Asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites that are known at the time of NEOWISE data processing and that are predicted to be within the field of view of the individual Single-exposures at the time of the NEOWISE observations are identified during the Scan/Frame processing. The list of objects found to be within the Single-exposure footprints, along with their predicted positions and selected orbital parameters are summarized in the Known Solar System Object Possible Association List (KSSOPAL). If the predicted position of a known solar system object is in close proximity to Single-exposure detection in the appropriate image, the associated detection is also provided. However, the KSSOPAL entries with Single-exposure detection associations are not confirmed solar system object detections. Please refer to the Moving Object Tracklets for a vetted list of NEOWISE solar system object detections.
The algorithms used to predict the positions of the objects during each Single-exposure are described in section IV.4.e of the WISE All-Sky Release Explanatory Supplement. The format and content of the columns in the KSSOPAL are given in IV.2.e.i.
Two updates were made to the Solar System object search module of the Scan/Frame pipeline for NEOWISE data processing:
N.B. - Solar system objects that were discovered after the epoch of the orbital elements file used in NEOWISE data processing but that were within the field of view of a particular NEOWISE Single-exposure will not be listed in the KSSOPAL. As a result, the KSSOPAL is very inhomogeneous in the sense that the number of solar system objects available increased significantly with time during the Reactivation survey. This also means that the first observation epochs for NEOWISE discoveries will not be included in the KSSOPAL. It is possible to search for observations that covered the position of such objects, or to perform general precovery searches using the Moving (or Solar System) Object search capabilities in the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive Catalog Query Engine or WISE/NEOWISE Image Service.
Last update: 4 October 2024