USNO Finder Charts

Welcome to the USNO Flagstaff Station
Integrated Image and Catalogue Archive Service

Service Alert (22 Apr 2015: 5:30pm MST): Updated Files. Service has been restored. Many files have been updated. If you experience issues, clear your web cache and confirm your links are not pointing to missing files.

Service Alert (13 Apr 2015: 11am MST): Planned service outage. This service will be taken down for upgrades on 13 Apr 2015 at 11am MST. The outage may take several days. This page will still be visible while the backend service is down.

This facility allows you to extract catalogue data and plot up finder charts. In addition, we have available the raw images from scanning the major photographic surveys. You can overplot the catalogue data onto the images, as well as overplot your own additional markers.

In normal operation, users input their query through the lower frame, and all returned information shows up here in the upper frame.

If you find this useful, please let us know, and if you have problems, please let us know.

Acknowledgment: If you have found the USNOFS Archive helpful in your work, the following acknowledgment would be appreciated:

   This research has made use of the USNOFS Image and Catalogue Archive
   operated by the United States Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station
   (http://www.nofs.navy.mil/data/fchpix/).

NEWS NOTES (08 Dec 2009): A number of changes have been made. These include:

Serving the UCAC-2 catalogue.
Serving the UCAC-3 catalogue.
Object lookup by name - the service will now query the name resolvers at Simbad, NED and Vizier if you wish (this is long overdue).
The option to specify an offset from a pointing (mostly useful when used with lookup by name, since it means you can set the center at an arbitrary point near an object).
Increase in permitted region request size, up to 1.5 x 1.5 degree for images.
Minimum separation selection criterion for catalogue sources (ie, request objects with no neighbor nearer than some distance).
Computation of the position error at catalogue epoch (sRaEp, sDeEp), if the catalogue has the necessary information.
Minor changes to the formatted catalogue header.
Addition of PDF format for image and chart output.
Port of the service to a modern machine (hopefully the only difference you will notice is that the service is faster and more reliable).

NEWS NOTE (31 Jul 2008): All image data are now being served from a RAID, no more waits for loading tapes. This should reduce typical image request times to 1 to 2 minutes, instead of 15 to 60 minutes.

NEWS NOTE (28 Mar 2005): Release of Virtual Observatory (VO) based Cone Search tools for accessing the NOMAD, USNO-B1, USNO-A2 and ACT catalogues from this site.

NEWS NOTE (23 Nov 2004): The first release of the NOMAD Catalog is now available.

NEWS NOTE (18 Oct 2002): The USNO-B1.0 Catalog is now available.

Service Update (20 Jan 2009: 8:30pm MST): Service URL change (in progress). The new URL for this service is

http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astrometry/optical-IR-prod/icas

At some point in the near future access through the current web site will cease. I do not know the projected duration of the overlap period. The new web site looks different, but retains all of the functions of the current site, and accesses the same server and data sets.

Service Update (12 Dec 2008: 10am MST): Impending service URL change. When I have a complete URL for this service, I will post it here. Hopefully that will happen before the service moves to the new portal.

NOTICE TO OUR USERS

Under direction from the Chief of Naval Operations, the U.S. Naval Observatory's web site is changing from its traditional appearance to a web "portal" which will combine all of the Navy Oceanography Community's products and services.

As of 15 January 2009, the U.S. Naval Observatory's publicly-accessible products and services will continue to be available at http://www.usno.navy.mil, but will be part of a larger portal.

DoD customers are directed to our NIPRNet site at https://oceanography.navy.mil (CAC required).

Questions or comments can be submitted here.

Service Note (06 Dec 2008: 9pm MST): Impending service URL change. Due to changes in the way the Department of Navy is structuring its web sites, in the near future, the web address for this service will probably change. I do not have any more details at the moment. As I learn more, I will post it.

Old Service Notes

Server Status (as of 08 Dec 2009 1pm MST):

Catalogue Extraction: Functional
Finding Charts: Functional
Image Server: Functional

If you want Image data, please read this.

The Plate Logs are now on-line through the main server help file.

New service(s): As of January 2000, we are now serving out the image data in the PMM archive. The USNO-A2.0 catalogue is derived from some of these image data. When you request data, you have the option of getting catalogue data (QUICK) and/or retrieving the pixel data for the PMM images that cover the field of your request. All of the surveys listed in the table below have been scanned, and the pixels are being loaded into our tape library. Image retrieval will NOT be instantaneous (or anywhere near close), since the images come off of tape, so have patience please. You have the option of being notified by e-mail when your request is finished. To understand this service little better, please see the discussion of the PMM.

Features:

Whole sky coverage.
The Schmidt plates have been scanned at a resolution of 0.9 arcsec/pixel.
The data are digitized at 8 bits in transmission by the Precision Measuring Machine.
Data from multiple epochs, and in multiple colors are available. For example, for a field that was covered by both the POSS-I and POSS-II surveys, we make available both sets of scans, including the O and E plates from POSS-I and the J, F and N plates from POSS-II. Additionally, if the particular field is in an overlap region between two plates, you will get separate images from each plate.

Particular Limitations:

Because most of the pixel data are stored on tape, it can take up to an hour to retrieve the images covering the region you desire. Our server is capable of sending you an e-mail notice when your request has been processed. The email will have complete URL's for all of your data. PLEASE give serious consideration to using this option.
Any requests for pixel images larger than 30 arcmin square will silently be reduced to 30 arcmin square, though the finder chart will be as requested (up to 2 degrees square).
Images near the poles are not yet handled properly. You have been warned.
I am still in the process of validating the pixel data. In essence this means that I have not yet checked that all the plates are what we claim. There are over 12,000, so this will take a while. If you notice something that seems strange, please let me know.

Additional caveats regarding the pixel service: this is still somewhat beta test software right now, and I am only one person with other responsibilities. I am working on this as fast as I can. I am happy to hear your suggestions for ways to improve this service, and will do what I can to incorporate them. If you find a bug, or something that seems wrong, PLEASE PLEASE let me know.

As of 04 January 2001, we have available on-line images of the following surveys (and more will be available shortly):

            Survey                               Photographic
  Name      Description                          Colors        Fields
  ----      -----------                          ------        ------
  POSS-I  - 1st epoch Palomar Obs. Sky Survey    103aO         All (1-937)
	    including the WhiteOak Extension	 103aE         All (1-1037)

  POSS-II - 2nd epoch Palomar Obs. Sky Survey    IIIaJ         All (2 - 898)
						 IIIaF         All (2 - 898)
						 IV-N          All that were taken (2 - 898, less 24 fields)
	
  SRC-J   - SRC  Southern J Survey               IIIaJ         All (1-606)

  SERC-EJ - SERC Southern Equatorial J Survey    IIIaJ         All (607-894)

  ESO-R   - ESO  Southern R Survey               IIIaF         All (1-606)

  SERC-ER - SERC Southern Equatorial R Survey    IIIaF         All (607-894)

  AAO-R   - Anglo-Australian Obs. Southern R     IIIaF         All (1-606)

	COMING SOON:
	------------
  LUYTEN  - Luyten's 2nd Epoch Northern Plates	               All scanned

  PIMWA   - Palomar Infra-Red Milky Way Atlas    IV-N          All scanned (1-80)
						 098-0	       All scanned (1-80)

  AAO-N   - Anglo-Australian Obs. Southern N     IV-N          Scanned 816 of 894

  AAO-sR  - Southern Milky Way Atlas		 IIIaF	       All scanned (1-163)
  
  SPM     - The Yale Southern Proper Motion Survey             All scanned

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Comments, questions, etc., write to S. Levine
Last updated: 30jul08 by sel