Common Astronomical Research tasks you can do with the VO

If you have an object name, coordinates in the sky, some keywords, an image or catalog, this page can help you answer questions, provide additional data, or make custom data products. Listings below give some avenues for how the VO can bring answer questions, provide additional data, or make custom data products.

• IF I HAVE an object name:
  Convert to position in the sky:

  • Use the Sesame Name Resolver

  Look up known information about the object:

  • Use Datascope or NED or Simbad

  Get Spectral Energy Density of the object:

  • Go to NED Photometry

• IF I HAVE a sky position/radius:
  Get color image:

  • Use the SDSS finding chart tool

  • Use Skyview

  Find images from multiple surveys

  • Step-by-step guide with DataScope

  Overlay multiple image surveys as a false-color image

  • Step-by-step guide

  Get a spectra for objects in the region

  • Go to NVO Spectrum search

  Make a mosaic from DSS2 survey

  • Step-by-step guide

• To find and query a published catalog:
  Find the peer-reviewed paper that published the catalog:

  • Use ADS as in this screenshot

  Locate and then query the catalog with Vizier:

  • Step-by-step guide

  Show sky coverage of catalog:

  • Step-by-step guide

  Query the catalog with Openskyquery:

  • Step-by-step guide

• Some word-based searches:

  • Search ADS

  • Search VO Directory

  • Search with Google
    

• IF I HAVE an astrometric (WCS) image:
  Locate sources from NED on the image

  • Step-by-step Guide

  Correct the astrometry:

  • Step-by-step guide using WCS-fixer

  Sextract the sources and crossmatch:

  • Step-by-step guide using WESIX

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