20. Positions and Motions of Minor Planets, Comets and Satellites

Extract

The Report in the part dealing with the minor planets and satellites has been compiled at the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in collaboration of S. G. Makover (minor planets) and V. A. Shor (satellites). Contributions to this report have been received from S. Arend, H. Debehogne, J. Dommanget, P. Herget, S. Herrick, G. M. Jannini, B. G. Marsden, V. V. Michkovitch, B. Milet, Z. M. Pereyra, B. Popovič, E. Rabe, E. Roemer, J. Schubart, W. Strobel, C. Torres, H. Wood. The part on comets has been prepared by E. Roemer.

The main feature of minor planet research during this triennium has been the further application of modern electronic computing machines to the practice of computing. The time has gone when the computations of orbits and ephemerides were performed with the aid of logarithmic tables or with desk calculators. Therefore it is no wonder that all computational work in the field of the motion of minor planets is nowadays concentrated in a limited number of institutions provided with powerful up-to-date computing techniques, like the following.

1. (1) Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, Leningrad has used till recently a computer BESM-2 and now has at its disposal a new more powerful computer BESM-4.

2. (2) The Observatory of Cincinnati has used till recently a powerful computer NORC. Unfortunately this machine has been nowadays dismantled, but the observatory can perform some kinds of computations with an IBM-360 computer.

3. (3) Latvian State University, Riga, has made a large amount of computations with the computer BESM-2.

4. (4) University of California, Los Angeles, makes a large amount of computations with its own computer.