The main purpose of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was to survey the sky in four infrared wavelength bands centered at 12, 25, 60 and 100 um. Data for 25 comets, 1811 known asteroids and ~TBD asteroids without orbits were obtained and accepted into this IRAS asteroid and comet catalog, which is the largest, least biased and most uniform survey of asteroids and comets. For the IRAS Asteroid Survey, 7,015 sightings from 1,811 individual asteroids that were of sufficient quality have been accepted into the asteroid catalog. Diameters, albedos and various technical parameters have been derived for these minor planet. The IRAS comet catalog contains the detection history for each comet reliably detected in the ADAS search. Positions were searched for all periodic comets that passed near the sun or earth during the period from 1982 to 1985 plus all comets that were observed during that period.
The IRAS Minor Planet Survey (1992) supplements the asteroid data given in the IRAS Asteroid and Comet Survey (1986; catalog <VII/91>); comets are not included in IMPS. All asteroids with reasonably well-known orbits as of December 1990 are covered. In particular, IMPS updates the processing of asteroids numbered 1 through 3318 and extends this processing to asteroid number 4679 plus 2,632 asteroids with preliminary (two or more opposition) orbits. IMPS processed only IRAS survey observations; Low Resolution Spectrometer, Serendipitous, and Additional Observations data were not processed.
