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18,660,721
SIMBAD objects
SIMBAD is a database of identifications and bibliography of astronomical objects.
Here is the total number of objects it contains.
More about SIMBAD -
25,362
VizieR catalogs
VizieR is a library of astronomical catalogues.
Here is the total number of catalogues it contains.
More about VizieR -
1,274
HiPS
HiPS stands for Hierarchical Progressive Survey. It is a hierarchical scheme for the description, storage and access of sky survey data. It uses the HEALPix tessellation of the sky.
The CDS uses HiPS to show available surveys in Aladin and AladinLite.
More about Aladin
More about HiPS -
36,756
MOCs
MOC stands for Multi-Order Coverage Map. It is a method aiming to specify arbitrary coverages for sky regions and/or time coverages and potentially other dimensions.
At CDS, MOCs are mostly used in Aladin and AladinLite to visualize a given coverage but also to discover matching surveys or data sets.
The CDS also provides a catalogue of MOCs. This service is called MOC Server.
More about MOC
More about MOC Server -
438,178
biblio. references
SIMBAD is a catalogue of astronomical objects referenced in astronomical articles.
Here is the number of all bibliographic references used to update SIMBAD.
More about SIMBAD -
25,702
acronyms
Astronomical objects are designated by object identifiers (often called object names).
An acronym is used to build and describe an object identifier.
The CDS publishes a catalogue of acronyms called the Dictionary of Nomenclature. This dictionary is mostly used by SIMBAD, VizieR and Sesame but can also be used by anyone to get the description of the acronym used for a given object identifier.
More about the Dictionary of Nomenclature
Publishing data at CDS
The CDS strongly relies on data published in various astronomical and astrophysical journals to update databases like SIMBAD and VizieR.
Authors of these articles can help the CDS team to get and publish their data.
See the Data publication page to get some best practices and tools to help you.
Accessing CDS data
The CDS gives access to many astronomical data such as objects, catalogues, images and spectra.
Several services are available to search for and to get these data. Here are the main services:
Need more information?
You can find information about the CDS and its activities in the About section.
Various help material is available in the Help section of this website.
Specifically about how to access data, Tutorials, services documentations and tools and API documentation are available. You can also find more precise help on a specific service on its own website, or on a specific tool in its GitHub repository (if any).
You might also find answers in the Frequently Asked Questions page.
If you still need help, do not hesitate to send us an email.