ON THE “SOLAR SYSTEM SMALL BODIES” ASTROPLATE PROJECT OF THE UKRAINIAN VIRTUAL OBSERVATORY

Анотація

The UkrVO Joint Digital Archive of astro-
plates and the newest digitized data processing services al-
lowed us to form a new approach for the creation of catalogs
of astrometric and photometric characteristics of the Solar
System bodies. Given this, the main goal of this approach
was not only to complete the processing with the best possi-
ble accuracy of high-quality and unprocessed earlier photo-
graphic observations of the Solar System bodies but also to
find new original data from these observations.
As a result, more than 6,500 new astrometric positions
and stellar magnitudes of asteroids, and 3,036 positions of
outer planets (Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter) and
their satellites have been determined. Most of the posi-
tions obtained from observations of large stellar surveys
of the northern sky FON (Kyiv and Kitab parts) and other
surveys (MEGA, Equatorial Catalog).
The number of new obtained positions of asteroids is
comparable to the total number of all positions of aster-
oids obtained at the Main Astronomical Observatory of
the NAS of Ukraine in 1949-1996. The accuracy of new
positions is higher than in traditional determinations from
photographic observations, but it cannot be comparable to
the accuracy of modern CCD observations.
Contrary to traditional classic definitions, digitized im-
ages of plates have produced a large number of faint aster-
oids down to 17.5 magnitudes, which were discovered in
the early 21st century. For some of them, observations are
either completely absent or not enough over the certain time
interval preceding the moments of their official discoveries.
These data can be obtained from photographic observations
only. Based on our observations, about 300 such asteroids
were found. The collection of missing data on positions
over certain time intervals and their analysis can be useful
not only for modern ephemeris calculations but also for
studying the evolution of asteroid orbits over time.
The cooperation between UkrVO and the observatory in
Baldone of the University in Latvia, astronomical and astro-
physical institutes of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan make it pos-
sible to expand this work by involving numerous additional
archives of digitized observations and processing services
and thus obtaining new original data about the Universe.