Since my last message about the status of the Iridial constellation, there have been a number of developments. Ir P12? 48 has begun moving within its plane, breaking down the regular undecagon (11-sided polygon) in that plane. Perhaps Ir P1B? 69 will replace it?? Ir P? B 79 has begun precessing out of its initial plane (P5). Perhaps it will become Ir P45R 79, replacing the also moving Ir P45? 14?? Ir P5? 80 has apparently assumed its station as Ir P51 80; ditto for Ir P54 81. The linkage between nomenclature of the successive planes which I proposed has begun to shift and break down. E.g., instead of following P00, P10 now precedes her. Here is an important question: Is this merely a growing pain, or is it likely to be a persistent problem? If the latter, there are 2 possible consequences, both serious in nature. The linkage could be abandoned. Or what I proposed as a nomenclature becomes to some extent merely a description, to be updated from time to time as the undecagons spin around out of sync. Regardless, the usefulness of having the P-numbers in the name field is very high for visual observers. I've begun moving a blank, writing, e.g., Ir P0 B 75 instead of Ir P0B 75. In this way, the B, S, T, and U objects, which have oddball orbital periods, immediately stand out in lists such as this edited QuickSat output: 41.374 81.864 840. Nissen, OH 1950 17.5 1 F T F F F *** 1998 Oct 8 *** Times are UT *** 2346 1041 H M S AL AZI 24905 7 23 20 75 267 Ir P10 24 25106 7 32 28 61 268 Ir P11 47 25108 7 50 45 41 271 Ir P13 49 24903 7 59 51 34 273 Ir P14 26 25431 8 8 30 28 274 Ir P15R 3 24907 8 18 3 23 276 Ir P16 22 24906 8 27 7 19 277 Ir P17 23 25320 8 34 36 16 279 Ir P1 T 71 25432 8 36 11 16 279 Ir P18 76 24904 8 45 14 13 280 Ir P19 25 25319 8 48 44 13 281 Ir P1B? 69 25107 8 54 5 9 282 Ir P12? 48 25104 8 54 16 10 282 Ir P1A 45 25105 9 0 25 8 283 Ir P1 S 46 24905 9 3 19 8 284 Ir P10 24 For better or for worse, the R objects also stand out. Those who wish to ignore this slight change may do so freely, as it introduces no ambiguity. Thanks to Mike McCants for QuickSat and for insightful, helpful comments. Cheers. Walter Nissen dk058@cleveland.freenet.edu -81.8637, 41.3735, 256m elevation --- \ Classic \ American 2632 \ Legend --- The simplified table now appears as: P00 64 P10 24* P20 32 P30 5 P40 9* P50 39 P01 65 P11 47 P21 33 P31 6 P41 10* P51 80 P02 66 P12? 48 P22 57 P32 7 P42 52 P52 17 P03 67 P13 49 P23 58 P33 8 P43 12 P53 15 P04 68 P14 26 P24 59 P34 4 P44 13 P54 81 P05 74 P15R 3 P25 60 P35 35 P45? 14 P55 38 P06 72 P16 22 P26 55 P36 61 P46 16 P56 41 P07 73 P17 23 P27 28 P37 19 P47 53 P57 43 P08 70 P18 76 P28 29 P38 34 P48 56 P58 18* P09 62 P19 25 P29 30 P39 37 P49 50 P59 42 P0A 63 P1A 45 P2A 31 P3A 36 P4A 54 P5A 40 P0 B 75 P3 B 51 P5B? 77 P5C? 82 P1 S 46* P2 S 27 P4 S 11 P5 S 20* P1 T 71 P5 T 44 P5 U 21 P12R or P1B? 69 P45R or P? B 79 * numbers have been confused, resolution uncertain