From: cfifer@rvgs.vak12ed.edu (Craig Fifer)
Subject: HOW TO GET DATA AND IMAGES
Organization: Virginia's Public Education Network (Roanoke)
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 92 19:08:17 GMT

INTRODUCTION

    A wide variety of images, data, catalogs, information
releases, and
    other material dealing with space and astronomy may be
found on the net.
    A few sites offer direct dialup access or remote login
access, while the
    remainder support some form of file transfer. Many sites
are listed as
    providing 'anonymous FTP'. This refers to the File Transfer
Protocol on
    the Internet. Sites not connected to the Internet cannot
use FTP
    directly, but there are a few automated FTP servers which
operates via
    email. Send mail containing only the word HELP to
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
    or bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu, and the servers will send you
instructions
    on how to make requests.

    The sources with the broadest selection of material are the
NASA Ames
    SPACE archive and the National Space Science Data Center.

    Don't even ask for images to be posted to the net. The data
volume is
    huge and nobody wants to spend the time on it.


VIEWING IMAGES

    The possible combinations of image formats and machines is
forebodingly
    large, and I won't attempt to cover common formats (GIF,
etc.) here. To
    read PDS and VICAR (and many other) formats on Unix systems
running X,
    use XV 2.11, available by anonymous FTP from
export.lcs.mit.edu
    (18.24.0.12) in contrib/xv-2.11.tar.Z and the other
standard X11 FTP
    sites.

    The FAQ for the Usenet group alt.binaries.pictures
discusses image
    formats and how to get image viewing software. A copy of
this document
    is available by anonymous FTP from the Usenet FAQ archives
at
    pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58), in directory
    pub/usenet/alt.binaries.pictures.


ONLINE ARCHIVES

    NASA AMES

    Extensive archives are maintained at NASA Ames and are
available via
    anonymous FTP or an email server. These archives include
many images and
    a wide variety of documents including this FAQ list, NASA
press
    releases, shuttle launch advisories, and mission status
reports. Please
    note that these are NOT maintained on an official basis.

    FTP users should connect to ames.arc.nasa.gov
(128.102.18.3) and look in
    pub/SPACE. pub/SPACE/Index contains a listing of files
available in the
    archive (the index is about 200K by itself).

    To access the archives by email, send a letter to
    archive-server@ames.arc.nasa.gov (or ames!archive-server).
In the
    subject of your letter (or in the body), use commands like:

	send SPACE Index
	send SPACE SHUTTLE/ss01.23.91.

    The capitalization of the subdirectory names is important.
All are in
    caps. Only text files are handled by the email server at
present; use
    one of the FTP email servers described in the introduction
to this
    section for images or programs.

    The Magellan Venus and Voyager Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
CD-ROM image
    disks have been put online in the CDROM and CDROM2
directories. The
    disks will be rotated on a weekly basis. Thousands of
images are
    available in these collections.

    The GIF directory contains images in GIF format. The VICAR
directory
    contains Magellan images in VICAR format (these are also
available in
    the GIF directory). A PC program capable of displaying
these files is
    found in the IMDISP directory (see the item "VIEWING
IMAGES" below).

    The NASA media guide describes the various NASA centers and
how to
    contact their public affairs officers; this may be useful
when pursuing
    specific information. It's in MISC/media.guide.

    Any problems with the archive server should be reported to
Peter Yee
    (yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov).


    NASA SPACELINK

    SpaceLink is an online service located at Marshall Space
Flight Center
    in Huntsville, Alabama. The system is specifically designed
for
    teachers. The data base is arranged to provide easy access
to current
    and historical information on NASA aeronautics, space
research, and
    technology transfer information. Also included are
suggested classroom
    activities that incorporate information on NASA projects to
teach a
    number of scientific principles. Unlike bulletin board
systems, NASA
    Spacelink does not provide for interaction between callers.
However it
    does allow teachers and other callers to leave questions
and comments
    for NASA which may be answered by regular mail. Messages
are answered
    electronically, even to acknowledge requests which will be
fulfilled by
    mail. Messages are generally handled the next working day
except during
    missions when turnaround times increase. The mail system is
closed- loop
    between the user and NASA.

    SpaceLink also offers downloadable shareware and public
domain programs
    useful for science educators as well as space graphics and
GIF images
    from NASA's planetary probes and the Hubble Telescope.

    You can dial in at (205)-895-0028 (300/1200/2400/9600(V.32)
baud, 8
    bits, no parity, 1 stop bit), or telnet to
spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
    (128.158.13.250, also known as xsl.msfc.nasa.gov) if you're
on the
    Internet. Anonymous FTP capability will be offered in the
future.

    Most of this information is also available from the Ames
server in
    directory SPACELINK.


    NATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE DATA CENTER (NSSDC)

    The National Space Science Data Center is the official
clearinghouse for
    NASA data. The data catalog (*not* the data itself) is
available online.
    Internet users can telnet to nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
(128.183.36.23) and
    log in as 'NODIS' (no password). You can also get the
catalog by sending
    email to 'request@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov'.

    You can also dial in at (301)-286-9000 (300, 1200, or 2400
baud, 8 bits,
    no parity, one stop). At the "Enter Number:" prompt, enter
MD and
    carriage return. When the system responds "Call Complete,"
enter a few
    more carriage returns to get the "Username:" and log in as
'NODIS' (no
    password).

    The system is menu-driven; topics available as of 4/10/92
are:

	1   -	Master Directory - NASA & Global Change
	2   -	Personnel Information Management System
	3   -	Nimbus-7 GRID TOMS Data
	4   -	Interplanetary Medium Data (OMNI)
	5   -	Request data and/or information from NSSDC
	6   -	Geophysical Models
	7   -	CANOPUS Newsletter
	8   -	International Ultraviolet Explorer Data Request
	9   -	CZCS Browse and Order Utility
	10  -	Astronomical Data Center (ADC)
	11  -	STEP Bulletin Board Service
	12  -	Standards and Technology Information System

    Data can be ordered from the NSSDC on CD-ROM and other
formats. Among
    the many types of data available are Voyager, Magellan, and
other
    planetary images, Earth observation data, and star
catalogs. Viewers for
    Macintosh and IBM systems are also available. As an example
of the cost,
    an 8 CD set of Voyager images is $75. Data may ordered
online, by email,
    or by physical mail. The postal address is:

	National Space Science Data Center
	Request Coordination Office
	Goddard Space Flight Center
	Code 633
	Greenbelt, MD  20771

	Telephone: (301) 286-6695

	Email address:	 request@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov

    NSSDCA is also an anonymous FTP site, but no comprehensive
list of
    what's there is available at present.


    SPACE AND PLANETARY IMAGE FACILITY

    Available 24 hours a day via anonymous FTP from
pioneer.unm.edu. Has
    approximately 150 CD-ROM's full of imagery, raw, and
tabular data. To
    start, get the file:

	pioneer.unm.edu:pub/info/beginner-info

    This will hopefully give you all of the information you
need to get data
    from their machine. beginner-info has been translated to
other
    languages, you should look inside pub/info for the
particular language
    that meets your needs.

    Contact help@pioneer.unm.edu.


    SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
SERVICE

    stsci.edu (130.167.1.2) has a large amount of information
about the
    Hubble Space Telescope available by anonymous FTP, such as
status
    reports and newsletters, in addition to material oriented
towards HST
    observers and proposers. Get the top level README file to
begin with.
    Contact Pete Reppert (reppert@stsci.edu) or Chris O'Dea
    (odea@stsci.edu).


    ASTRONOMICAL DATABASES

    The full SAO stellar database is *NOT* available online,
probably due to
    the 40 MB size. It may be ordered on magnetic tape from the
NSSDC. A
    subset containing position and magnitude only is available
by FTP (see
    "Astronomy Programs" below).

    nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) has a large collection of
astronomical
    programs for many types of computers, databases of stars
and deep sky
    objects, and general astronomy information in directory
/pub/astro. This
    site is mainly for European users, but overseas connections
are
    possible.

    mandarin.mit.edu (18.82.0.21) has the following data
available via
    anonymous FTP in directory /astro: StarChart v3.2, orbital
elements for
    bright comets and asteroids, the Yale Bright Star catalog,
Saguaro
    Astronomy Club Deepsky and Double Star databases, some PC
astronomy
    programs, and possibly more. Get astro/README. Contact
    ccount@athena.mit.edu with questions.

    The Ames archives contain a database of 8,436 galaxies
including name,
    RA, declination, magnitude, and radial velocity in
MISC/galaxy.dat.
    Supplied by Wayne Hayes (wayne@csri.utoronto.ca).

    iris1.ucis.dal.ca (129.173.18.107) has a number of GIFs
from Voyager,
    Hubble, and other sources available by anonymous FTP in
pub/gif (most of
    this data is also in SPACE/GIF on the Ames server). Please
restrict
    access to 5pm - 8am Atlantic time.

    pomona.claremont.edu has the Yale Bright Star catalog for
anonymous FTP
    in directory [.YALE_BSC]. Contact James Dishaw
    (jdishaw@hmcvax.claremont.edu).

    The Hubble Guide Star catalog is available on CD-ROM for
the Mac and PC
    for $49.95 US (catalog # ST101).

	Astronomical Society of the Pacific
	390 Ashton Ave.
	San Francisco, CA 94112
	Phone: (415) 337-2624 9 AM - 3 PM Pacific Time
	FAX: (415) 337-5205

    For German (and possibly other European) readers, Jost Jahn
has a
    service to distribute astronomical data to interested
amateurs at cost.
    About 30-40 catalogs are available for DM 6..8/disk.
Several floppy disk
    formats are available. Because of the expense of receiving
email on his
    system, he asks that you contact him by physical mail:

	Jost Jahn
	Neustaedter Strasse 11
	W-3123 Bodenteich
	GERMANY
	Phone: FRG-5824-3197


    ASTRONOMY PROGRAMS

    Various astronomy-related programs and databases posted to
the net in
    the past are archived for anonymous FTP at multiple sites,
including
    ftp.uu.net (137.39.1.9). Also see the ASTRO-FTP list posted
to sci.astro
    monthly, which is more complete than this list.

    Astonomical/Space-related sources of interest in
comp.sources.unix:

    Volume 8:	    phoon	moon phase and date routines
    Volume 12,13:  starchart	starchart program & Yale Star
data
    Volume 15:	    moontool	shows moon phase picture on Suns
    Volume 16:	    sao		reduced SAO catalog

    Astonomical/Space-related sources of interest in
comp.sources.misc:

    Volume  8:	    moon	another moon phase program
    Volume 11:	    starchart	starchart program, version 3.2
    Volume 11:	    n3emo-orbit orbit: track earth satellites
    Volume 12:	 starchart2	starchart program, update to
version 3.2.1
    Volume 13:	 jupmoons	plotter for Jupiter's major
moons [in perl]
    Volume 13:	 lunisolar	lunisolar (not sure what this
does)
    Volume 14:	    ephem-4.21	astronomical ephemeris, v4.21
    Volume 14:	    n3emo-orbit patch to orbit 3.7
    Volume 18:	    planet	planet generation simulator

    Elwood Downey (e_downey@tasha.cca.cr.rockwell.com), the
author of
    "ephem", has offered to mail copies to people who can't
find it on one
    of the archives.

    XSAT, an X Window System based satellite tracking program,
is
    available by anonymous FTP from export.lcs.mit.edu
(18.24.0.12) in
    contrib/xsat1.0.tar.Z. Contact Dave Curry
(davy@ecn.purdue.edu)
    for more information.

    The "Variable Stars Analysis Software Archive" is available
via
    anonymous FTP from kauri.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.11.3) in
directory
    pub/astrophys. This is intended for specialists in this
field, and they
    would appreciate people from outside New Zealand confining
their FTP
    access to the astrophys directory, as they pay a
significant amount for
    Internet access. Contents are relatively sparse at present
due to the
    youth of the archive - contributions are encouraged.
Contact the archive
    administrator, Timothy Banks (bankst@kauri.vuw.ac.nz) for
more
    information.

    The "IDL Astronomy Users Library" is available by anonymous
FTP from
    idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov (128.183.57.82). This is a central
repository for
    general purpose astronomy procedures written in IDL, a
commercial image
    processing, plotting, and programming language. Contact
Wayne Landsman
    (landsman@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov) for more information.


    ORBITAL ELEMENT SETS

    The most recent orbital elements from the NASA Prediction
Bulletins are
    carried on the Celestial BBS, (513)-427-0674. Documentation
and tracking
    software are also available on this system. The Celestial
BBS may be
    accessed 24 hours/day at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud using 8
data bits, 1
    stop bit, no parity.

    Orbital element sets are available via anonymous FTP from
the
    following sites:

    archive.afit.af.mil (129.92.1.66)	    NASA,TVRO,Shuttle
    directory: /pub/space

    ftp.funet.fi
(128.214.6.100)	NASA,TVRO,Molczan,CelBBS,
    directory: /pub/astro/pc/satel	    Shuttle (*)

    kilroy.jpl.nasa.gov (128.149.1.165)     NASA,Molczan
    directory: /pub/space/

    nachos.ssesco.com (192.55.187.18)	    NASA,Molczan
    directory: /sat_elements


    SPACE DIGEST ARCHIVES

    Copies of back issues of Space Digest are archived on
    LISTSERV@UGA.BITNET. Send mail containing the message
"INDEX SPACE" to
    get an index of files; send it the message "GET filename
filetype" to
    get a particular file.


LANDSAT AND NASA PHOTOS

    You can get black-and-white 1:1M prints, negatives, or
positives for
    $10, $18, $12 respectively for any Landsat data more than 2
years old
    from EDC, (Eros (Earth Resources Orbiting Satellite) Data
Center). Call
    them at (605)-594-6511. You get 80 meter resolution from
the MSS
    scanner, 135x180 kilometers on a picture 135x180 mm in
size. I think you
    have to select one band from (green, red, near IR, second
near IR), but
    I'm not sure. Digitial data is also available at higher
prices.

    Transparencies of all NASA photos available to the public
can be
    borrowed from the NASA photo archive; you can have copies
or prints
    made.

	 NASA Audio-Visual Facility
	 918 North Rengstorff Ave
	 Mountain View, CA  94043
	 (415)-604-6270


PLANETARY MAPS

    The USGS address for maps of the planets is:

    U.S. Geological Survey,
    Distribution Branch,
    Box 25286, Federal Center, Bldg. 41
    Denver, CO 80225

    Maps cost $2.40 to $3.10 per sheet (a few come in sets of 2
or 3 sheets).

    The best global maps of Mars based on Viking images are
1:15,000,000
    scale in 3 sheets. These maps are:

    I-1535 (2 sheets only) - relief, albedo, names
    I-1535
    I-1618 (3 sheets) - relief, names
    I-2030 (3 sheets) - relief, topographic contours
    I-1802-A,B,C (3 sheets) - geology

    There are many other maps as well: 30 sheets at 1:5,000,000
scale in
    relief, albedo, geology, photomosaic forms (not all 30
sheets available
    in all formats); 140 sheets at 1:2,000,000 scale as
photomosaics of the
    whole planet, about 100 sheets of interesting sites at
1:500,000 scale
    in photomosaic format, and lots of special sheets.

    Then there are maps of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, the four
Galilean
    Satellites, six moons of Saturn and five of Uranus. [Phil
Stooke
    (stooke@vaxr.sscl.uwo.ca), the author of this item, has
offered to
    respond to email requests for information on any topic
relating to lunar
    and planetary maps.]


COMETARY ORBIT DATA

    The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams and the Minor
Planet
    Center announce the sixth edition of the Catalogue of
Cometary Orbits in
    IAU Circular 4935. The catalogue contains 1292 entries
which represent
    all known comets through November 1989 and is 96 pages long.
    Non-subscribers to the Circulars may purchase the catalogue
for $15.00
    while the cost to subscribers is $7.50. The basic catalogue
in ASCII
    along with a program to extract specific orbits and
calculate
    ephemerides is available on MS-DOS 5.25-inch 2S2D diskette
at a cost of
    $75.00 (the program requires an 8087 math coprocessor). The
catalogue
    alone is also available by e-mail for $37.50 or on magnetic
tape for
    $300.00.

    Except for the printed version of the catalogue, the
various magnetic
    media or e-mail forms of the catalogue do not specifically
meantion
    non-subscribers. It is possible that these forms of the
catalogue may
    not be available to non-subscribers or that their prices
may be more
    expensive than those given. Mail requests for specific
information and
    orders to:

	Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
	Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
	Cambridge, MA 02138, USA


NEXT: FAQ #4/15 - Performing calculations and interpreting data
formats
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