It is possible to search MAST for multiple targets at once, by first uploading list of target names and coordinates.
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Search a List of Targets
Here are he steps for uploading a list of targets to the Portal:
| Introduction | Notes | |
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| 1 | Prepare a list of targets on your local machine, following the formatting rules below. This minimal example file (right) uses a list of names and coordinates of 4 Galactic globular clusters. Your target list may include other columns of information, such as source magnitudes. | globulars.txt |
| 2 | Click the Upload Target List button. |
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| 3 | Enter the location of your target list in the upload dialog box, and click "Upload" |
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| 4 | Select one or more of your targets in the results table. |
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| 5 | Click the cross-match button. |
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| 6 | Select a MAST collection against which to cross-match the coordinates of you targets. Also select a search radius about the targets. Then click the Cross Match button. |
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It is possible to perform other actions with user tables beyond cross-matching with an uploaded table, such as creating new table columns or plots of column values.
Uploading a large list of targets, and then cross-matching against a large catalog such as All Observations, may take a long time to execute, and may return an unwieldy list of matches.
Formatting Rules for Uploads
The Upload tool can import custom tables in two file formats: VOTABLE and CSV. See the description of VOTable file format. A CSV-formatted table should be prepared with the following in mind:
- A line is a comment if it begins with a
#. An exception to this is that before the header line you may specify a column datatype line with#@, then a comma-separated list of types. - Allowed types are:
int,float,string,raanddec, with the latter two being interpreted from either decimal or sexagesimal coordinates. If no datatypes are specified, the software will attempt to determine them. - The first un-commented line defines the headers for the columns.
- Right ascension should be titled as:
RAorRAJ2000. - Declination should be titled as:
DECorDECJ2000. - Footprints should be titled as:
s_regionorregionSTCS. - Any number of subsequent rows may be defined, although one should exercise caution with trying to load large numbers of rows.