COSIM: The necessary evolution of a cross-identification tool along with data evolution

SIMBAD is a bibliographic added-value database on astronomical objects, where the data on individual objects are cross-identified as far as possible. The data comes exclusively from what has been published by the scientific community. To treat large tables, the work is done semi-automatically with the help of a customized software. Since 2014, we are using a new one, called COSIM (Comparison of Objects for SIMBAD). It meets the new requirements which is a consequence of the evolution of the available astronomical data. It has increased in number, accuracy and diversity. On the basis of the data presented in a published table, COSIM searches for objects that are already known in SIMBAD, by name or by coordinates. A combination of scores based on the available and comparable parameters, like the main object type, coordinates, velocity and magnitudes, suggests whether the candidate is good for cross-identification or not. As soon as the result of the search is clear, indicating that there is either no matching candidate or only one good candidate, COSIM creates the commands necessary for updating the SIMBAD database. The documentalists can act on the method of calculation of each score, according to the nature of the objects in the table. Thus, with COSIM the documentalists manage to obtain a good cross-identification level with a minimum risk of omitted or false cross-identifications in a relatively short time compared to the treated data number

COSIM: The necessary evolution of a cross-identification tool along with data evolution

SIMBAD is a bibliographic added-value database on astronomical objects, where the data on individual objects are cross-identified as far as possible. The data comes exclusively from what has been published by the scientific community. To treat large tables, the work is done semi-automatically with the help of a customized software. Since 2014, we are using a new one, called COSIM (Comparison of Objects for SIMBAD). It meets the new requirements which is a consequence of the evolution of the available astronomical data. It has increased in number, accuracy and diversity. On the basis of the data presented in a published table, COSIM searches for objects that are already known in SIMBAD, by name or by coordinates. A combination of scores based on the available and comparable parameters, like the main object type, coordinates, velocity and magnitudes, suggests whether the candidate is good for cross-identification or not. As soon as the result of the search is clear, indicating that there is either no matching candidate or only one good candidate, COSIM creates the commands necessary for updating the SIMBAD database. The documentalists can act on the method of calculation of each score, according to the nature of the objects in the table. Thus, with COSIM the documentalists manage to obtain a good cross-identification level with a minimum risk of omitted or false cross-identifications in a relatively short time compared to the treated data number

A New Bibliographical Feature for SIMBAD: Highlighting the Most Relevant Papers for One Astronomical Object

International audienceThe number of bibliographical references attached to an astronomical object in SIMBAD is has been growing continuously over the years. It is important for astronomers to retrieve the most relevant papers, those that give important information about the object of study. This is not easy since there can be many references attached to one object. For instance, in 2014, more than 15,000 objects had been attached to more than 50 references. The location of the object's citations inside the paper and its number of occurrences are important criteria to extract the most relevant papers. Since 2008, because of the DJIN application (a semi-automatic tool to search for object names in full text) this information has been collected. For each article associated with an astronomical object, we know where it is cited and how many times and with which name it appears. Since September 2013, the users of SIMBAD web site can choose to retrieve the most relevant references for an astronomical object depending on its location in the publication. A new formula to sort references by combining all locations, number of occurrences, total number of objects studied, citation count, and year is presented in this paper

How Documentalists Update SIMBAD

International audienceThe Strasbourg astronomical Data Center (CDS) was created in 1972 and has had a major role in astronomy for more than forty years. CDS develops a service called SIMBAD that provides basic data, cross-identifications, bibliography, and measurements for astronomical objects outside the solar system. It brings to the scientific community an added value to content which is updated daily by a team of documentalists working together in close collaboration with astronomers and IT specialists. We explain how the CDS staff updates SIMBAD with object citations in the main astronomical journals, as well as with astronomical data and measurements. We also explain how the identification is made between the objects found in the literature and those already existing in SIMBAD. We show the steps followed by the documentalist team to update the database using different tools developed at CDS, like the sky visualizer Aladin, and the large catalogues and survey database VizieR. As a direct result of this teamwork, SIMBAD integrates almost 10.000 bibliographic references per year. The service receives more than 400.000 queries per day

Working Together at CDS: The Symbiosis Between Astronomers, Documentalists, and IT Specialists

International audienceSince the CDS (Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg) began a little more than forty years ago, astronomers, documentalists, and information technology (IT) specialists have been working together. The synergy between these three professional groups support the core of the work and is becoming more and more crucial with the increasing volume and complexity of data handled. The astronomers use their understanding of the subject and of users' needs to help to maintain the accuracy and the relevance of data. The computer engineers enhance these data by maintaining the database framework and continuing to add useful tools to retrieve and reuse this content. Finally, the documentalists, by definition, manage the content. They do so with the help of IT tools developed at CDS; they analyze the publications, extract the relevant information, verify the data, make comparisons with existing data, add the useful information in VizieR and SIMBAD, and confer with astronomers to make corrections, if needed. After an historical review of the evolution in data and the way data have been provided at CDS, we will further discuss the fundamental roles of the three professional groups to support the mission of the CDS