Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey to find Planets

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on utilizing the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) image dataset to locate images of Mars. Participants highlight the challenge of finding Mars due to SDSS's methodology of capturing one image per night over a limited sky section, which may not include Mars due to its movement. Suggestions for alternative datasets are sought, as SDSS likely avoids capturing Mars during long exposure images to prevent tracking issues. The conversation emphasizes the need for specific resources or datasets that can provide low-resolution images of Mars.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) image datasets
  • Familiarity with astronomical imaging techniques
  • Knowledge of planetary motion and tracking in astronomy
  • Experience with data sourcing for astronomical research
NEXT STEPS
  • Research alternative astronomical datasets for planetary imaging, such as Hubble Space Telescope archives
  • Explore tools for analyzing SDSS data, like AstroPy or Topcat
  • Learn about the methods for tracking celestial bodies in astronomical images
  • Investigate the use of machine learning techniques for identifying planets in large datasets
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, astrophysics researchers, and hobbyists interested in planetary imaging and data analysis from astronomical surveys.

daveed
Messages
138
Reaction score
0
I was wondering if anyone here had experience using the image dataset of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Specifically, I want to find images of Mars from within their data. However, because they take one picture of the sky a night, and at a very small section of the sky, it's hard to predict where Mars would be. Does anyone know if they keep references to planets at all in their survey, how I might find images containing Mars, or if what I want to do is at all possible?

What I really want to have is several extremely low-resolution pictures of Mars. If the SDSS is not the best resource, does anyone have suggestions for better sources?

Thank you!
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Wouldn't SDSS try to avoid Mars when making their images?
 
That makes sense, I guess - they are taking rather long exposures, and Mars might just track across the image. In this case, does anyone have an idea of where I could look for such a dataset?
 

Similar threads

Graduate Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to Extract Quasar Spectra and Fit Models
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
Stargazing Best Telescopes for $1K: Mars, Planets & Night Sky Views
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
Undergrad New Developments In The Search For Planet X
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
Undergrad A busy and interesting night sky in Mackinaw City
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Undergrad IRAF can't deal with .fits files
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
16K
Graduate Finding Longitudinal Data of Star Magnitudes in Surveys
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
High School What Is the Center in Sloan Digital Sky Survey?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Undergrad How to find Heliocentric latitude data for each planet?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
4K
Undergrad How to determine an asteroid survey efficiency?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Undergrad Photometric data from SDSS fits files
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
6K