The observational archive of the Minor Planet Center does not contain every single observation of a minor body (comet or minor planet/asteroid) ever made. Not all published observations are good, there are many duff observations in the literature. Read more.
If you are adept at data entry, have an interest in old astrometry, and have a high boredom threshold, then you are
suitable for participation in this project. Send an email to help@ale-astrometry.org introducing
yourself. You will receive a response, with details of the test submission that we ask all new volunteers to make.
If you need help with your data entry, please send an e-mail to
help@ale-astrometry.org as detailed in the "how to" PDF.
If appropriate, questions and answers will be posted on the FAQ page.
You can choose to be identified by name or as an anonymous 'volunteer number'. Regardless of which choice you make, statistics on the work you do will be available on this site.
Documents and files useful for volunteers, including the "how to" PDF which is required reading, are available [Updated 2021-03-20]
A simple form for uploading ALE Observation Files is available.
There are two sets of data on the progress of the project. There are three stages: computerizing the information in the old journals; producing J2000.0 observations from that data; and inserting the good observations into the MPC archives. Information on the progress in stages 2 and 3 is contained in the volunteer statistics.
Information on the progress of computerizing the old observations is available.
Links to volunteer statistics will appear here.
These statistics will be updated daily in the near future.
Recent status messages are given below:
The ALE project was conceived by and is administered by Dr Gareth Williams, who
can be contacted at contact@ale-astrometry.org.