[TAP] data type for column metadata

Roy Williams roy at cacr.caltech.edu
Wed Mar 25 13:13:00 PDT 2009


> The point is: what if you don't find out that the data are not what
> you expect them to be? That's where the trouble starts.

The young astronomer gets data from VO and assumes position and 
wavelength are heliocentric when they are really geocentric. Perhaps the 
VO metadata was not filled in, and thus defaulted to heliocentric. Young 
astronomer "discovers" a planet orbiting a nearby star at one AU 
distance. But there is no planet, it is just an artifact of the 
heliocentric mistake!

Who is to blame for this snafu? I say the young astronomer should have 
gone to the library before publishing.

-- 

California Institute of Technology
626 395 3670



More information about the dal mailing list