AstroCat – A Web-based interactive astronomical catalog

transcript

Stefan DreizlerInstitute for Astrophysics

Georg-August-University, Göttingen&

Ralf StockmannGoettingen State and University LibraryGoettingen Digitization Centre (GDZ)

CNI Spring 2006 Task Force Meeting

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Outline

• Introduction• Motivation• AstroCat• CVcat• Demo• Connecting scientists and libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Astronomical Catalogs - History

• First catalog by Hipparchos (180-125 b.Chr.) 1022 stars (position and brightness)

• Continued by Ptolomäus and numerous astronomers into modern times

• Argelander (1799-1875) all (northern) visible stars, a survey using a 10 cm telescope (22000 objects) variable stars

• Catalog by Messier (1730-1817) nebulous objects not to be confused with comets (107 objects)

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Astronomical Catalogs - Present

• Today: 6453 catalogs listed e.g. @ Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center

• Bibliographic data base with 4.6 M entries @ Smithsonian/NASA Astronomical Data Center

• Preprint Server, e.g. astro-ph @ arXiv

• Several Virtual Telescope Projects, e.g. MAST (Multi Mission Archive at Space Telescope)

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Motivation for interactive catalogs

From data to paper

• Raw data Data Archive• Reduced data Data Archive ?• Derived quantities• Publication Bibliographic Archive

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Current and Future Challenges

• Dedicated survey telescopes

• Larger CCD cameras

• E.g. Pan-STARRS with few Tbytes/night

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Motivation for interactive catalogs

From paper to (meta-)data

• Statistical analysis of available data• Planning of observations

• Data base query of derived quantities

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Requirements

• Complete• Error free

• Up to date• citable

• Catalog from the community for the community Web based Interactive

• AstroCat provides a platform for the implementation of such catalogs

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Technical details

• Linux• PostgreSQL• PHP5• XML (AstroCatML)

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

The Team

• Original Idea: Boris Gänsicke, Jens Kube (Institute for Astrophysics, Göttingen)

• Movement towards a more general project in library context: Klaus Beuermann (IAG), Elmar Mittler (State and University Library Göttingen)

• Design and definition: Fabian Euchner, Alexander Pollmer

• Extended phase: Stefan Dreizler, Ralf Stockmann

• Implementation CVcat: Fabian Euchner, Alexander Pollmer, Boris Gänsicke (now: Univ. of Warwick)

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

CVcat – a catalog of cataclysmic variables

Pspin=833 sec

Input: What’s known

• Astronomical coordinates• Object name(s) general astronomical• Brightness• Classification

• Stellar parameters CV special• System parameters

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Output: CVcat provides …

• Query by– Name– Coordinates– Classification– Object properties

• Returns – List of objects (in user definable formats)– Overview of properties for all objects

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Community involvement in CVcat

• Unregistered user: everybody– Query the data base

• Registered user: about 200– Add properties and new objects– Add comments

• Editors: a few– Guarantee correctness– Massive data input

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Addresses

• AstroCat.org • CVcat-demo• CVcat.net

• info@astrocat.org

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Query by object name

Result

Query by classification

Result

Query by properties

Result

Query by properties

Result

Output list

Add Object

Result

Add property

Result

Connecting scientists and libraries

• Interesting aspects for librarians:– Long-term citation of dynamic web-pages

change history / logfile

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

• Interesting aspects for librarians:– Collaborative work spaces– Supporting infrastructure for knowledge management

and sense-making

• Adopt tools for other astronomic objects– Provide a portal

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

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AstroCat

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EZOOLO – Early Zoological Literature Online

• Provide free access for all scientists to the old zoological literature

• Literature is digitized in image format by the SUB Göttingen (Göttinger Digitization Centre)

• Collaborators have the right to enter data directly into the database

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

RMC – Rise of Modern Constitutionalism

• Create a scholarly edition of all constitutions that were part of the rising tide of modern constitutionalism between 1776 and 1849

• Offering both digitized images and fulltext• Supported by more than 30 contributors

responsible for the constitutional documents within their regional and topical area of specialization

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

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RMC – workflow

• Minimal standard in text editing: Microsoft Word• Fully automated workflow:

– M$ Word macro (incl. “submit button”)– Upload to RMC-Server and conversion into Open Office

XML– XSLT-script to transform the text into TEI (Text

Encoding Initiative), well defined, well structured, well tagged (indices)

– Upload to web server

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

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AstroCat

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RMC – workflow

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RMC – workflow

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RusDML - Collaborative metadata production

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• Russian Digital Mathematical Library• Access to the most important Russian language

journals from 1866 to the present• Collaborative metadata production• Multilingual (Russian, English, German)

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

• Russian Digital Mathematical Library• Access to the most important Russian language

journals from 1866 to the present• Collaborative metadata production• Multilingual (Russian, English, German)

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

• Web based• Open source (Java)• UTF-8 coding• Enabling mass production of “high-value”

metadata

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Interactive Catalog

Introduction

Motivation

AstroCat

Libraries

Thank you

Addresses

• http://www.animalbase.de/• http://134.76.160.151/rmc• http://tool.rusdml.de• http://dms.rusdml.de/• http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/en/index.html

• stockmann@sub.uni-goettingen.de

AstroCat – A Web-based interactive astronomical catalog

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