Target Overview
    ===============
      The ASTEROID target name is used in datasets in which a large number
      of asteroids are observed.  Specific asteroid names are used only
      for those datasets which are wholly concerned with one or a few
      asteroids.
 
      The primary repository for asteroid information in the Planetary
      Data System (PDS) is the Small Bodies Node (SBN), located at the
      University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. The SBN archives
      include numerous surveys and catalogs of asteroid properties as well
      as special collections pertaining to specific bodies.  Catalogs are
      available in the following general categories:
 
         o Colors and Light Curves
         o Spectrophotometry
         o Polarimetry and Radar
         o Physical Paramters (absolute magnitude, diameter, etc.)
         o Taxonomic classifications
         o Cross-identifications
 
      Special collections currently on-line at the SBN include the
      Ida/Gaspra collection and the preliminary data delivery from the
      NEAR mission flyby of the asteroid Mathilde.
 
 
    Other Resources
    ===============
      For support services for observers, contact the Minor Planet Center
      of the International Astronomical Union.  The Minor Planet Center
      operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
 
      The SBN does not archive osculating (orbital) elements for any small
      bodies.  However, Dr. E. Bowell of Lowell Observatory has made his
      personal database of asteroid orbital elements available to
      observers on request.
 
                                   Last update: 21 January 1999
                                                A.C.Raugh
                                                PDS SBN
                                                University of Maryland