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Data archiving has, for many years, been the most disregarded aspect of all data systems. The increase in numbers of telescopes, both groundbased and space-borne, and the increase in efficiency of detectors have generated overwhelming amounts of data. Much of these data were and are not used on short timescales and (should) have been archived, where they can be used later and/or by others. Archiving is essential. Objects can change in the course of time. New technological or scientific developments might require observing objects again. The cost-benefit ratio will become more and more important when considering the allocation of telescope time. The retrieval of `old' data can then be crucial.
At present there are a number of data collections and data retrieval systems. This book includes a series of clear and up-to-date descriptions of many important available data systems.
For professional astronomers, librarians and computer engineers.
List of contents
1 Data from the ROSAT Observatory.- 2 The EXOSAT Database System.- 3 IRAS.- 4 Databases from Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE).- 5 The many faces of the Archive of the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite.- 6 Data Archive Systems for the Hubble Space Telescope.- 7 Database Aspects of the Guide Star Catalog.- 8 The HIPPARCOS INCA Database.- 9 The SIMBAD astronomical database.- 10 The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database.- 11 The ESO Archive Project.- 12 Archives of the Isaac Newton Group, La Palma and Westerbork observatories.- 13 Archiving at NRAO's VLA and VLBA Telescopes.- 14 ESIS A Science Information System.- 15 The NASA Astrophysics Data System.- 16 The NSSDC Services.- 17 The Space Data Centre at RAL.- 18 Database applications in Starlink.- 19 Database applications in Astronet.- 20 Database Services at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre.- 21 Astronomical bibliography from commercial databases.- 22 Astronomical Directories.- 23 Science networks: A short overview.- 24 User Interfaces in Astronomy.- 25 The FITS Data Format.- List of Acronyms.
Report
` The book is a reference work, useful and probably a must for the astronomer wanting to use archived data. It should be in the library of each astronomical research institute. '
Space Science Reviews, 62:393
