All files are in machine independent binary FITS table format.
Information about the pedigree of a given spectrum is in the header of the FITS table file, which can be read with the IRAF hedit task. The table below summarizes the main set of recommended standard star spectra. More documentation on these stars like coordinates, finding charts and spectral types can be found in Turnshek et al. The eight CDBS names for the second choice standard stars are listed in column 5 of the table and are composed of FOS spectra in the UV and Oke spectra at the longer wavelengths. Four of these eight spectra have model flux distributions that are preferred for most purposes.