International Asteroid Day · Mock observatory desk

Orbit Follow-up Desk

A calm, one-minute look at how observers decide which asteroid observation packet deserves a follow-up first. Pick a priority mode and the desk reranks seven fictional packets — follow-up is structured reasoning, not panic.

All packets, names, and numbers are fictional teaching data. No real asteroid risk, warnings, or live astronomy.

02 · Priority mode

Chase the orbits we understand least.

03 · Observation tray

7 packets

  1. Long Tail

    2026 Desk-04

    Near, safeModeratemag 18.6

    62score
    follow-up first

  2. Blue Chalk

    2026 Desk-01

    Near, safeFaintmag 20.4

    61score

  3. Faint Return

    2026 Desk-06

    HistoricalFaintmag 21.6

    56score

  4. Late Window

    2026 Desk-05

    Near, safeFaintmag 21.1

    39score

  5. Copper Dot

    2026 Desk-02

    DistantEasy to seemag 15.2

    36score

  6. Teaching Rock

    2026 Desk-07

    Training onlyEasy to seemag 14.4

    28score

  7. Quiet Arc

    2026 Desk-03

    DistantModeratemag 17.8

    23score

04 · Follow-up sheet

Top follow-up target

2026 Desk-04 · Long Tail

Follow up firstTop of the tray
62priority

Score breakdown

  • UNCOrbit uncertainty
    0
  • AGETime since last seen
    0
  • VISHow easy to see
    0
  • WINWindow tonight
    0
  • SCIScience value
    0
  • PUBPublic interest
    0

Why this one

Long Tail carries the loosest orbit fit on the desk, so a fresh measurement removes the most guesswork.

Next observation

Recover near the predicted track, then re-fit the orbit.

Public-safe explanation

We are following up because the data is incomplete, not because anything is dangerous. More observations simply sharpen the predicted path.