SuperCOSMOS

Welcome to the home page of the SuperCOSMOS facility.

Funding for the SuperCOSMOS scanning programme has now ceased, and the machine is being decommissioned. We can no longer service plate scan requests.

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SuperCOSMOS was an advanced plate digitisation facility operated by the Wide Field Astronomy Unit within the Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Edinburgh. SuperCOSMOS concentrated on sky survey scanning programmes. For BRI broadband sky survey data, please see the SuperCOSMOS Science Archive (SSA) or the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (SSS); for narrow band Halpha and matching broadband R data in the Galactic plane, see the SuperCOSMOS Halpha Survey (SHS).

More information concerning the machine, including non-survey plate scanning and publications resulting from both survey and non-survey data, is available as follows:

• Facility overview

• Recent astronomical highlights from SuperCOSMOS

• List of Publications

Non-survey data are supplied in a variety of data formats including a proprietary native binary format; in addition, calibration and other issues concerning scanned photography can present users with a challenging data reduction problem. The following technical guides are available to help users get the most from their non-survey data, as well as giving background information relevant to all SuperCOSMOS data:

• Beginner's guide to SuperCOSMOS data

• The SuperCOSMOS data processing guides

• FITS formatting of SuperCOSMOS data

• The SuperCOSMOS Science Archive (flexible querying of object catalogue data).

• The SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (standard image and object catalogue access)

• The SuperCOSMOS Halpha Survey (standard image and object catalogue access)

Additional information is available on:-

• SuperCOSMOS machine
  • Summary of hardware
  • Scanning system
  • Modes of Measurement
  • Processing software (local)

• Data format, file access and associated utilities available locally
  • Housekeeping File
  • Mapping Mode (MM) data
  • Image Analysis Mode (IAM) data
  • Coordinate conversions (x, y <--> alpha, delta)

• Software for manipulation of SuperCOSMOS data (available for download)

  • Reading an IAM data file
  • Pairing two IAM data files

• List of plates scanned (since 1st June 1997)
  • UKST J, R surveys
  • UKST I, SR surveys
  • UKST H-alpha survey (including the Magellanic Clouds)
  • UKST Edinburgh-Cape BUV survey
  • UKST non-survey
  • POSS-I O, E surveys
  • POSS-II B, R, I surveys
  • POSS-II survey rejects
  • ESO B, R surveys
  • ESO non-survey
  • Miscellaneous

• Manuals
  • Operator's Manual (currently being completed).
  • Technical manual

Related links:-

• The ROE/NRL COSMOS/UKST Southern Sky Object Catalogue

Contact address:-

SuperCOSMOS 
Wide Field Astronomy Unit
Institute for Astronomy
University of Edinburgh
Royal Observatory
Blackford Hill
Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ
Scotland, U.K.              Tel:  (44)-0131-668-8100

Last updated:- July 2006 by Nigel Hambly.