Stellar Data Variables

Previous The Stellar Catalog Up
The Stellar Catalog		 Stellar Brightness Next


Stellar Data Variables

Goals: Explore what data are available within the stellar data group.

Before starting, turn on: stars, mwVis

You will be using: datavar command

Within the stellar catalog are numerous astronomical stories. Let's begin by looking at the data variables available to you in the stars data group. Start the Milky Way Atlas and type the command

datavar
For any data group, this command reports all defined data variables. Data variables can be used to set brightness, size, and any other data attributes. Once you've issued the command, Partiview will report the following:
datavar 0 colorb_v -0.63.. 2.057 mean 0.534[color]
datavar 1 lum 0.00016.. 106732 mean 94.4331[lum]
datavar 2 absmag -7.85.. 15.45 mean 1.96288
datavar 3 appmag -1.44.. 14.85 mean 8.23806
datavar 4 txno 1.. 1 mean 1
datavar 5 dist 4.22.. 16041.8 mean 850.625
datavar 6 dcalc 1.. 2 mean 1.5451
datavar 7 plx 0.64.. 772.33 mean 8.35486
datavar 8 plxerr 0.19.. 76.92 mean 24.7276
datavar 9 vx -7933.02.. 9534.59 mean -7.38226
datavar 10 vy -9991.64.. 1440.02 mean -13.366
datavar 11 vz -8979.18.. 3840.21 mean -5.44464
datavar 12 speed 0.. 11342.2 mean 40.9835
datavar 13 hipno -99.. 120402 mean 58981
These variables are discussed in the data group section on the stars. Briefly, each line is a data variable and reports its number, name, range, and mean value. For example, the (B - V) color of the star is data variable 0 and ranges from -0.63 to 2.057 with the mean value of 0.535.

In the tours that follow, we will use these data variables to explore the stars around us and even the Galaxy we live in.

© 2002-2005 American Museum of Natural History
Last Modified: 2007-12-19 by Brian Abbott