Abstract
Whereas the orbits of the major planets are often calculated and published years in advance, predictions of cometary orbits are generally restricted to short-term ephemerides and the determination of orbital elements. The five or six orbital elements describe the orbit in space and time in a significantly shorter form than a long listing of positions. In general, the orbital elements of newly discovered comets are published by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in the IAU Circulars. In addition, there are various catalogues that give the corresponding data for periodic comets and minor planets.
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© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Montenbruck, O., Pfleger, T. (2000). Cometary Orbits. In: Astronomy on the Personal Computer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03436-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03436-7_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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