UCDS and DM

[Anita Richards]

Please can I clarify a possible application, which may initially be done
in an ad-hoc way until data models are fully harnessed:

Supposing we are harvesting a catalogue which consists of radio flux
densities measured at 22 GHz.  This is stated in the Abstract or ReadMe or
maybe even the title, but there is no table in the data saying 'observing
frequency'.  As I understand it, we could add a virtual column
em.radio.12-25GHz, in which all the entries are the same.  Can this be
done as a default, so that the data are recognised at their proper
frequency?

I was slightly puzzled by comments at the interoperability workshop about
data collections which do not have catalogues/tables.  Surely even a
collection of FITS spectra or images or etc. must be accessed via a
descriptive list? Although I suppose a data collection could consist of a
single image (or etc.). In either case, though, is this is another example
of where it would be useful to take UCDs from what might be a single
description ("images taken at 0.05 arcsec resolution ...") of the whole
data collection - and use them to form or augment a table to allow access
to the data?

These examples suggest that we should look at how, in practice, data
models can be applied to *short* descriptions of data sets and used to
generate UCDs, this would be s simple extension of what IDHA does? (or
maybe does already?)

cheers
a


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dr. Anita M. S. Richards, AVO Astronomer
MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, University of Manchester,
Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL, U.K.
tel +44 (0)1477 572683 (direct); 571321 (switchboard); 571618 (fax).