Comets tab (Data | Comets and Minor Planets )

Click this tab to show the current list of comets and to activate, add or remove comets from the list. Mark the check box next to comet name to make it visible on the Virtual Sky.

Name

Lists the names of comets that can be viewed.

Edit

Click this button to display the Comet Input dialog box. This dialog box allows you to modify the orbital elements for the selected comet.

Add

Click this button to display the Comet Input dialog box. This option adds a new comet to the list.

Remove

Click this button to remove the selected comet.

Import

Click this button to import one or more comets from a formatted text file that contains comet orbital element data.

Number of Comets

Displays the number of comets that are currently loaded. A maximum of 1000 comets can be displayed at once.

From the Web Group

This group box contains options that retrieve timely information directly from the World Wide Web.

Observable

Click this button to retrieve the list of comets that are observable today, directly from the IAU's Minor Planet Center web site on the Internet. Your computer must have access to the Internet to use this option.

By Name

Click this button to retrieve a list of comet names directly from the IAU's Minor Planet Center web site on the Internet. Your computer must have access to the Internet to use this option. See Download Comets by Name from the Web dialog box for more information.