Observers can customize NEOfixer’s recommendations by applying filters on magnitude, uncertainty, rate, sky position, source (NEOCP vs. catalog), etc. This may be useful if, for example, it is difficult to schedule objects that require multiple pointings, or if the local sky conditions are less than ideal, or if available telescope time is limited to part of the night.
NEOfixer will likely promote some challenging targets at elevated priority. Remember, the estimated cost in telescope time is included in NEOfixer’s calculus, so if a very faint or highly uncertain object is assigned elevated priority, this means that NEOfixer deems it worth the cost of those expensive observations, based on higher values for one or more of the other scoring factors (Importance, Benefit, Urgency). However, if you find that NEOfixer consistently promotes objects that are impossible for your site to observe, then please contact us to discuss tuning NEOfixer’s telescope configuration for your site.
Remember, NEOfixer evaluates each object from a planetary defense perspective. There are many objects in the NEO population or posted to the NEOCP/PCCP which may be interesting for reasons not directly related to planetary defense (comets, mission-accessible objects, interstellar objects, NEOs with interesting physical properties). These objects will be ranked based on the scoring criteria outlined above, which is strictly focused toward planetary defense interests.