User-Customized Output Searches

(Latest Revision: 10 March 2011)

User-Customized Output Searches

These pages allow you to search NED's master list of extragalactic astronomical objects by object name, or near position or name, or both.

You may then choose the content and format of the output table.

Data Entry

By Name Type or cut-and-paste up to 500 names, one per line, of the object(s) you wish to search for in the "Input List of Object name:" box. The NED interface allows substantial freedom in formats and conventions for names, so type the names in any format you wish. When you submit your search, NED's name interpreter will attempt to translate your input into a name that NED recognizes. NED Standard Names has more information on NED's naming conventions.

If the name interpreter cannot interpret a name you entered, that name will appear at the beginning of an empty row in your output table.

Next, choose the type of output table you want (default is bar-delimited hypertext). You may choose bar, tab, or space delimited tables in plain (7-bit ASCII) text, or with hypertext links included.

Note that while tab- and space-delimited tables may be displayed identically by your browser, they are stored differently as files. If you intend to save and work with the data in your files, please be aware of the difference.

The hypertext-links display shows error or warning messages, and essential notes, as links; "hover" your cursor over the link to show the message or note. Plain ASCII text spells out the error/warning message, or note, in full in the table.

Select the Standard Information you need. This includes data that appears on the main results page of a typical NED query for a single object. Current choices are:

  • Identifications
    • Row Count (default)
    • Notes regarding the Input Object Name (default)
    • The Input Name itself (default)
    • NED's Preferred Object Name (default)
    • RA and Dec for J2000.0 (default)
    • Galactic Longitude and Latitude
    • Galactic Extinction (Burstein and Heiles, where available)
    • Position Reference Code
  • Basic Data
    • Essential Notes (default)
    • NED's Preferred Object Type (default)
    • Radial Velocity
    • Redshift (default)
    • Redshift Quality Flag (default)
    • Redshift Reference code
    • Quick-Look Magnitude
  • Data Counts and Links
    • Cross References
    • Object Notes
    • Photometry
    • Positions
    • Redshifts
    • Diameters
    • Associations
    • Images
    • Spectra
    • Classifications

Detailed Information from three of NED's tables of detailed data is currently available -- classifications, photometry, and diameters. You may "Select All" (or clear the list with "Deselect All"), or choose the individual data types that you wish to have data for. Current choices are:

  • Classifications
    • Galaxy Morphology
    • Activity Type
    • Hierarchy
    • Kinematics
    • Luminosity Class
    • Radio Morphology
    • Distance Indicator
  • Photometry
    • ROSAT 0.2-2.0 keV fluxes
    • SDSS DR6 PSF (u, g, r, i, or z bands) AB magnitudes
    • SDSS DR6 CModel (u, g, r, i, or z bands) AB magnitudes
    • RC3 mB magnitudes
    • APM Bj magnitudes
    • 2MASS total (J, H, or Ks) magnitudes
    • IRAS FSC/PSC (12, 25, 60, and 100 micron) fluxes
    • NVSS 1.4 GHz fluxes
    • FIRST 1.4 GHz fluxes
    • SUMSS 843 MHz fluxes
  • Diameters
    • RC3 D25/R25 isophotal (25.0 mag arcsec-2) B-band diameters
    • ESO-LV "Quick Blue" IIa-O isophotal (25.0 mag arcsec-2) B-band diameters
    • SDSS DR6 isophotal (25.0 r-mag arcsec-2) r-band diameters
    • 2MASS isophotal (20.0 K-mag arcsec-2) Ks-band diameters

Finally, to display your choices of detailed data, click the "NED Homogenized" boxes at the bottom of the "Classifications", "Photometry", or "Diameters" columns. You may also choose to display classification reference codes, published values of the photometry and its uncertainty, the major diameter uncertainties, the axis ratios, and the position angles.

Near Position or Name Type or cut-and-paste up to 500 positions or names, one per line, of the object(s) you wish to search for in the "Input List Equatorial J2000 Positions or Object Names:" box. As above, the NED interface allows substantial freedom in formats and conventions for names, so type the names in any format you wish. When you submit your search, NED's name interpreter will attempt to translate your input into a name that NED recognizes. NED Standard Names has more information on NED's naming conventions.

Acceptable formats for the position input is shown just above the input box.

The default search radius is 6.0 arcseconds, but you may choose any value between 0.1 and 30.0 arcsec.

The user-customized output table features are the same for the Near Name input list as for the By-Name input list. See the discussion above for a description of those available options.

Results

A sucessful search will return a table with your objects listed in your chosen format. Note that if a data point is not available in NED, the data cell in the output table will be empty. In particular, the Burstein/Heiles Galactic extinction estimates are not available for objects with |b| < 10 degrees. There are also a few other patches around the sky where the Burstein/Heiles extinction cannot be calculated due to data missing from their maps (e.g. NGC 0010).

If you chose hypertext links, these will, in your browser, display warning or error messages, and essential notes, when you "hover" your cursor over the link. If you chose plain ASCII output, the messages and notes will be spelled out in the appropriate columns of the table.

You may also save the returned data, usually by right-clicking and choosing a file name/location on your computer. The exact format of the saved file is likely to be dependent on the browser you are using, so some experimentation will be prudent.
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NED Standard Names

Object names are separated into catalog identifier and member identifier. The name interpreter checks the catalog identifier to certify that it points uniquely to a catalog recognized by the database. The name interpreter then checks the member identifier to certify that it corresponds to the conventions of the catalog identified (e.g. is it a sequential number, or a combination of numbers and letters, etc?), and that it does not exceed certain limits (e.g. the number of objects in catalog). The left hand column of the following table contains examples of input names recognized by the interpreter. The right hand column shows the NED standard formats.
n33 NGC 0033
U 12 UGC 00012
M81 MESSIER 081
mk1000 MRK 1000
M 3-4-5 MCG +03-04-005
ZW23.1 CGCG 023-001
1zw23 I Zw 023
PKS0350+23 PKS 0350+23
4C23.7 4C +23.07

Names with square bracket prefixes (e.g. "[HB89]" and "[WB92]") usually come from papers published in journals, while those names with unbracketed prefixes (e.g. "NGC" and "IRAS") usually come from separately published catalogs. There are exceptions, however; examples include "[RC2]" and "87GB". Some names have combination prefixes (e.g. "87GB[BWE91]" and "ABELL 400:[D80]").

Objects in multiple systems without existing unique names are formed by the name of the system itself followed by "NEDnn", where "nn" is a decimal number starting with "01" (example: "ARP 294 NED01" and "ARP 294 NED02"). Similarly, objects found only in catalog notes are given names beginning with the name of the cataloged object followed by "NOTESnn" (example: "UGC 01562 NOTES01" and "UGC 01562 NOTES02"). Sources named in non-optical catalogs or lists, which are later found to be coincident with galaxies but which are not renamed, have "ID" appended to their original names (example: "IRAS 04356+3412 ID"). In this case, the Preferred Object Type is also changed to "Galaxy".

Note that recognition by the interface of the nomenclature used for the object name does not guarantee that the name exists in the Database. This recognition signals that at present parts of the catalog are in the Database, and that the intent is to eventually include at least the extragalactic portion of that catalog in NED.

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