SsODNet (Solar system Open Database Network) is an information system dedicated to
the solar system objects and extrasolar planets. It is developped and maintained by
the IMCCE's VO team, in the framework of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA).
SsODNet is based on an exhaustive database of all the known solar and extra-solar system objects among
asteroids, comets, exoplanets, planets, natural satellites, spacecrafts, and space-junks orbiting Earth.
SsODNet is interfaced with the Miriade Web service to compute
ephemerides of Sso, and with the TAP service
of the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia.
SsODNet can be used through its Quaero REST API, or as a Web service,
and can be easily integrated into your own software (c.f. SsODNet main page).
We propose some examples of client programs for that. The service can also be used through
a Web form. This page describes how to fill in some of the input parameters of the service.
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Resolve a target means to match its name and to compute its celestial coordinates. The stars and other
(extra)galactics objects can be resolved by the CDS Sesame
name resolver. The SsODNet resolver is designed to resolve the names of the solar system objects
and extrasolar planets.
The resolution of the name of a solar system object or an extrasolar planet can be achieved
from its official or provisional designation, or its number. The knowledge database of SsODNet
is as much as possible up to date, and contains the most exhaustive list of designations of asteroids,
comets, exoplanets, planets, satellites, spacecrafts, and spacejunks orbiting Earth. Two groups, under
the auspices of the IAU Division III
are in charge to name objects and features in
the Solar System. One is the Working Group for Planetary
System Nomenclature (WGPSN) and the other is the Committee
for Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN). The WGPSN names features on planets, satellites, and asteroids,
as well as planets (though so far the IAU has never named a planet) and natural satellites of major
planets. The CSBN names all other small bodies (minor planets, satellites of minor planets, comets).
Nowadays, no official nomenclature of
exoplanets exists. SsODNet uses the nomenclature adopted by the The
Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. The nomenclature of designation of spacecrafts and spacejunks orbiting the
Earth is defined by [TBD]. Do not hesitate to contact us
if a target is missing.
The name of the solar system objects or extrasolar planets is identified into the knowledge database of
SsODNet through the SsODNet/Quaero API, which allows atomic and full-text search.
The celestial coordinates of objects are obtained by computation of their ephemerides at a given epoch through
a request to the Miriade Web service (ephemcc method).
The coordinates of exoplanets are requested to the database of The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
through its TAP service. The celestial coordinates of spacecrafts and
spacejunks orbiting the Earth are computed through Miriade by using the
dedicated FAST software [bibref TBD].
The general syntaxe to request objects in SsODNet is the following:
- [<prefix>:][<operator>:]<name>
where <prefix> is one of the target types defined in the SsODNet Resource data-model,
where <operator> is one of the recognized operators: EQUAL (or =), LIKE or EXPR,
and where <name> is the number or the official or provisionnal designation of the target.
The list of possible values of <prefix> is:
- a → asteroid
- c → comet
- dp → dwarf planet
- e → exoplanet
- p → planet
- s → satellite
- sc → spacecraft
- sj → spacejunk
The prefix and operator elements can be ommitted.
In this case the name of the target is matched considering its exact name among all the known objects by
string matching (operator EQUAL), which is case insensitive, uses the UTF-8 set of characters, and ignores
trailing blanks (space, tab and new line) and underscore. Thus a request -name=SsoName
will search for a target with name or aliase exactly equal to SsoName.
Examples:
By adding a prefix to the name, the search can be limited to a given type of target.
Examples:
A special prefix, id, can also be used to resolve the true name of a target,
i.e. the name given in the id field of the response.
Examples:
To search for a target given a name or a part of the name, you must use the operator LIKE.
In this case the name is broken into atoms that are matched with the names and aliases of the SsODNet knowledge
database. You can also use a prefix to limit the search to a given type of object.
Examples:
The operator EXPR might be used to build complex requests embedding wild-card, regular expression, fuzziness, etc.
In this case the name part of the request is transmitted to the SsODNet/Quaero engine to match the expression to a pattern,
to search for similar terms, to exclude names, etc. This kind of request must be used with caution because such query can
be particularly heavy, in particular if you request the celestial coordinates of the objects. For example a request based on
pattern EXPR:1998 ax4 retrieves 31858 objects! Be aware that with the EXPR operator, the prefix is
not decoded, and thus, to limit the search to a given type of objets, it must be written explicitely in the request.
Examples:
For more information on how to compose requests, read the Extended search section of the
SsODNet/Quaero documentation.
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