Simple methods for orbit determination and identification of asteroids. I

The many discoveries of main belt asteroids with insufficient observations for reliable orbits cause special difficulties for identifications and data storage; mainly because of the mixing of objects due to their motion in α and δ. This problem may be reduced by substituting positions by slowly and smoothly varying quantities. A rational system of preliminary designations will be proposed, and surveys and compact ephemerides are discussed. All computations are very simple and performed on a small, programmable pocket computer.