MPC - Code for MONET/North

As an observer, you need certification for your instrument called MPC Code to send reports of your observations to the Minor Planet Center (MPC).

The MONET/North was set up in Dezember 2005 at McDonald Observatory in Texas.

MONET is a project of the Institute for Astrophysics at the university of Göttignen (IAG), financed by the Krupp foundation. It partly allows school children to have access to robotic telescopes at remote sites with exceptionally good observing conditions. The telescopes are two identical 1.20 m f/7 Ritchey-Chretien optics with Nasmyth focus on a direct driven azimuth mount in half shell roof domes. The were fabricated by Halfmann Teleskoptechnik including controls and robotic software.  

The IAG mainly deals with the sun and objects far from the earth. Therefore, a MPC code was never requested from the MPC.

Easter holiday workshop 2020

Applying for an MPC code is a good job for students interested in science. To do this, students must measure 3 positions of 3 known asteroids in 3 consecutive nights with professional accuracy and send their measurements to the MPC for review in a computer-readable format. We will try this at our Easter holiday workshop 2020.

Unfortunately, the planned Easter workshop has to be postponed to a later date because of the CORONA virus !