PMM - Questions Everyone Asks

I just want a small part of USNO-A2.0

Try using the USNO Image and Catalogue Archive Service.

DEMO.TAR won't compile on my Sun.

The downward revisions to FORTRN were not done by the time that the CD-ROM went to press. The version of DEMO.TAR obtained from this Web page is more Sun-friendly.

My PC can't even read DEMO.TAR.

The program SERPCA.EXE is MS-DOS compatible and can be downloaded from this Web page. Also, Lowell Observatory has an MS-DOS program that can be downloaded.

What is the correct citation for USNO-A2.0/SA2.0?

You should check with the editor of the publication for which you are preparing your article, but we suggest treating the catalog like a book, and using that sort of a format. For many publications, the following is appropriate. The author string can be found in README, and the USNO-DC library has an archival copy should Flagstaff get nuked.

Monet, D., Bird A., Canzian, B., Dahn, C., Guetter, H., Harris, H., Henden, A., Levine, S., Luginbuhl, C., Monet, A. K. B., Rhodes, A., Riepe, B., Sell, S., Stone, R., Vrba, F., & Walker, R. 1998, The USNO-A2.0 Catalogue, (U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington DC).

What is the correct citation for USNO-A1.0/SA1.0?

Monet, D., Bird, A., Canzian, B., Harris, H., Reid, N., Rhodes, A., Sell, S., Ables, H., Dahn, C., Guetter, H., Henden, A., Leggett, S., Levison, H., Luginbuhl, C., Martini, J., Monet, A., Pier, J., Riepe, B., Stone, R., Vrba, F., Walker, R. 1996, USNO-SA1.0, (U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington DC).

The photometry in the Southern sky is hosed!

A number of users have reported large (~1 or 2 mags) zero point errors for various Southern plates. A partial explanation may be found in README, with more details in READPHT.V10. We did the best job we could with the databases available to us. Obviously, we would like to do the best possible job, so your suggestions and comments are welcome.