Import/Export of Source Information

Positions, velocities and the “expected properties” of multiple sources can be added to a Science Goal from an ASCII file using “Load from File...” located at the bottom of the node. This can be used to either load a set of additional sources, or to completely replace the list of currently-defined sources. The format of the ASCII source list (case-insensitive) is shown below; it should be possible to cut and paste this into a text editor. Alternatively, the “Export to File...” option can be used to create a template.

Name, RA|Galactic Long (Degs), Dec|Galactic Lat (Degs), PMRA(mas/yr), PMDec(mas/yr),
vel(km/s), Ref frame, Doppler type, peak cont flux(mJy), peak line flux(mJy), cont pol(%),
line pol(%), line width(km/s), cont circular pol (%), line circular pol (%)
--   This signals end of the header
ngc253, 00:47:33.134, -25:17:19.68, 0.0, 0.0, 258.6, lsrk, RADIO, 200, 1000, 2, 0, 1500, 0, 0
ngc1068, 02:42:40.771, -00:00:47.84, 0.0, 0.0, 1142.0, topo, OPTICAL, 1100.0, 30, 0, 0, 20, 0, 0
If the source coordinates are entered as decimal degrees, the OT will interpret these as Galactic.

In addition, the individual pointings that make up a field definition can also be imported or exported to file, on a source-by-source basis. An example of the format is:

RA , Dec, Coordinate Type, Coordinate Units
--   This signals end of the header
 04:31:38.4369, 18:13:57.651,Absolute,Sexagesimal
 04:31:40.5426, 18:13:57.650,Absolute,Sexagesimal
 04:31:36.3312, 18:13:57.650,Absolute,Sexagesimal
The “Absolute” coordinate type can be combined with the units “Sexagesimal”, “Degrees” or “Radians”, whilst “Offset” pointings can be defined in “Arcsecs”, “Arcmin” or “Degrees”. Both the unit and coordinate type are case-insensitive. It is not possible to read the pointings in for a rectangle.



The ALMA OT Team, 2024 May 21