Plotting the Future of the WDS
Abstract
The Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS) and its predecessors have served the double star community for over a century; the current catalog now includes over 800,000 measures of nearly 115,000 pairs and is updated on a nightly basis. Large interferometric and CCD surveys, as well as recent catalogs such as 2MASS SDSS, UCAC, etc. have provided much new data for the WDS, but have also highlighted limitations to the current format of the catalog. Multi-wavelength photometry is limited due to a lack of space for filter information. Arcminute-precise WDS designations are proving inadequate to handle binary discoveries in dense fields. Designations for complex hierarchical systems are also proving to be a problem. The Durchmusterung catalogs used for over a century as the primary cross-reference are inadequate for fainter pairs. Astrometric and occultation pairs are not included in the catalog at all. These and other problems will only be exacerbated by massive future surveys such as Gaia. Some of these issues are illustrated and a few possible solutions presented. It is hoped that discussions can be initiated with users of all the USNO double star catalogs concerning ways to expand the information contained in them, in order to increase their usefulness to the entire double star community.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA566105
Entities
People
- William I. Hartkopf
Organizations
- United States Naval Observatory