Scientific Sources & Catalog Registry
No single astronomical catalog is authoritative for every physical property. Gaia DR3 excels at faint-to-moderate stellar astrometry, Hipparcos-2 remains essential for the brightest naked-eye stars that saturate Gaia CCDs, and Steinicke/OpenNGC provides standardized deep-sky angular dimensions. Below is every primary dataset registered in our build-time provenance engine.
Registered Primary Datasets (15)
| Source Name | Publisher / Archive | Dataset Version | Domain Role | License & Reuse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ESA Gaia Archive — Data Release 3src:gaia-dr3 | European Space Agency / Gaia DPAC | DR3 (2022-06-13) | Astrometry, trigonometric parallaxes, proper motions, radial velocities, and G/BP/RP spectrophotometry for stars and clusters. | CC BY 4.0 (ESA / Gaia DPAC) |
SIMBAD Astronomical Database (CDS)src:simbad-cds | Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg | 2026-10 release | Cross-identification, alias resolution, J2000 equatorial coordinates, morphological and spectral classifications, and bibliographic links. | CDS Terms of Use (academic and reference reuse with acknowledgment) |
NASA Exoplanet Archivesrc:nasa-exoplanet-archive | NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI / Caltech / IPAC) | 2026-10-01 snapshot | Confirmed exoplanets, host star parameters, orbital periods, transit depths, radial velocity amplitudes, and discovery provenance. | Public Domain (U.S. Government / NASA / Caltech-IPAC acknowledgment) |
Hipparcos New Reduction Catalogsrc:hipparcos-new | ESA / van Leeuwen (2007) | 2007 New Reduction | Astrometric parallaxes and proper motions for the brightest naked-eye stars (V < 3). | CC BY 4.0 / CDS VizieR Open Access |
IAU Official Constellation Boundaries & Designationssrc:iau-constellations | International Astronomical Union (IAU) | IAU 88 Recognized Constellations | Canonical constellation names, genitives, 3-letter codes, sky areas in square degrees, and boundary definitions. | Public scientific standard (IAU attribution) |
IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)src:iau-star-names | International Astronomical Union | 2026 IAU WGSN Bulletin | Standardized proper names of stars and historical Bayer/Flamsteed cross-matching. | Public scientific standard (IAU attribution) |
Catalog of Parameters for Milky Way Globular Clusterssrc:harris-globulars | McMaster University / Gaia EDR3 Cluster Survey | 2010 / 2021 Gaia EDR3 revision | Distances, metallicities [Fe/H], masses, half-light radii, and tidal radii for galactic globular clusters. | Open scientific catalog (academic attribution) |
Revised New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue (RNGC/IC)src:ngc-ic-steinicke | Wolfgang Steinicke / OpenNGC | 2024/2026 edition | Deep-sky object angular dimensions, integrated visual magnitudes, surface brightness, and Messier/NGC/IC cross-references. | CC BY 4.0 / Public astronomical catalog parameters |
Planck 2018 Cosmological Parameters (PR3)src:planck-2018 | ESA / Planck Collaboration | PR3 (2020 A&A 641, A6) | Early-universe CMB measurements of H0, Ωb, Ωc, ΩΛ, age of the universe, and redshift of recombination. | CC BY 4.0 (ESA / Planck Collaboration) |
SH0ES Local Distance Ladder Hubble Constantsrc:shoes-2022 | SH0ES Collaboration (HST / JWST) | 2022 Baseline Cepheid + SN Ia | Late-universe Cepheid and Type Ia supernova distance-ladder measurements of H0 and extragalactic distances. | CC BY 4.0 (American Astronomical Society) |
General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) & AAVSO VSXsrc:gcvs-v5 | Sternberg Astronomical Institute / AAVSO | v5.1 (2026 update) | Variable star classifications, variability ranges, and pulsation/eclipse periods. | Open scientific catalog (academic attribution) |
NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics & Planetary Fact Sheetssrc:jpl-horizons | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory / GSFC | DE441 (2021/2026) | Solar System planetary masses, radii, orbital elements, synodic periods, and opposition magnitudes. | Public Domain (U.S. Government / NASA-JPL) |
JWST / MAST Science Archive & Mission Documentationsrc:jwst-archive | NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI | Cycle 1–4 Public Releases (2022–2026) | Infrared spectroscopy, high-redshift galaxy confirmations (JADES/CEERS), and exoplanet transmission spectra. | Public Domain / CC BY 4.0 (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI) |
Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-3)src:gwtc-3 | LIGO Scientific, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaborations | O1–O3b Cumulative Catalog | Binary black hole and binary neutron star merger masses, luminosity distances, and gravitational-wave strain measurements. | CC BY 4.0 (Gravitational Wave Open Science Center) |
Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration Horizon-Scale Resultssrc:eht-m87-sgra | Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration | 2019 ApJL 875 L1 & 2022 ApJL 930 L12 | Direct VLBI shadow diameter and mass measurements for supermassive black holes M87* and Sagittarius A*. | CC BY 4.0 (EHT Collaboration) |
Full Bibliographic Citations & Acknowledgment Notes
- ESA Gaia Archive — Data Release 3 (Gaia DR3 (I/355/gaiadr3)): Gaia Collaboration, Vallenari, A., et al. 2023, A&A, 674, A1 (Gaia Data Release 3). Public scientific archive; attribution to ESA/Gaia/DPAC required. Official Archive.
- SIMBAD Astronomical Database (CDS) (SIMBAD (Wenger et al. 2000)): Wenger, M., et al. 2000, A&AS, 143, 9 (The SIMBAD astronomical database). Acknowledge SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. Official Archive.
- NASA Exoplanet Archive (Planetary Systems Composite Parameters (pscomppars)): Akeson, R. L., et al. 2013, PASP, 125, 989; NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC/Caltech). Acknowledge NASA Exoplanet Archive, operated by Caltech under contract with NASA. Official Archive.
- Hipparcos New Reduction Catalog (I/311/hip2): van Leeuwen, F. 2007, A&A, 474, 653 (Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction). Standard astrometric reference for naked-eye stars brighter than V ≈ 3 where Gaia detectors saturate. Official Archive.
- IAU Official Constellation Boundaries & Designations (Delporte (1930) / IAU Division C Working Group): Delporte, E. 1930, Délimitation scientifique des constellations (IAU / Cambridge University Press). Standard IAU three-letter abbreviations, Latin nominative/genitive forms, and solid-angle areas. Official Archive.
- IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) (IAU Catalog of Star Names): Mamajek, E., et al. (IAU WGSN) 2016–2026, IAU Catalog of Star Names. Official proper names approved by the IAU. Official Archive.
- Catalog of Parameters for Milky Way Globular Clusters (Harris (2010 rev.) & Baumgardt/Vasiliev (2021)): Harris, W. E. 1996 (2010 ed.), AJ, 112, 1487; Vasiliev, E. & Baumgardt, H. 2021, MNRAS, 505, 5978. Cite Harris (1996/2010) and Vasiliev & Baumgardt (2021). Official Archive.
- Revised New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue (RNGC/IC) (Steinicke Revised NGC/IC & OpenNGC): Steinicke, W. 2010, Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters (Cambridge Univ. Press); Verga, M. OpenNGC (CC-BY-SA 4.0 / data tables). Factual catalog coordinates, angular dimensions, and Messier/NGC/IC cross-identifications. Official Archive.
- Planck 2018 Cosmological Parameters (PR3) (Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters): Planck Collaboration, Aghanim, N., et al. 2020, A&A, 641, A6. Primary early-universe ΛCDM baseline parameters. Official Archive.
- SH0ES Local Distance Ladder Hubble Constant (Riess et al. 2022 ApJL 934 L7): Riess, A. G., et al. 2022, ApJL, 934, L7 (A Comprehensive Measurement of the Local Value of the Hubble Constant). Primary late-universe distance-ladder H0 measurement for documenting the Hubble tension. Official Archive.
- General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) & AAVSO VSX (GCVS v5.1 (Samus et al. 2017)): Samus, N. N., et al. 2017, Astronomy Reports, 61, 80 (General Catalogue of Variable Stars: Version GCVS 5.1). Standard classification of variable star light-curve classes, pulsation periods, and magnitude extrema. Official Archive.
- NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics & Planetary Fact Sheets (JPL DE440/DE441 Planetary Ephemerides): Park, R. S., et al. 2021, AJ, 161, 105 (The JPL Planetary and Lunar Ephemerides DE440 and DE441). Public domain NASA/JPL reference data. Official Archive.
- JWST / MAST Science Archive & Mission Documentation (MAST JWST High-Level Science Products): Rigby, J., et al. 2023, PASP, 135, 048001 (The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning). Credit NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI on mission and spectroscopy datasets. Official Archive.
- Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-3) (GWTC-3 (Abbott et al. 2023)): Abbott, R., et al. (LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA) 2023, PRX, 13, 041039 (GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences). Open data from GWOSC. Official Archive.
- Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration Horizon-Scale Results (EHT M87* (2019) & Sgr A* (2022)): Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration 2019, ApJL, 875, L1; 2022, ApJL, 930, L12. Cite EHT Collaboration (2019, 2022). Official Archive.