Re: Using YB6 in Guide via Internet download from VizieR

. Nov 15, 2007

Yay!!!

Thanks for being a beta tester, coz I suppose that's what happened ;)

Now, if you can ever find time to learn how to do TDFs (there's stuff
in the Guide manual and on the projectpluto.com website), and they can
be relatively easy to do if you take an already existing one from the
Guide directory and just swap the text, and reset the column numbers
(the column numbers and widths are taken from the source data files),
and just plot stars (type 6) you can set Guide up to download any
vizier star catalogue you want to.

Star sources with RA and Dec in degrees and little extra data but
position and mag would fit the yb6.tdf format, for instance.

In download.txt you set the download file name, here it was yb6.dat.

In VizieR the main catalogues are roman numeral / arabic numeral comboes.

As you can see from my download.txt the basic default download doesn't
take much effort eg

2800 -cII/270/catal tcs.dat

takes the default data output from the catalogue in VizieR logged as
II/270 and bungs it in the file tcs.dat in an ascii version (Guide
likely strips some html bits along the way).

2801 -cB/denis/denis denis.dat

downloads default ascii data from the DENIS catalogue (the
B/catalogues are a special subset of often large, but mostly "live"
databases where work and/or processing is still ongoing).

Remember, 2800 and 2801 are running numbers that are dependent on
people's personal situation.

Thus download.txt may need to be backed up before future upgrades,
along with string.dat and win_menu.dat and possibly toolbar.dat
(although I think that's upgrade proof nowadays). As new upgrades may
also have new menu stuff in these files, old and new files may have to
be hand cross checked and one updated I think... ...that's possibly
why the toolbar route is better, but you run out of toolbar space
after awhile.

Anyway, this means folk can include many databases that VizieR has in
its holdings, and that's quite a lot, especially the really big ones
that no one can get to download, such as the SDSS data release 5 and
GSC2.3 (this latter can be much better than USNO B1.0 in places and/or
at times, but is much underused. For instance, the possible
progenitor of N Pup 2007 is in GSC2.3.2, but apparently not in USNO
B1.0), without having to wait for Bill to do it or something like that.

Cheers

John



--- In guide-user@yahoogroups.com, "gmccluresprint"
<gmccluresprint@...> wrote:
>
> John, once I have the right upgrade applied, the files are there and
I was
> able to follow your modifications with no problem. It works, I can now
> download YB6 data from VizieR!
>
> Greg
>
> _____
>
> From: guide-user@yahoogroups.com [mailto:guide-user@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of .
> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 9:20 AM
> To: guide-user@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [guide-user] Re: Using YB6 in Guide via Internet download from
> VizieR
>
>
>
>
> Hiya Greg
>
> It's all my fault for having no memory.
>
> I think the latest beta version, that has been around for quite a
> while, may not have actually been released as yet, and I forgot.
>
> http://www.projectp <http://www.projectpluto.com/new.htm>
luto.com/new.htm
>
> Is I think the place the latest version usually lives, but not
> necessarily the most stable, although I think this one is pretty stable.
>
> I believe some versions take a little while to go public because of
> delays in technical feedback, such as when mount drivers are added and
> the like, which not everyone uses, and I forgot.
>
> Sorry.
>
> Hopefully there's a download.txt via there, and this might explain why
> I hadn't posted something like this in my last 'netcarnation.
>
> I unfortunately have no sense of the passage of time.
>
> Cheers
>
> John
>
> --- In guide-user@yahoogro <mailto:guide-user%40yahoogroups.com>
ups.com,
> "gmccluresprint"
> <gmccluresprint@> wrote:
> >
> > I was interested in doing this, but I am having problems finding the
> > DOWNLOAD.TXT file you refer to. I have Guide8, I have updated it
> with the
> > latest updates. The ZIP file does NOT contain any such file. Did I
> miss
> > something in the update process?
> >
> > Greg
> >
> > _____
> >
> > From: guide-user@yahoogro <mailto:guide-user%40yahoogroups.com>
ups.com
> [mailto:guide-user@yahoogro <mailto:guide-user%40yahoogroups.com>
ups.com]
> On
> > Behalf Of .
> > Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 10:22 AM
> > To: guide-user@yahoogro <mailto:guide-user%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com
> > Subject: [guide-user] Using YB6 in Guide via Internet download from
> VizieR
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > How to plot YB6 stars in Guide is detailed.
> >
> > _Background_
> >
> > There's a certain amount of fascination with the NOMAD catalogue
> > amongst some. For Guide users most of NOMAD is already available, as
> > the USNO B1.0, UCAC2 and 2MASS data are already downloadable and
> > plottable in Guide, whilst Guide already has Tycho2 and Hipparcos
> > within it (and some also have the full UCAC2). So the use of NOMAD
> > tends to double up what already exists in Guide, and it carries no
> > particular extra information to that included in the other catalogues.
> >
> > But the YB6 is in NOMAD, and this seems to fascinate people for two
> > reasons. First, it is an unpublished USNO product which is
> > unavailable separately, so it only exists in NOMAD. This is still the
> > case, to some extent. However, it is a digitisation of the plates
> > from the Yale Proper Motion surveys, so anyone using the NPM1 and NPM2
> > (Northern PM 1 and 2 catalogues), and, the SPM2.0 or better still the
> > SPM3.3 (Southern PM version 2 or version 3.3) will already have access
> > to a lot of this data, although not all.
> >
> > Second, it carries 'V magnitudes'. In fact these are photographic
> > magnitudes taken through a yellow filter in much the same way 'quick
> > V' images have been taken by POSS (equatorially) and other surveys in
> > the past, and although they can be reasonable to around a quarter mag,
> > all the way down to magnitude 17, in crowded fields they are no better
> > than any GSC1.x or USNO A/B mag in terms of quality, being up to a
> > magnitude out.
> >
> > Nevertheless, if people can get at the data, they might no worry about
> > it so much, and not feel the need to access NOMAD whilst only
> > receiving mostly that which they've already got access to.
> >
> > Note also that many objects in NOMAD logged as unique to YB6 (ie not
> > in UCAC2 nor USNO B1.0) are also in 2MASS, but NOMAD uses all optical
> > catalogues if possible before resorting to using 2MASS positions
> > (although it will use 2MASS magnitudes wherever available), so
> > relatively very few truly unique YB6 objects will occur.
> >
> > _The Procedure_
> >
> > Ensure Guide is not running.
> >
> > With the latest upgrades of Guide 8 from the internet at
> > www.projectpluto.com it's now easy to access any dataset available via
> > VizieR. A little work is needed using a text editor, notepad will
> > likely suffice, but nothing clever is needed to be known.
> >
> > HOWEVER, three working files in Guide have to be added to in the text
> > editor, so for the seriously cautious, back up the files in you Guide
> > directory (there is no need to back up the subdirectories/subfolders,
> > just the files in the Guide directory/folder).
> >
> > Everyone else can simply backup, or make copies in a separate folder
> > elsewhere, or wherever, of the following three files which are going
> > to be modified :-
> >
> > download.txt
> > strings.dat
> > win_menu.dat
> >
> > download.txt will only exist if you have downloaded and used the later
> > upgrade versions of the program. If you haven't got it, you can't get
> > extra data from VizieR.
> >
> > After backing up those 3 files in whatever way load download.txt into
> > a text editor.
> >
> > The first few lines will look something like this, but will not carry
> > as many entries or be exactly like it:-
> >
> > # Documentation at bottom of file
> > 2798 -cI/305/out&-out.all=0 gsc23.dat
> > 2799 -cII/276/sdss5&-out.all=0&mode==1 sdssdr5.dat
> > 2800 -cII/270/catal tcs.dat
> > 2801 -cB/denis/denis denis.dat
> > 2802 -cI/297/out&r=Y yb6.dat
> > end
> >
> > Access for a new catalogue is entered as a line before the "end"
> > statement.
> >
> > In this instance I already have several catalogues that will be extra
> > to most, whilst not having several other catalogue retrieval routes in
> > the original because of having the full catalogues on hard disk (eg
> > ucac2 and cmc14).
> >
> > The running number in the first column is important, each entry must
> > have a unique number.
> >
> > In this instance the number chosen is 2802. Someone already having
> > gone past 2802 needs to pick the next number after their last entry.
> > Someone who hasn't gotten that far can use whatever number is next.
> >
> > This number must be remembered, it will be used elsewhere.
> >
> > In download.txt enter the line beginning 2802 exactly as shown, cut
> > and paste it if needed. Edit 2802 to be the number desired by your
> > system. If you have not as yet reached 2802, you can use 2802 even if
> > you have not used any of the immediately previous numbers, as long as
> > you never use it for something else in download.txt. ie, enter
> >
> > 2802 -cI/297/out&r=Y yb6.dat
> >
> > on the line immediately before the one saying "end", and change 2802
> > as desired.
> >
> > Now Guide knows whereabouts in VizieR to look for the data. It is
> > actually selecting the YB6 unique entries from NOMAD as per the above
> > URL segment.
> >
> > When it finds it, it will save it to a file in the Guide
> > directory/folder called
> >
> > yb6.dat
> >
> > which is an ascii file, a raw text file.
> >
> > Now we need to get Guide to do this action when we want.
> >
> > The toolbar could be used, but the YB6 unique objects (ie ones not in
> > UCAC2 nor USNO B1.0 nor 2MASS) are actually quite sparse (which is the
> > reason using all of NOMAD just to get the odd YB6 object is overkill).
> >
> > That's a bit of a waste of a toolbar button, which soon fill up the
> > menu bar if we're not careful.
> >
> > So, we'll add the invocation command to the menu under
> >
> > EXTRAS->Get Star Catalog Data
> >
> > If you run Guide now and look under that menu you will see there are
> > already options to get data from CDROM and the internet in that
> > submenu. You must now close Guide, and indeed ensure Guide is not
> > running before making and saving any further changes.
> >
> > Get YB6 from Internet will be added to the bottom of that list.
> >
> > Ensure win_menu.dat is safely backed up somehow, load it into a text
> > editor, and look down the file towards the end. As the menues go
> > right to left on screen, the entries in win_menu.dat are top to bottom
> > in the same order, more or less.
> >
> > You will eventually see some entries like
> >
> > 2550 1545 Get UCAC2 from Internet
> >
> > this is the group that is being looked for.
> >
> > Under the last entry of that group (although above Clear Ax.0 data if
> > that is the last entry) add the following line
> >
> > 2802 1563 Get YB6 from Internet
> >
> > This is where the 2802 comes in, this links to download.txt, when this
> > menu item is called, the same number action is run in download.txt...
> >
> > ...so IF YOU'VE USED SOMETHING OTHER THAN 2802 CHANGE THE ABOVE ENTRY
> > TO USE THE NUMBER YOU'VE USED.
> >
> > Now we have another slightly pedantic problem.
> >
> > In the above entry the second number column is the line number in
> > strings.dat where the text for this menu command also lives.
> >
> > It will likely not be 1563 on your machine. It will be very close to
> > that number, as not much extra is added to my strings.dat from normal.
> >
> > The end of strings.dat looks something like this (it will wordwrap,
> > all lines should star with [] )
> >
> > [] Anything following a [] is a comment. Comments can be added
> > freely at
> > []the end of this file, since GUIDE refers to strings by line
number; no
> > []attempt is made to read past the last "meaningful" piece of text.
> > [] Most comments were added just to help translators figure out
> > where and
> > []how that text is used.
> > [] Lines 1026-1028 contain color values for planets; they are used
> > if (a)
> > []colored planets are available and (b) the planet has no bitmap.
> >
> > with a linespace before them. The entry before this gap line is the
> > last in the menu. You will enter a new line after this, and it is the
> > number of that line you need to know for replacing the 1563 value in
> > win_menu.dat in the above example for adding YB6 to win_menu.dat.
> >
> > It's not as hard as it sounds. Most text editors and ascii viewers
> > will count lines. Or import it as ascii into excel as one whole
> > column for the lot, and the row number will be the line number, yep,
> > just checked that, it works.
> >
> > The new line in strings.dat simply reads
> >
> > Get YB6 from Internet
> >
> > So now with the line
> >
> > 2802 1563 Get YB6 from Internet
> >
> > in win_menu.dat (with your number replacing 2802 from what you used in
> > download.txt and your line number from strings.dat replacing 1563)
> >
> > all are connected to each other.
> >
> > Now ensure Guide is not running still, and apply the above.
> >
> > From now on whenever Get YB6 from Internet is selected for any
> > reasonably small field YB6 stars will be added to the file YB6.dat in
> > the Guide directory/folder.
> >
> > Now all that is needed is to be able to view the data.
> >
> > Simply cut and paste the following data into a text editor and save it
> > as the file YB6.tdf in the Guide directory/folder.
> >
> > Now whenever you are in a field of two degrees or less and have
> > downloaded YB6 data, should any exist for that field, these will be
> > plotted as white stars to the V magnitude, or if there is no V
> > magnitude as small dotlike circles, where the B magnitude can be found
> > via right click (this should only occur for stars fainter then V mag
> > around 18 which are blue enough to be brighter in B mag so will be for
> > very faintest objects, so a small dot will suffice).
> >
> > Right click on these and the V mag (visual photographic plate mag, and
> > around +/- 0.3 mag at best, +/- 1+ at worst, especially in crowded
> > fields) and any B (blue photographic plate mag, ditto on quality, and
> > _not_ contemporaneous with the V mags) and any proper motion details
> > (not necessarily of the highest accuracy) are presented. More info
> > gives the RA and Dec quoted directly from the data in decimal degrees
> > (accuracy likely better than USNO B1.0 but probably never as good as
> > UCAC2, it's a photographic survey remember) and converted via Guide
> > into sexagesimal, as well as quoting the errors on the proper motion,
> > and repeating the rest of the right click data again.
> >
> > And that, as they say, is that. You can probably do it all in less
> > time than it takes to read this.
> >
> > Typical coverage is exemplified by a quarter degree field centred on
> > the sparse field around the cataclysmic variable AL Com. Only seven
> > stars are unique to YB6.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > John
> >
> > John Greaves
> >
> > ---yb6.tdf copy from the next line----
> > file yb6.dat
> > title YB6 from VizieR
> > volatile
> > RA H 21 9
> > units0 -2
> > de d 34 9
> > mag 94 6
> > ~b 24 1 YB6 Star\n\n
> > ~b 94 6 Vmag %s\n
> > ~b 84 6 Bmag %s\n
> > ~r 21 9 \nRA 2000 %R\n
> > ~r 34 9 Dec2000 %D\n\n
> > ~r 21 9 RA %s Dec %[34,9] deg\n\n
> > ~c 51 7 muRA %s mas/y\n
> > ~c 68 7 muDe %s mas/y\n
> > ~r 51 7 RAcos(Dec) proper motion : %s +/- %[61,4] mas/year\n
> > ~r 68 7 Declination proper motion : %s +/- %[78,4] mas/year\n
> >
> > epoch 2000
> > type 6
> > type sCffffff;e0,0,6;
> > field 0.00 20.00
> > mag lim 22.0
> > shown 5
> > end
> > ----------copy only up to the previous line---------
> >
> > check the long lines starting
> >
> > ~r 51
> >
> > and
> >
> > ~r 68
> >
> > for wordwrap. These are the last two lines before the gap line and
> > the follow line "epoch 2000", and should read as two lines, not three
> > or four.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>