SNE_SSCH (G0): Supernova Search Charts and Handbook (19910223)
FILE: sne_ssch.g0 (400 objects)
CONTENTS: The Supernova Search Charts and Handbook
DATASET: This file is part of HyperSky dataset G-8 (G-8.5), version 19910223. Availability on HyperSky CD-ROM: Vol. 1 (1993)
DESCRIPTION: This datafile is a cross-reference to The Supernova Search Charts and Handbook, by Gregg D. Thompson and James T. Bryan, Jr., published by Cambridge University Press. The datafile displays all galaxies shown on the search charts themselves, or shown in handbook photos. Datafile galaxy identifications include the chart name and/or handbook page number where each galaxy can be found. This allows you to examine a selected HyperSky field for galaxies of interest, and then quickly locate the associated chart or handbook information. There are a total of 236 charts, but many charts contain more than one galaxy, and some galaxies appear only in the handbook. As a result, there are a total of 400 galaxies in the datafile.
DATA:
MAG: magnitude as given in Table I at the back of the handbook. Note that handbook magnitudes will often disagree somewhat with chart magnitudes. Investigations suggested that the handbook magnitudes are more accurate.
TYPE: a brief 2-character code indicating the galaxy type. The first letter in all cases will be 'G' indicating a galaxy. The second letter is coded as follows: 'e'=elliptical; 'i'=irregular; 'p'=peculiar; 's'=spiral.
IDENTIFICATION: the galaxy identification as used on the search charts and in handbook Table I. Most are NGC (New General Catalog) numbers, but some are IC (Index Catalog) numbers and a few are MCG (Morphological Catalog of Galaxies) names. If the identification is followed by an asterisk (*) then the galaxy appears on a search chart of the same name as the galaxy. If no asterisk appears, the galaxy is either on the another galaxy's search chart, or appears only in the handbook. In such cases the comments (see below) will tell you where to find the galaxy.
COMMENTS: The comments for each galaxy usually include several lines. The first line will contain the morphological type, encoded according to the description given in handbook Table Ia. Following this on the same line will be the dimensions of the galaxy. Typically this will take the form Dxd, where D and d are the longest and shortest dimensions. An example would be 3.2x1.1' where the single quote indicates units of minutes of arc.
After the first line, the comment information will depend on the galaxy. "Imax", if present, represents the brightest expected magnitude of a Type I supernova in the galaxy. Imax depends on the distance to the galaxy, typically related to the galaxy's recessional velocity "RV", which can also appear in the comments. The units of RV are km/sec. As a rule, more distant galaxies will have a higher RV and a fainter (higher) Imax magnitude. Most other comments are self-explanatory, and can include such information as alternate identifications, group memberships, and page numbers of photos in the handbook. All comment information is extracted from either handbook Table I or the charts themselves.