1998/07/31 by H. Andernach, Heinz Andernach, Andernach, Heinz
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9807346
to appear in Proc. 9th Canary Islands Winter School on "Astrophysics with Large Databases in the Internet Age", eds. M. Kidger, I. Perez-Fournon, & F. Sanchez, 64 pages, 8 figures and style files included
arxiv created 1998/07/31 · openalex publication_date 1998/07/31 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A subjective overview of Internet resources for radio-astronomical information is presented. Basic observing techniques and their implications for the interpretation of publicly available radio data are described, followed by a discussion of existing radio surveys, their level of optical identification, and nomenclature of radio sources. Various collections of source catalogues and databases for integrated radio source parameters are reviewed and compared, as well as the web interfaces to interrogate the current and ongoing large-area surveys. Links to radio observatories with archives of raw (uv-) data are presented, as well as services providing images, both of individual objects or extracts (``cutouts'') from large-scale surveys. While the emphasis is on radio continuum data, a brief list of sites providing spectral line data, and atomic or molecular information is included. The major radio telescopes and surveys under construction or planning are outlined. A summary is given of a search for previously unknown optically bright radio sources, as performed by the students as an exercise, using Internet resources only. Over 200 different links are mentioned and were verified, but despite the attempt to make this report up-to-date, it can only provide a snapshot of the current situation.