The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the single worldwide location for receipt and distribution of positional measurements of minor planets, comets and outer irregular natural satellites of the major planets. The MPC is responsible for the identification, designation and orbit computation for all of these objects. This involves maintaining the master files of observations and orbits, keeping track of the discoverer of each object, and announcing discoveries to the rest of the world via electronic circulars and
All of the MPC's operating funds come from a NASA Near-Earth Object Observations program grant. Much of the computer equipment that the MPC uses was provided by the Tamkin Foundation.
Links to minorplanetcenter.org (9)
spaceweather.comSpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids