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What
is the International Asteroid Database?
How
do I name an asteroid?
What
is an asteroid's absolute magnitude property?
What
is an asteroid's diameter property?
What
is an asteroid's Earth MOID property?
What
is an asteroid's orbital period property?
What
is an asteroid's first observed property?
Is
the IAD an official organization?
How
much does IAD donate from each registration?
How
much does it cost to name an asteroid?
How
do I use the Whois tool?
How
do I set my asteroid's dedication?
Tell
me about IAD's forthcoming book.
What
is the International Asteroid Database?
The IAD is a service
by which you can register a name for a known asteroid. There are
more than 100,000 known asteroids in the solar system, and the IAD
contains detailed information about each one. Users can access this
information by using our Whois tool, or
by going directly to any of the unique asteroid pages on
our server.
How
do I name an asteroid?
Naming an asteroid
is a very simple process. In just three steps, our computer
will help to select the most perfect asteroid for you, based on criteria
which you specify. You can select an asteroid
by size, date of discovery and more.
What
is an asteroid's Absolute Magnitude property?
The absolute magnitude
of an object as measured by astronomers, is an expression
of an object's intrinsic brightness. That is, it measures how bright
an object would be if it were placed one Astronomical Unit (the distance
from the Sun to the Earth) away from the viewer.
What
is an asteroid's Absolute Diameter property?
The diameter of an
asteroid is an approximation of the asteroid's size. Astronomers
use a common formula to arrive at this value. It is an approximation
because a precise value requires intimate knowledge of an asteroid's
reflectivity. Our conservative estimates are based on the common formula,
which takes the asteroid's absolute magnitude into account.
What
is an asteroid's Earth MOID property?
The Earth MOID of
an asteroid is an expression of the shortest distance between
the asteroid and earth at the time of the asteroid's perigee, or closest
point to Earth during its orbit.
What
is an asteroid's Orbital Period property?
The orbital period
of an asteroid is the number, in years, which the asteroid
takes to complete one full orbit around the Sun. Earth's orbital period
is one year, or 365 days. Halley's comet has the well-known orbital
period of 76 years.
What
is an asteroid's First Observed property?
The "first observed"
property of an asteroid is the date when the asteroid was first
observed by a human OR recorded on film. It is not exactly the same
as a discovery date. Objects discovered on a particular date by a
human are sometimes later found, or "precovered" on photographic
plates from telescopic cameras. When this happens, the First Observed
date refers to the date when the film was exposed, even though the
photographer may not have been aware that the asteroid was captured
on film. In other cases however, the first observed property does
refer to the date when the asteroid was discovered and reported by
a person.
Is
the IAD an official organization?
The global body in
charge of giving asteroids their official designations is the Minor
Planet Center, which is subordinate to the International Asttronomical
Union. The International Asteroid Database is not affiliated with
either of these organizations.
How
much does IAD donate for each registration?
Twenty percent,
after taxes. During the naming process, we encourage you
to choose where the donation from your registration will go from
a list which includes Oxfam Tsunami Relief, The World Wildlife Fund,
and The Smithsonian.
How
much does it cost to name an asteroid?
The cost is $59.95.
This package includes a high-quality certificate,
suitable for framing, a CD-ROM with information about
your asteroid, and your own web page, located at http://asteroiddatabase.com/YourName,
which you can invite your friends to view. Also, the name and dedication
you have chosen will be added to your asteroid's unique web page of
information, accessible from our Whois tool.
How
do I use the Whois tool?
With our Whois page,
anyone can access information about any known asteroid in the
Solar System. You can search for asteroids
by size, brightness, date of discovery, and more. It is a valuable
tool for people with a casual interest in the minor planets of the
solar system.
How
do I set my asteroid's dedication?
To set or update
your dedication, first login. Then,
go to the web page of an asteroid which you have named through our
system (you can navigate from your "Mypage", which you are automatically
sent to after logging in - just click on any asteroid's name). Click
the link which says "you
may edit your dedication". Then enter your dedication text
in the text field which appears.
Tell
me about your forthcoming book.
The International
Asteroid Database is at work compiling a hardcover book which
will be a knowledge base of asteroid technical data, facts, and lore.
It will also contain listings of all known asteroids, including registered
names and orbital elements. |
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