I have decided to provide the Catalogue free on the web instead of sending it
individually via e-mail. If one uses data of this Catalogue in
some work I ask for referencing to the Catalogue (and maybe a copy of this work
;) ) Please remember that the Catalogue is a spare-time project so there may come
times with only little progress.
What is new in the 2002 edition?
Unfortunately I have to repeat myself: Not everything I wanted to do since the last
edition was done. The following list gives an overview on the changes.
More and important information about the data, formats and abbreviations is
contained in the catalogue info. Please make sure to
read it! Thanks.
Extended format: I decided to extend the format of the Catalogue to
incorporate more data. The record length increased allowing to implement more
information.
Comet names and suffixed numerals: The names of the periodic comets do
not contain suffixed numerals anymore. With the 2001 edition of the
Catalogue of Cometary Orbits the numerals were dropped since the new
designation scheme is sufficient enough for identifying a comet and suffixed
numerals are not consistent since re-discoveries can cause new names and the
dropping of such numerals only causing confusion. For more information I refer to
Marsden, B.G., ICQ 17,3 and Green, D.W.E., ICQ 23, 25.
IAU station codes: One proposal for the new edition was the inclusion
of the IAU station codes which are used for astrometry. I have now included these
numbers. Not always it is possible to assign such a number (especially for old and
visual discoveries). In some cases a number was assigned but indicated with an
asterisk. Here the discoverers location lies reasonably close enough to that for
which the station code is valid. A list of station codes can be found
here.
Research and sources: I was not able to check the whole
Astronomische Nachrichten for the discovery announcements. I also have not
yet checked all IAUCs. I hope I have finished that with the next edition. I have
included now one additional source, The Astronomical Journal, for some of the
discoveries prior 1920. Sidenote: Privately I have now a little collection of volumes of the Astronomische
Nachrichten. If somebody owns such volumes and wants sell it he or she should contact
me.
What was new in the 2000 edition?
Cometography: With the publishing of the first volume of Gary W. Kronks
"Cometography" (Cambridge, 2000) I was able to start with the referencing
of every entry. This resulted in format changes, where the name entry was shifted
to the right. Please read the catalog.txt for format info.
I also used the information for the comets of Volume I (ancient - 1799) and
corrected the entries in the Catalogue. These were mostly changes of the discovery
date which resulted in a new calculation of the positions and elongations, too.
Names: I added names in brackets where the original discoverer is known
but the naming conventions or historical circumstances did not allow the name to
be attached to that comet. Please be aware that these names in brackets are
not official!
I added the X/ comets which were given in the Catalogue of Cometary Orbits
and in the Cometography.
Future improvements
The following list gives an overview of planned changes/improvements.
One-line format: I was asked if a one-line format would be more reasonable.
This means that for every discovery only ONE record exists, with the co-discoveries
mentioned in the notes file. Again, what do you think? (Still thinking about that...)
More data!: As time permits I will try to complete the Catalogue step by
step. This will include the rest of the IAUC numbers and A.N.
(Astronomische Nachrichten) numbers (for pre-IAUC discoveries) and discovery
data.