About the NRAO Archive Access Tool
Table of Contents
About the NRAO Archive Access Tool
- Searching
Authentication and Authorization
Reprocessing
Known Issues
Search Index and Database
Performance
Reprocessing Errors
Reporting Bugs (NRAO staff)
Notes to the Users Committee
Introduction
This is the updated NRAO Science Data Archive. It is a tool to provide access to the vast repository of astronomical data we’ve collected over the years, both public data and data still in the proprietary period: data you have proposed for and observed or been given access to.
We are also offering the option to reprocess raw data and retrieve the results. Using the resources we have available, we can help you reduce your data.
This release is the culmination of the Phase II development effort. Everything present in Phase I is still present and operational. The focus in this release has been on three functional areas: search criteria, authentication and reprocessing, additionally the interface was re-designed to be responsive and cleaner.
Searching
The tool offers both a basic interface and an advanced interface form with a multitude of fields you can search on, including:
Telescope
ALMA array type (12m, 7m, etc)
VLA array configuration
ALMA maximum resolvable scale
GBT backends and receivers
Receiver band
Polarizations
Start/end date
Observation ID
Project code / title / abstract / PI / authors
Cone search source position with RA/Dec, coordinate system, and search radius
Full-width/half-max
Spatial/spectral resolution
Low/high frequency
Exposure time
In the advanced interface each search field is ANDed together, multiple selections within a field are ORed , for example if you select Telescope: VLA, VLA Array Configurations: A, D, and Start Date: 2015-01-01, you are searching for any VLA observation that started on or after January 1, 2015 and was in A or D configurations.
The basic interface offers a quick way to search the archive for specific topics, authors, source names and so on, and checks the text you provide against all of the fields above.
Authentication and Authorization
It has always been possible to submit download requests anonymously for non-proprietary data. You may now also log in and download or reprocess your proprietary data or data that you have been granted access to.
The archive also supports SSO level 2, so you may authenticate with either your ALMA or NRAO account. If the accounts are linked at ALMA, you will see the same stuff either way.<
Reprocessing
Reprocessing requests are now supported for raw data. ALMA requests and VLA requests for data taken after 2013 are functional (Jansky VLA sets from before 2013 had issues with intents and can't be reprocessed without manual intervention.
Known Issues
Search Index and Database
The Archive seaches a combined index of ALMA and non-ALMA observations, this index is built from a database that has certain inconsistencies. We are in the middle of reimplementing the database and refining the procedure that builds it from the legacy database, meanwhile you can find results that are missing essential fields (start or stop dates, array configurations and so on). We have no evidence of observations with incorrect fields, just fields that are vacant.
Performance
Reprocessing Errors
Reporting Bugs (NRAO Staff)
Notes to the Users Committee