![]() ![]() Its orbit is hyperbolic, so it is not a closed one. A set of point-and-click tools (Visual PinPoint) for fast mass plate solving and survey-level asteroid and supernova hunting are included. If further observations confirm the unusual nature of this orbit, this object may be the first clear case of an interstellar comet”. Welcome to the web site for the PinPoint Astrometric Engine, a programmable engine that provides sensitive, robust, high-speed research-grade astrometric image processing for FITS files from any camera. Although it is probably not too sensible to compute meaningful original and future barycentric orbits, given the very short arc of observations, the orbit below has e ~ 1.2 for both values. Unless there are serious problems with much of the astrometry listed below, strongly hyperbolic orbits are the only viable solutions. Williams, Associate Director of the Minor Planet center, wrote: “Further observations of this object are very much desired. Images were obtained and measured by Michael Schwartz and Paulo Holvorcem and astyrometry was published on the discovery circular by the Minor Planet Center. ground-based surveys as RAVE, SDSS, Pan-STARRS, APOGEE, LSST, etc. The comet C/2017 U1 is the dot of light in the center of the frame. microarcsecond NIR astrometry and millimag photometry to penetrate obscured regions. The images above were captured with the 32″, “Big Blue” robotic reflector available at Tenagra Observatories, as part of its work covered by the NASA grant #NNX15AE89G. News: see our new image of A/2017 U1 here. Updates: The Minor Planet Center issued a new Circular where the object has been renamed A/2017 U1: no cometary activity was detected in deep imaging.
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