Poster Session 3, 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A27]

A Python Implementation of Gauss's Method for Determining Asteroid Orbits

Presenter: Milagros Tamara Giraldo

Faculty Sponsor: Jennifer Winters

School: Bridgewater State University

Research Area: Astronomy, Cosmology, and Astrophysics

ABSTRACT

Accurately predicting the orbital trajectory of celestial objects is essential for precise spacecraft navigation, planning planetary missions, avoiding potential collisions with space debris, and studying the long-term stability of planetary systems. Gauss’s method for orbital determination provides a way to predict the path of a celestial body accurately using a small number of observations. This research focuses on understanding the mathematical and physical foundations of Gauss's method. Based on this understanding, we developed a fast, user-friendly implementation of Gauss’s method in python that incorporates modern coding practices and code efficiency. Our implementation allows the analysis of multiple sets of data within a few seconds, which allows us to easily generate statistics and compare results. Our work provides the opportunity to study Gauss's method itself, which allows us to explore deeper questions, such as the ideal spacing between observations, when the method is most accurate, and in which cases it fails to produce valid results. Using our Python implementation, we can investigate why and how these issues occur.
For this project, we created a GitHub repository open to the public that includes the Python implementation, along with a short paper that walks through the Gauss method, its mathematical assumptions, and its derivation, with the intent of making the method accessible and understandable to anyone, regardless of experience.

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