Updating Locations for Observatory Codes
Observatory codes are assigned to observatories that report astrometric observations of minor planets, comets or irregular natural satellites. The Minor Planet Center's listing of observatory codes is therefore not a complete listing of observatories worldwide.New codes are assigned on a regular basis, either as a result of new observers reporting observations or as a result of extracting observations from the old literature. See the Guide to Minor Body Astrometry for information on how to obtain an observatory code.
Positions of observatories have been reported with respect to a number of geographical datums over the years. The bulk of positions for observatories operating in the 19th and early 20th centuries have been taken from the annual lists of observatory coordinates given in the Astronomical Ephemeris/ Nautical Almanac. Ideally, all positions should be reported with respect to the WGS84 datum. If you have previously reported coordinates for your site, you should remeasure its location using Google Earth and report the new measures.
The current list of assigned codes is here.
The KML file of observatory-code locations has been removed, following a request from some Spanish observers concerned about security at remote, unattended sites.
What to Report
When reporting updated coordinates for your site, be sure to include the following information:- Longitude (in sexagesimal form, to 0.1" or better, preferably 0.01")
- Latitude (in sexagesimal form, to 0.1" or better, preferably 0.01")
- Altitude (in meters)
- Source for coordinates
- If source is Google Earth, please simply state this.
- If source is GPS, please state this and indicate whether the altitude is referred to the WGS84 ellipsoid or to mean sea level.
- Use of other sources is strongly discouraged.
- (Optionally) Height of instrument above ground (in meters)
COM OC, xxx xx xx.xx E, xx xx xx.xx N, xxxx m, GoogleEarth COM OC, xxx xx xx.xx E, xx xx xx.xx S, xxxx m, GPS, MSL ! GPS altitude referred to mean sea level COM OC, xxx xx xx.xx W, xx xx xx.xx N, xxxx m, GPS, ELL ! GPS altitude referred to WGS84 ellipsoid COM OC, xxx xx xx.xx E, xx xx xx.xx N, xxxx m, 10 m, GoogleEarth ! Telescope is 10 m above ground levelwhere OC is the three-character observatory code.
If your site has a webpage, you can report the URL in the same message as the updated coordinates. The format should be:
URL OC http://...where OC is the three-character observatory code.
Known Problems with the Observatory Code list
A number of sites have previously only had low-precision coordinates reported. The observers at the sites listed below should report high-precision positions using Google Earth:416 149.13 0.816 -0.575 Barton, near Canberra 484 174.75 0.753 -0.657 Happy Valley, Wellington 495 357.66 0.598 +0.800 Altrincham 497 359.30 0.626 +0.776 Ascot-Loudwater 502 0.85 0.617 +0.783 Colchester 588 11.25 0.715 +0.697 Eremo di Tizzano 589 12.64 0.739 +0.673 Santa Lucia Stroncone 631 10.02 0.596 +0.800 Hamburg-Georgswerder 792 288.30 0.753 +0.657 University of Rhode Island, Quonochontaug 863 137.18 0.807 +0.588 Furukawa 984 357.26 0.631 +0.774 Eastfield 986 358.75 0.624 +0.779 Ascot 989 357.69 0.600 +0.797 Wilfred Hall Observatory, Preston E21 151.5667 0.8838 -0.4665 Norma Rose Observatory, Leyburn E27 153.2667 0.8871 -0.4600 ThornlandsNote that the quoted precision in the last two entries is not justified. The above list is not exhaustive and will be modified in the future as updates are received.
Sites with Updated Coordinates
The following existing observatory codes have had new coordinates measured:- 2009 August 19: A79.
- 2009 May 8: 727.
- 2009 April 17: A20.
- 2009 April 13: 930.
- 2009 March 14: 349.
- 2009 March 13: 391, 893.
- 2009 February 19: H06, H07, H08, H10.
- 2009 January 11: 966.
- 2008 October 27: H68.
- 2008 September 1: I37.
- 2008 August 15: 742, 743, 753.
- 2008 August 5: 932.
- 2008 August 4: 198.
- 2008 July 26: A17.
- 2008 July 25: 544, 604.
- 2008 July 17: 598.
- 2008 July 10: E16.
- 2008 July 7: J95.
- 2008 June 27: J25.
- 2008 June 16: J75.
- 2008 June 3: 473, B55, B68.
- 2008 May 30: B37.
- 2008 May 20: 432.
- 2008 May 17: 654, 673, 674.
- 2008 May 16: J38.
- 2008 May 15: 423, 712, 729, 735.
- 2008 May 13: 261, 262, 644, 675, 809, 811, 820, H67, H69, H79, H91, H97, I01, I03.
- 2008 May 11: 235, A78, J76.
- 2008 May 10: A26, B34.
- 2008 May 9: B38.
- 2008 May 8: 005, 006, 007, 013, 014, 015, 017, 025, 026, 030, 031, 032, 033, 034, 035, 036, 042, 066, 188, 516, 592, 595, 645, 693, 701, 703, 704, 705, 801, 802, 998, J40.
- 2008 May 7: 418, D44, I09, J51, J53, J59, J79.
- 2008 May 6: 309.
Requests for Assistance
Help is requested in identifying the locations of the following sites/instruments. With the information we have available, it is not possible for us to clearly identify these sites. For each site, we list the observatory code and name, followed by the approximate longitude and latitude, and finally the dome or building that needs identification.008 Algiers-Bouzareah 003 02.1 E 36 48.1 N Need identification of observatory, before requesting particular dome. 012 Uccle 004 21 30 E 50 47 53 N Need identification of what instruments are in what domes. 065 Traunstein 012 38 24 E 47 52 26 N Need location of observatory site 066 Athens 023 43 05.83 E 37 58 24.21 N Need confirmation that identification is correct. 071 NAO Rozhen, Smolyan 024 44 23 E 41 41 42 N Schmidt dome. 109 Algiers-Kouba 003 04.3 E 36 44.3 N Historical site, may be no trace left. 556 Reintal 011 37.2 E 47 45.4 N Need location of observatory 589 Santa Lucia Stroncone 012 40 39.24 E 42 30 22.61 N Dome-shaped feature, is this the observatory?Report coordinates here, noting the justification for the identification of the feature (e.g., "I work there", "I've observed there", "I live next door", etc.). Further entries will be made to this list in the future.
Disclaimer
The MPC has no connection with Google Earth, but is simply a satisfied user of the service.
