IV/18 WDS-DM-HD-ADS Cross Index (Roman 1987)
WDS-DM-HD-ADS Cross Index
Roman N. G.
<Astronomical Data Center (1987)>
ADC_Keywords: Stars, double and multiple ; Cross identifications
Abstract:
A cross index of 1900 positions and discoverer names, DM numbers, HD
numbers, and ADS numbers has been prepared for stars in the 1984 tape
version of the Washington Catalog of Visual Double Stars (WDS). Five
files are furnished so that any of these designations can be used to
search the cross index. A file of discoverer names and numbers is
included in the catalog for systems with multiple designations. All DM
numbers given in the notes to the WDS have been transferred to the cross
index, and many additional or corrected DM numbers have been inserted.
Year 2000 positions are also given in the sort by 1900 positions.
Errors Detected:
Note that many of the positions in the 1900 declination range ±1°
are in error.
Introduction:
A machine-readable version of the Washington Catalog of Visual Double
Stars (WDS) was prepared in 1984 (Worley 1984) on the basis of a data
file that has been collected and maintained for more than a century by a
succession of double-star observers. Although this catalog is now being
continually updated, a new copy for distribution is not expected to be
available for a few years. The WDS contains DM numbers (Argelander
1859-1862, Gill and Kapteyn 1895-1900, Thome 1892-1932), but many of
these are listed only in the notes, which makes it difficult to search
for double-star information, except by position. Hence, a cross index
that provides complete DM identifications is desirable, and it appears
useful to add HD numbers (Cannon and Pickering 1918-1924, Cannon 1925-
1936) for systems in that catalog. Aitken Double Star (ADS) numbers
(Aitken 1932) have been retained from the WDS, but no attempt has been
made to correct these except for obvious errors.
A major effort in the preparation of this cross index has been devoted
to improving the DM designations. A subset of the information in the WDS
has been prepared that lists the 1900 position, the double-star observer
and number, the component designation, the DM number, and the ADS
number. All DM numbers given only in the notes have been entered by
duplicating the entry and changing the component designation
appropriately. The standard rule for multiple systems in the catalog is
that the DM number refers to the first component. This rule is
frequently violated, however, so that it often appears that a single
component has two different DM numbers. All such cases have been checked
and the component designations have been corrected appropriately.
It should be noted that the introduction to the 1984 machine-readable
version of the WDS is in error: unless modified by the notes, DM numbers
for the -52d zone refer to the CPD. In multiple systems with more than
one discoverer name, numbers are sometimes given for components with one
name and not for components with another, even though the magnitudes and
spectral types indicate that the entries refer to the same star. In
those cases in which the stars are well above the magnitude limit of the
Durchmusterung (usually brighter than ninth magnitude), the DM catalog
was searched for other stars that might be confused with the star
identified in the WDS. If no such star was found, the DM number was
entered for the second name as well.
As part of the preparation for the HIPPARCOS project, a significant
number of DM numbers has been found for WDS stars by position matches
(Nys 1983; Bacchus 1983; Nys 1983; Bacchus and Nys 1985; Nys 1984). Many
fainter components were located in the Cape Photographic Dtuchmusterung
(CP) for systems north of -52d declination for which the brighter
component is in the Cordoba Dllrchmusterung (CD). These DM assignments
were also checked as far as possible, and most are included in the cross
index.
In the course of various checks, other errors were uncovered. Many, but
by no means all of these, involved either supplemental stars in the
northern hemisphere (Warren and Kress 1980) or catalog confusion in the
southern hemisphere. To alleviate the latter problem in the future,
catalog designations have been added for all DM numbers. Appendix B (on
microfiche) lists all DM numbers that have been newly entered or changed
from those in the WDS. Numbers given correctly in the notes to the WDS
are not included.
Using the improved DM listing, a correlation between a DM sort of the
WDS and a DM sort of the HD was used to insert HD numbers for the
appropriate systems. Stars for which WDS and HD listings differed in
position by more than 3 minutes of arc in declination or 0.3 minutes of
time in right ascension were investigated individually, often leading to
the discovery of errors, which were corrected. The stars without DM
numbers were then correlated with the HD by position, and the HD numbers
were inserted if the magnitudes and spectral types agreed
satisfactorily. For most of the position matches, the stars are
sufficiently close to the magnitude limit of the HD, or the HD positions
in crowded fields are sufficiently rough, that it is impossible to
verify that the same star is referenced. For the few cases in which the
identity appears highly likely, the HD number and, occasionally, the DM
number from the HD have been added to the cross index. All position
matches with the HD for WDS stars without DM numbers are listed in
nodm.dat.
For the WDS entries, table 8 gives the 1900 position, the discoverer
name and number, and the magnitudes as given in the WDS; the HD data
provided are the HD and DM numbers, the position, the visual magnitude,
and the spectral type. If the HD does not give a visual magnitude, the
photographic magnitude is given in italics.
It proved impossible to resolve a few of the problems uncovered. These
are listed in Table 1. In other cases, the resolution may not have been
obvious, but a reasonably likely resolution was adopted.
Care should be taken with multiple systems with two or more observer
identifications. The WDS is not completely consistent either in
assigning DM numbers to relatively bright stars or in assigning DM
numbers to components in more than one subsystem. The proper DM number
for the component, the DM number for the brightest component, or no DM
number may be listed. An attempt has been made to clarify the assignment
of the DM numbers when it appears likely that the same star is involved
and no DM number is listed. Only in extreme cases have DM numbers been
removed for components that are too faint to be in the DM catalogs.
Although an attempt was made to assign the proper DM number to each
component, there were some circumstances in which this was not done. If
the magnitude of a component is ninth or fainter, if no magnitude is
given in the WDS, or if there are several stars in the vicinity with
approximately the same magnitude, the proper assignment is uncertain. In
many systems a DM number is given for a secondary component, but it is
apparent from the magnitudes that the number refers to the brightest
component of the subsystem. If the primary of the subsystem is not
included in the WDS for the same subsystem name, both the component
designation and the DM number are retained as given in the WDS unless it
is reasonably certain that the star is the same as that in another
subsystem with a different DM number. Near the limit of the DM catalogs,
especially, many components listed without DM numbers are probably
actually DM stars.
As for the DM numbers, HD numbers have been assigned to components
listed in more than one subsystem when it appears likely that the same
star is involved. However, particularly with HD numbers, it is often
difficult to determine whether two stars with the same DM number really
are the same star. names.dat lists all systems with multiple discoverer
names and numbers, with all designations occurring in the system. It is
sorted alphabetically and, within a discoverer designation, numerically.
The systems are listed multiply so that the list may be entered with any
designation.
An attempt has also been made to assign HD numbers to the proper
components when two HD numbers refer to the same DM number, but this is
often impossible. In many cases, the assignment of two numbers in the HD
is merely an indication that the spectrum is composite, and the
assignment of the numbers to individual components is meaningless.
Nevertheless, an assignment for at least one discoverer designation in a
system is made to alert the catalog user to the existence of two numbers
in the HD. In assigning HD numbers to components, the following criteria
were used in descending order of priority: (1) the relative position, in
the few cases in which the HD lists different positions; (2) spectral
type; (3) magnitude; and (4) position angle (that is, the earlier HD
number is presumed to be the western component, although in many cases
it is clear that the HD could not distinguish which component is the
western one). Table 2 lists multiple HD numbers for systems with the
same DM number which are not given in the Cross Index.
All changes in the cross index other than those in the DM number are
listed in Table 3. The references for the changes listed in the column
headed "S" of Appendix B and Table 3 are as follows:
1. Abt, H. A. 1978, private communication.
2. Nys, O. 1983, Bull. Inform. CDS No. 24, p. 53.
3. Bacchus, P. 1983, Bull. Inform. CDS No. 25, p. 23.
4. Nys, O. 1983, Bull. Inform. CDS No. 25, p. 27.
5. Bacchus, P. and Nys, O. 1985, Bull. Inform. CDS No. 29, p. 43.
6. Nys, O. 1984, Bull. Inform. CDS No. 26, p. 53.
7. ADC.
8. ADC, confirmed in updated WDS file (Worley, private communication).
Note that many other Changes attributed to the ADC are also included
in the updated WDS, but these have not been checked.
For the most part, if a component had a letter designation in the WDS,
this is retained to alert the cross index user to the fact that the
system may have more than two components. If a DM number is listed in
the notes for B in a two-component system, A has been added for the
primary component to distinguish between A and B.
The revision of the WDS currently in progress replaces the 1900
positions by J2000 positions. To facilitate the use of this cross index
at a later date, equinox 2000 positions are also included in 2000.dat.
They may not agree exactly with the new catalog positions, since proper
motions are not applied; but, except for systems with very high proper
motions, they should allow the user to locate the systems in the newer
catalog.
Five stars in the WDS have no discoverer designations. Worley has since
provided "names" for these systems. These are listed in Table 4 and are
included in the cross index.
File Summary:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
File Name Lrecl Records Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ReadMe 80 . This file
position.dat 50 65467 The index, sorted by 1900 position with
2000 positions
namesort.dat 40 65467 Index sorted by discoverer name and no.
dmsort.dat 40 45053 Index sorted by DM number
hdsort.dat 40 25800 Index sorted by HD number
adssort.dat 40 18503 Index sorted by ADS number
namedup.dat 54 4167 Systems with multiple names
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both 2000.dat and discov.dat contain at least one component of every
system. However, 2000.dat is the only file containing 2000 positions.
dm.dat, hd.dat, and ads.dat contain only those systems in the catalogs
on which they are sorted.
The following precepts were followed in determining more than one entry
for a system:
1. If a system contains more than one observer number, each is
included at least once.
2. If a system contains two entries from the same observer, one with
a catalog number and one without, both are included.
3. If a system contains more than one component with the same
observer and catalog number and the same DM and HD numbers, only
the alphabetically earliest component is included.
Byte-by-byte Description of file: position.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- 2 I2 h RAh Right Ascension hours (1900)
3- 5 I3 dmin RAdm [0/599] Right Ascension deci-minutes
6 A1 --- DE- *Sign of declination
7- 8 I2 deg DEd *Declination degrees (1900)
9-10 I2 arcmin DEm *Declination minutes (1900)
11-12 I2 h RA2000h Right Ascension hours (2000)
13-15 I3 dmin RA2000dm [0/599] Right Ascension deci-minutes
16 A1 --- DE2000- *Sign of declination
17-18 I2 deg DE2000d *Declination degrees (2000)
19-20 I2 arcmin DE2000m *Declination minutes (2000)
21-23 A3 --- disc Discoverer designation
24-27 A4 --- num Discoverer number
28 A1 --- comp Component
29-30 A2 --- DMcat *Durchmusterung (DM) catalog designation
31 A1 --- DM- Sign of DM zone
32-33 I2 deg DMz ?DM zone
34-38 I5 --- DMno ?DM number
39 A1 --- suppl Supplement designation
40-45 I6 --- HD ?HD number
46-50 I5 --- ADS ?ADS number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note on DMcat:
BD=Bonner Durchmusterung;
CD=Cordoba Durchmusterung;
CP=Cape Photographic Durchmusterung).
All DM fields are blank if DM number is missing
Note on DE-, DEd, DEm, DE2000-, DE2000d, DE2000m:
Frequent errors in the -1/+1° range
(see "Errors Detected" section above)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byte-by-byte Description of file: namesort.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- 3 A3 --- disc Discoverer designation
4- 7 A4 --- num Discoverer number
8 A1 --- comp Component
9-10 I2 h RAh Right Ascension hours (1900)
11-13 I3 dmin RAdm [0/599]Right Ascension minutes (1900)
14 A1 --- DE- *Sign of declination
15-16 I2 deg DEd *Declination degrees (1900)
17-18 I2 arcmin DEm *Declination minutes (1900)
19-20 A2 --- DM *Durchmusterung (DM) catalog designation
21 A1 --- DM- Sign of DM zone
22-23 I2 deg DMz ?DM zone
24-28 I5 --- DMno ?DM number
29 A1 --- suppl Supplement designation
30-35 I6 --- HD ?HD number
36-40 I5 --- ADS ?ADS number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note on DM:
See Note on DMcat, file position.dat
Note on DE-, DEd, DEm:
See "Errors Detected" section above
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byte-by-byte Description of file: dmsort.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- 2 A2 --- DM *Durchmusterung (DM) catalog designation
3 A1 --- DM- Sign of DM zone
4- 5 I2 deg DMz DM zone
6-10 I5 --- DMno DM number
11 A1 --- suppl Supplement designation
12-14 A3 --- disc Discoverer designation
15-18 A4 --- num Discoverer number
19 A1 --- comp Component
20-21 I2 h RAh Right Ascension hours (1900)
22-24 I3 dmin RAdm [0/599]Right Ascension deci-minutes
25 A1 --- DE- *Sign of declination
26-27 I2 deg DEd *Declination degrees (1900)
28-29 I2 arcmin DEm *Declination minutes (1900)
30-35 I6 --- HD ?HD number
36-40 I5 --- ADS ?ADS number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note on DM:
See Note on DMcat, file position.dat
Note on DE-, DEd, DEm:
See "Errors Detected" section above
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byte-by-byte Description of file: hdsort.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- 6 I6 --- HD HD number
7- 9 A3 --- disc Discoverer designation
10-13 A4 --- num Discoverer number
14 A1 --- comp Component
15-16 I2 h RAh Right Ascension hours (1900)
17-19 I3 dmin RAdm [0/599] Right Ascension deci-minutes
20 A1 --- DE- *Sign of declination
21-22 I2 deg DEd *Declination degrees (1900)
23-24 I2 arcmin DEm *Declination minutes (1900)
25-26 A2 --- DM *Durchmusterung (DM) catalog designation
27 A1 --- DM- Sign of DM zone
28-29 I2 deg DMz ?DM zone
30-34 I5 --- DMno ?DM number
35 A1 --- suppl Supplement designation
36-40 I5 --- ADS ?ADS number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note on DM:
See Note on DMcat, file position.dat
Note on DE-, DEd, DEm:
See "Errors Detected" section above
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byte-by-byte Description of file: adssort.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- 5 I5 --- ADS ADS number
6- 8 A3 --- disc Discoverer designation
9-12 A4 --- num Discoverer number
13 A1 --- comp Component
14-15 I2 h RAh Right Ascension hours (1900)
16-18 I3 dmin RAdm [0/599] Right Ascension deci-minutes
19 A1 --- DE- *Sign of declination
20-21 I2 deg DEd *Declination degrees (1900)
22-23 I2 arcmin DEm *Declination minutes (1900)
24-25 A2 --- DM *Durchmusterung (DM) catalog designation
26 A1 --- DM- Sign of DM zone
27-28 I2 deg DMz ?DM zone
29-33 I5 --- DMno ?DM number
34 A1 --- suppl Supplement designation
35-40 I6 --- HD ?HD number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note on DM:
See Note on DMcat, file position.dat
Note on DE-, DEd, DEm:
See "Errors Detected" section above
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byte-by-byte Description of file: namedup.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- 2 I2 h RAh Right Ascension hours (1900)
3- 5 I3 dmin RAdm [0/599] Right Ascension deci-minutes
6-12 A7 --- des1 First designation
13-19 A7 --- des2 Second designation
20-26 A7 --- des3 Third designation
27-33 A7 --- des4 Fourth designation
34-40 A7 --- des5 Fifth designation
41-47 A7 --- des6 Sixth designation
48-54 A7 --- des7 Seventh designation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This file is a cross index of names for systems having more than one
discoverer name and number. Duplicate entries permit a search for a name
by searching bytes 6-12 only.
References:
Aitken, R. E. 1932, New Ceneral Catalogue of Double Stars, Carnegie
Institution of Washington Pub. No. 417, 1-2.
Argelander, F:. 1859-1862, Bonner Sternverzeichnis, Erste bis dritte
Sektion, Astronomischen Beobachtungen auf der Sternwarte der
Koeniglichen Rhein, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet zu Bonn,
Bands 3-5.
Cannon, A. J. 1925-1936, The Henry Draper Extension, Ann. Astron. Obs.
Harvard College 100.
Cannon, A. J. and Pickering, E. C. 1918-1924, The Henry Draper
Catalogue, Ann. Astron. Obs. Harvard College 91-99.
Gill, D. and Kapteyn, J. C. 1895-1900, Cape Photographic Durchmusterung,
Ann. Cape Obs. 3 (1895, Part I: zones -18d to -37d); 4 (1897,
Part II: zones -38d to -52d); 5 (1900, Part III: zones -53d to -89d).
Thome, J. M. 1892-1932, Cordoba Durchmusterung, Resultados del
Observatorio Nacional Argentino, 16 (1892, Part I: -22d to -32d);
17 (1894, Part II: -32d to -42d); 18 (1900, Part III: -42d to -52d);
21 (Part I) (1914, Part IV, -52d to -62d);
21 (Part II) (1932, Part V: -62d to -90d).
Worley, C. E. 1984.0 Washington Catalog of Visual Double Stars, U. S.
Naval Observatory, private distribution
(End) Nancy Grace Roman [ADC/SSDOO] 27-Dec-1996