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Solar System Bodies
Solar system bodies are divided into the following groups:
Comets and asteroids are also referred to as "small-bodies" on this site.
The current number of known bodies
with reasonably secure orbits in each group
is shown on a separate page.
Available Data
Data for each group of bodies is represented slightly differently, but in general,
the following are available for all bodies:
ephemerides, orbital elements,
and discovery data
(see the subsections below).
Additional data may be available only for a specific body group, for example,
orbit diagrams are available only for
planets, asteroids,
and comets.
The exception is meteor streams
for which there is only limited data.
Ephemerides
High precision custom ephemerides are available via our HORIZONS system.
See the separate detailed page describing available ephemerides.
Orbital Elements
In general, orbital elements should not be used to compute ephemerides.
This is particularly true for planetary satellites.
Use the ephemeris section links above if you need ephemerides.
Orbit Diagrams
Orbit diagrams are available for the
planets, comets, and asteroids.
Discovery Data
Discovery circumstances are available for
most planetary satellites, select comets, and numbered asteroids.
These data include the discovery date, location of discovery,
and one or more names credited with the discovery.
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