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Newsletters

Our goal for these newsletters is to communicate to our users any recent developments, to solicit feedback from the community, and make our processes as transparent as possible.

2025

  • January 2025:
    In this month's issue: ADES submissions, WAMO tool updates, website performance issues, scheduled migration of the astrometry processing system database to virtual machines, 2024 YR4, welcome to the new MPC Technical Lead.
  • February 2025:
    In this month's issue: the long road to VRO/LSST and NEO Surveyor (an overview of the work accomplished by the MPC in recent years, the ongoing efforts behind the scenes, and our plans for the coming months), WAMO tool updates.

2024

  • January 2024:
    In this month's issue: 'moved to development' tickets, the NAP (NEOCP Automatic Processing) code, negative reports, new numbering, deprecated pages.
  • February 2024:
    In this month's issue: the past impactor 2024 BX1, MPC's new services and APIs (MPC Explorer, Designation Identifier), MPC's updates (digest2, orbit comparison tool), general updates about ADES and occultations.
  • March 2024:
    In this month's issue: MPC Explorer (New features, documentation page, Known issues tab), Observations API, Comets automation, MPC's updates (Recovery page, new rule added for the identifications pipeline, orbit comparison tool).
  • April 2024:
    In this month's issue: MPC Documentation Upgrades, “New” Documentation, PostgreSQL replicated tables, MPC Users Group Meeting.
  • May 2024:
    In this month's issue: MPC User Group Meeting, Jira updates, numbering update, request for archival astrometry for uncertain orbits, hiring update.
  • June 2024:
    In this month's issue: Subcommittee for singletons and archival observations, summer students, meetings, hiring update.
  • July 2024:
    In this month's issue: A new addition to MPC Explorer (NEOCP observations), updates on the switching of the website host server, recent problems with MPChecker, a special thank you to Chris.
  • August 2024:
    In this month's issue: Documentation updates, identification pipeline updates, switching website host server updates, meetings.
  • September 2024:
    In this month's issue: The Edgar Wilson Award, documentation updates, 2024 RW1: a new impactor.
  • October 2024:
    In this month's issue: MPC Explorer, documentation updates, new impactor: 2024 UQ, new flag for NEOCP objects, meetings and outreach.
  • November 2024:
    In this month's issue: MPC Explorer: orbits!, Orbits API, MUG Meeting, B flag for NEOCP objects, Jira Helpdesk statistics.
  • December 2024:
    In this month's issue: MPC Wrapped (and the impactor 2024 XA1).

2023

  • February 2023:
    In this month's issue: the first newsletter, general information on the new MPC and how to contact us.
  • March 2023:
    In this month's issue: the latest impactor 2023 CX1, general introduction on the observations, description of the identification pipeline, description of a new file contained all the observations removed from circulation since the most recent circular, the processing of a large batch of TESS observations, website improvements.
  • April 2023:
    In this month's issue: the new Summary WAMO (SWAMO), the new "data" subdomain, description of the MPC code for automatic removal of objects from the NEOCP and the rules that we apply to remove objects from the NEOCP, changes in WAMO, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), a new status page, improvements to the digest2 score.
  • May 2023:
    In this month's issue: MPC orbits and the new postgres orbit table replicated to SBN, the new Orbit Comparison Tool, a few requests to submitters.
  • June 2023:
    In this month's issue: designation of 63 new natural satellites of Saturn, more documentation added to the website (e.g. guidance on the MPC database tables, explanation of the reasons for removing objects from the NEOCP), Suggestions for Users (e.g. how to properly use keywords, how to report cometary activity).
  • July 2023:
    In this month's issue: information on the MPC planned power outage, explanation on how to use the identification files that the MPC produces daily and the ones that are created after every circular, more features available in the Orbit Comparison Tool, the MPC @ ACM.
  • August 2023:
    In this month's issue: the ADES format, high-precision astrometry (occultations), new digest2 population model and configuration file.
  • September 2023:
    In this month's issue: recent problems with the MPC public server, brief overview of the different data sources available from the MPC, suggestions for Users (e.g. apply for an observatory code; submit magnitudes, especially for NEOCP objects).
  • October 2023:
    In this month's issue: the new extended packed provisional designation, a new API for the WAMO tool, more features in the orbit comparison tool.
  • November 2023:
    In this month's issue: newly MPC hired, ADES version 2022, High-precision astrometry, TESS astrometry.