Astronomical Observation
Observation products and provenance distinct from bodies
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
3 bundles · 3 layers · 6 findings · 12 questions
Observation setup How and when the observation was made.
Instrument and pointing
Facility, instrument and target of the exposure.
Facility and instrument
The observatory, telescope, instrument and configuration used.
- Which facility, telescope and instrument made the observation?
- Which filter, band, mode or spectral setting was used?
Target and time
Pointing, field and timing of the observation.
- Which coordinates and field of view were observed, and in which reference frame?
- What were the start time, exposure time and time system?
Data products and provenance What was produced and how.
Products and processing
Raw and processed products with their calibration.
Product levels
Raw, calibrated and derived products from the observation.
- Which product levels exist, from raw to derived catalogue?
- Which pipeline version and calibration files produced each level?
Quality
Conditions and quality flags affecting the data.
- Which observing conditions and quality flags are recorded?
- Are artefacts such as satellite trails or cosmic rays flagged?
Access and attribution Who may use the data and how it is credited.
Rights and credit
Proprietary period, programme and citation.
Programme and access
The observing programme and its proprietary period.
- Which programme and principal investigator does the observation belong to?
- When does the proprietary period end and the data become public?
Linked bodies
The celestial bodies identified in the data.
- Which catalogued bodies were identified in the observation, and how?
- Which publications cite the observation?
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- World Models
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- standalone-mm
- Navigation path
- NAV.PHY.SPC.OBS
- Domain
- PHY.SPC.OBS
- Industry
- Cross-industry
- Tags
- astronomicalobservationphy.spc.obs
What it is Filled
An astronomical observation is a recorded measurement of the sky made with a telescope or detector, such as an image, spectrum, time series or event detection, together with its data products and the provenance that explains how they were obtained and processed. It is distinct from the celestial body observed: one body has many observations, and one observation can cover many bodies.
Why it exists Filled
Observation products and provenance distinct from bodies
Distinguishing features Filled
- It records a measurement event and its products, not the celestial body itself.
- Provenance from instrument settings to pipeline version is part of the record.
- Proprietary periods restrict access for a time before data becomes public.
- Distinct from a satellite mission or programme, which plans and operates the observing facility.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Access or redistribute data during its proprietary period without the principal investigator's permission.
- Remove provenance or quality flags from products.
- Announce a discovery or transient on unverified data as confirmed.
- Alter archived raw data instead of producing new processed versions.
Only with a human decision
- Reporting a new discovery or transient to the official clearing house.
- Releasing proprietary data early.
May
- Search archives and retrieve public observation products with their provenance.
- Cross-match observations with catalogues of celestial bodies.
- Report the calibration, pipeline version and quality flags of a product.
- Cite observations and programmes as the archive requests.
Moral aspects Filled
- Proprietary periods protect the work of observing teams, while public release serves the wider community.
- Credit for discoveries depends on accurate provenance and citation.
- Observing sites often lie on land of significance to local and indigenous communities.
Who is affected
- Observing teams and principal investigators
- Archive users and researchers
- Communities near observatory sites
Owners Filled
Steward
The observatory or mission archive answers for the observation record, its products and its release.
Master systems
- Observatory science archive
- Virtual observatory registry
- Observing proposal system
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- WM-SPC-002
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- An observation is identified by the archive's observation or dataset identifier together with the facility and programme identifier.
- Virtual observatory resources carry IVOA identifiers, and products often carry DOIs.
- FITS headers record the identifiers, instrument and timing of each file.
Direct properties required Filled
- Exposure time in seconds and start time in a stated time system.
- Wavelength or frequency band in nanometres, micrometres or hertz.
- Field of view and pixel scale in arcminutes and arcseconds.
- Angular resolution or seeing in arcseconds under recorded conditions.
- Limiting magnitude or flux sensitivity in the stated photometric system.
Recognition required Filled
- An observation product is recognized by its file format and headers, typically FITS or VOTable, with instrument and pointing metadata.
- Often confused with a simulated image, an artist's impression or a catalogue derived from many observations.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Observations can be scheduled, executed, calibrated, archived, released and cross-matched.
- Products can be reprocessed with new pipelines while raw data stays unchanged.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- False detections from instrument artefacts or satellite trails.
- Misattribution of discoveries when provenance is lost.
- Premature release of proprietary data.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- FITS file format.
- IVOA ObsCore and Table Access Protocol for archive queries.
- VOTable for tabular results.
Context of use required Filled
- Used in astronomy research, survey science, planetary defence and education.
- Access follows the data policies of each observatory or mission.
Sources Filled
- Definition of the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS), version 4.0 (IAU FITS Working Group)
- Observation Data Model Core Components (ObsCore) (International Virtual Observatory Alliance)
- IVOA Identifiers (International Virtual Observatory Alliance)
Open questions
- Planned model: boundary questions, research and every section remain to be written.
Machine files
Provenance
planned (registry candidate) · todo
Built from: models/runtime-index.json, ver-cy/world-models/card-supplements/wm-spc-003-astronomical-observation.json
Planned entry, hidden from the catalogue until researched.