NED: A Behind-the-Scenes Look

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Session 2 -- Software
Display presentation, Monday, June 12, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[2.04] NED: A Behind-the-Scenes Look

M.Schmitz, G.Helou, B.F.Madore, H.G.Corwin, J.Bennett, C.LaGue, H. Sun, X.Wu (NED/Caltech/JPL)

The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) has aided astronomy research for five years. At present, the database is accessed over 6,500 times per month via the interactive interface. Another thousand requests per month are made via the BATCH and SERVER modes. Aspects of NED which are not widely known (and some which are), will be described. Computer programs are discussed which aid in object identification, data verification, and database improvement. Nomenclature conventions used to avoid duplicate object names in the database, the hierarchy used to order the various names an object might have, and the NED/SIMBAD 19-digit reference code (with detailed explanations) will be presented. The NED SERVER mode will be described and useful tips for using the interface and BATCH mode will be given.

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