A global perspective on astronomical data and information:
the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center (CDS)
D. Egret, M. Crézé, F. Bonnarel, P. Dubois,
F. Genova, A. Heck, G. Jasniewicz, S. Lesteven,
F. Ochsenbein & M. Wenger
The Strasbourg astronomical Data Center (CDS)
has been created in 1972 with the following goals:
- to collect useful data concerning astronomical
objects, and available on electronic form (these are mainly
observations produced by ground-based and space-borne
observatories)
- to improve them through comparisons, critical
evaluations, and cross-identifications
- to distribute the results to the astronomical
community
- to conduct scientific research using these data.
The concept of data center had to be
extended in the context of the fastly growing number
of on-line services of interest to astronomers: a key
issue for the CDS is to help the users
retrieving the data and information they need
among the many possible sources.
In this chapter we describe how the CDS works at
providing a global perspective on astronomical data
and information, with the help of recent technological developments.
The following items are discussed in the printed chapter:
Access pointers
The CDS WWW service
The CDS is a laboratory of the French Institut
National des Sciences de l'Univers
(INSU).
It is installed at Strasbourg astronomical
Observatory, depending also from
Louis Pasteur University.
Abstract from a chapter of
Information & On-line data in Astronomy
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Daniel Egret & Miguel A. Albrecht (Editors)
Last update: Oct 6, 1995