. To perform the actual search, the program is querying the SKYBOT server developed by J. Berthier et al. at IMCCE using the entries from the observing log archive.

Both "precoveries" (apparitions before discovery date) and "recoveries" (apparitions after discovery date) are reported by comparing the observing dates with the discovery dates kept in a local database. The following classes of asteroids are reported: PHAs (Potentially Hazardous Asteroids), NEAs (Near Earth Asteroids), Numbered (cataloged), and Un-numbered (having temporary designations).

Input data:

• From the user: ASCII file including the observing log of the archive, in a standard format;
• From the local server (automated): Asteroid database consisting of 3 ASCII files maintained by Minor Planet Center (MPC): PHA.TXT (PHA database from MPC), NEA.TXT (NEA database maintained in three files - Atens, Apollos, Amors from MPC, and NUMBERED.TXT (numbered asteroids database from MPC). These files should be updated by us on a daily basis (last update: 3 Aug 2010).

Output data: 7 ASCII files listing all apparitions (to be downloaded by the user).

Caution: due to the very high number of known asteroids to date which need to be integrated numerically (almost 500.000 orbits), the response from the SKYBOT server takes as high as a few minutes to search for every entry of the observing log file. Thus, the search of the entire archive might take as much as a few hours or a few days to perform, so please be cautious with the number of entries! Splitting the observing log in a few smaller files (e.g. up to 250 entries) and launching parallel queries might be an option.

The script accepts observing log archives in three formats:

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1. Observing logs from CFHTLS (Canada-France-Hawaii Legacy Survey):

Observing log (file in CFHLS format - example here):



Please be patient, the whole run could take a few minutes...

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2. Observing logs in a standard format including the following fields: image id, Julian Date (obs start), exp time (sec), RA image center (hrs with decimals), DEC image center (degrees with decimals), image field in RA (deg), image field in DEC (deg), comment - all fields separated by the pipeline "|" character:

Observing log (file in standard format - example here):

Observatory (3-digit MPC code):



Please be patient, the whole run could take a few minutes...

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3. Observing logs from INT WFC (Isaac Newton Telescope, ING) in a standard format (same as above):

Observing log (file in standard format - example here):

Email address (if you wish to receive mail at the end):



Please be patient, the whole run could take a few minutes...

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4. Observing logs from ESO/MPG WFI (ESO/MPG) in a standard format (same as above):

Observing log (file in standard format - example here):

Email address (if you wish to receive mail at the end):



Please be patient, the whole run could take a few minutes...

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5. Observing logs from SUBARU Suprime-Cam (SUBARU Suprime-Cam) in a standard format (same as above):

Observing log (file in standard format - example here):

Email address (if you wish to receive mail at the end):



Please be patient, the whole run could take a few minutes...

Authors: Ovidiu Vaduvescu, Marcel Popescu.
Database: Marcel Popescu (ESO/MPG WFI, SUBARU Suprime-Cam), Iulia Comsa (INT WFC).