Using the Basic Search Form

Choosing Instrument Entering Search Criteria UT Observation Date Object Name or Location Target Name keyword Choosing how to get results Show List of Files Create Download Package

Choosing Instrument:

You can search for data taken with one or more of the instruments in the archive. The search is performed on available modes for the selected instruments. If you wish to perform the search on specific instrument modes, you can select different modes (for DEIMOS, ESI, KPF, LRIS, MOSFIRE, NIRC2, NIRES, NIRSPEC, or OSIRIS) or iodine cell state for HIRES in the More Search Options form. The schedule for public access to non-proprietary data can be found in the description of User Access and Proprietary Periods. To retrieve public Keck Interferometer data, use the dedicated KI Search Form.

Entering Search Criteria:

In this section of the search form, you instruct the archive to search by UT Observation Date(s) or Object Name or Location or Target Name keyword where the file types are returned as:

• UT Observation Date(s): any files (science or calibration) that match input date(s). The search will be performed using only the user-input search criteria, with no restrictions on file type. By default, all types of calibration files are selected. Automatic calibration association will not be performed.
• Object Name or Location (spatial search): science files that match object name or location input criteria and calibration files determined by the automatic calibration association algorithm.
• Target Name keyword (substring match of keyword): science files that match object name or location input criteria and calibration files determined by the automatic calibration association algorithm.

Observation Date:

You may restrict your search to a single UT date, or an inclusive range of dates. The date on which an observation was made is determined by the DATE-OBS FITS keyword. Please note that an observing run that goes over the UT date line will include observations with two different values of DATE-OBS.

Allowed formats:

MM/DD/YY
MM/DD/YYYY
YYYYMMDD

Examples:

03/01/05
08/15/04-9/5/2004
20050101

Object Name or Location:

To search an area on the sky, provide the center location and search radius:

• Center: Enter a coordinate string or object name (must be resolvable into coordinates by NED first then SIMBAD). Coordinate strings with no equinox specified will be treated as J2000. Note: If an equinox year is provided, but is not preceded by either a Bessel "B" or a Julian "J", the year will be ignored and J2000 will be assumed. The search field is case- and space-insensitive.
  
  Examples:
    NGC 7479
    346.23595 12.32297 eq
    23h04m56.63s 12d19m22.7s Equ J2000
    16:39:54.38 +36:33:20.1 B1950
    34.55 54.23 gal
    34. 54. ecl
    17:44:34 -41:16:08 Equatorial B1950
  
  
• Radius: Determines the area around the center coordinates over which to search. The default search radius is 30 arcseconds; valid entries are 0.1 arcseconds to 6 degrees.

NED first then SIMBAD

By default, NED is contacted first; if no matching location is found, SIMBAD will be searched. For stellar objects, SIMBAD locations may be more accurate.

Please note that observations taken of a specific object (i.e., M51) may not be returned when you perform a spatial search for that object, if the RA and DEC values of the observation are too far away from the NED or SIMBAD location of the object. If you don't see the results you expect when doing a spatial search by object name, try increasing the "Radius" value to increase the search area, or switching to "Search by TARGNAME keyword" (below).

For "More Search Options":
To instruct the search program to attempt to resolve the location using SIMBAD first, enter your search criteria and check the radio button labeled "SIMBAD first."

Search by TARGNAME keyword:

For "Guider Search":
The value of TARGNAME in a guider camera FITS header is taken from TARGNAME in the corresponding science file. This value may or may not be resolvable into a sky position by NED or SIMBAD. Queries on TARGNAME search for case-insensitive substrings of the entries in the TARGNAME keyword, without any name resolution.

For "Basic Search" or "More Search Options":
At the time of observation, the target name included in the table of scheduled observations is recorded in the TARGNAME FITS keyword. The target often corresponds to an object name that NED or SIMBAD can resolve into sky coordinates.

Queries on TARGNAME search for case-insensitive substrings of the entries in the TARGNAME keyword, without any name resolution. For files where TARGNAME is blank (common in calibration files), KOA searches the OBJECT keyword, entered by observers at the telescope and intended for their records and often does not correspond to a name that NED or SIMBAD can resolve into sky coordinates. For NIRC2 and OSIRIS data, the string search is performed on both TARGNAME and OBJECT, though only OBJECT is displayed in the results since for these instruments, the OBJECT keyword is more likely to contain the observer's name for the science target. Searches on TARGNAME are particularly useful for finding Solar System objects.

• Example: A search for Europa will return observations with TARGNAME (or OBJECT for NIRC2/OSIRIS) values of “Europa”, “Europa 2510”, “Europa 12:30”, and “52 Europa.”

Queries on TARGNAME may, however, return an incomplete set of data.

• Example: A search for Pluto will return data for targets called “Pluto”, “Pluto12UT”, “Pluto-09UT”, “Pluto 07UT”, and “Pluto PSF2.” If an observer had named Pluto “My favorite ex-planet” data corresponding to this name would not be returned in a query on TARGNAME.

KOA performs no validation on the returned data, and so TARGNAME searches may return data that do not contain the desired target. Be sure to examine the quicklook images of the returned records and only select the desired data before proceeding with analysis.

• Example: A search for Mars will return targets called “Mars for Marcos”, “mars 14:40”, “Mars UT 15-15”, and “MARS UT14-15.” It will also return a target called “SN CAND MARDSEN,” an extragalactic measurement.

Choosing how to get results:

In this section of the search form you choose how you want your results returned.

Show List of Files:

• Files returned are divided into two tables: Science and Calibration
• When a science file is checked for download, a list of matching calibration files ("caliblist") will also be included in the bundle as an ASCII text file.
• A single file can be downloaded by simply clicking on its KOAID

Create Download Package:

• All the files that match your search criteria including any extracted spectra files will be packaged together.
• You will receive an email notice at the address you entered during the search with a link and instructions on how to download and extract the package.