The digest2NEO Classification Code

We describe the software package, a fast, short-arc orbit classifier for small solar system bodies. The algorithm has been serving the community for more than 13 yr. The code provides a score, , which represents a pseudo-probability that a tracklet belongs to a given solar system orbit type. is primarily used as a classifier for Near-Earth Object (NEO) candidates, to identify those to be prioritized for follow-up observation. We describe the historical development of and demonstrate its use on real and synthetic data. We find that can accurately and precisely distinguish NEOs from non-NEOs. At the time of detection, 14% of NEO tracklets and 98.5% of non-NEOs tracklets have below the critical value of of our simulated NEOs achieved the maximum and 99.6% of NEOs achieved at least once during the simulated 10-year timeframe. We demonstrate that varies as a function of time, rate of motion, magnitude and sky-plane location, and show that NEOs tend to have lower at low Solar elongations close to the ecliptic. We use our findings to recommend future development directions for the code.