The Tool Desk
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Choose the right starting point
Start with the question you need to answer. A known object’s SDSS spectrum calls for SDSS’s object and spectrum tools. A search across catalogue tables, or a filtered sample based on published columns, is better suited to VizieR.
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| Need | Starting point | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Inspect an individual SDSS observation | SDSS data-access tools | Object classification and redshift where available, spectrum viewing, and links to data including FITS spectra. |
| Find or filter catalogue records | VizieR | Catalogue discovery and extraction by criteria; its advanced interface can return VOTable output. |
These routes are complementary: a catalogue helps identify records or define a sample, while survey tools expose the observations and products associated with particular objects. Check the selected table’s documentation and column definitions before treating its values as interchangeable with those from another catalogue.
Use a catalogue without mistaking it for a census
The SDSS-III/BOSS DR12 quasar catalogue, or DR12Q, is one concrete entry point. NASA HEASARC’s catalogue record, accessed in 2026, describes 297,301 quasars across 9,376 square degrees. Those figures describe this release and its footprint; they are not a count of all known quasars or a full-sky inventory. See the NASA HEASARC DR12Q record.
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DR12Q’s entries reflect a defined process: the objects were targeted as quasar candidates and confirmed through visual inspection of spectra, subject to the catalogue’s criteria. The record specifies an absolute-magnitude threshold of Mi[z=2] < −20.5 under its stated cosmology, and requires either an emission line with full width at half maximum greater than 500 km/s or interesting or complex absorption features.
Before comparing or combining catalogue samples, check:
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- Footprint: what part of the sky the release covers.
- Selection: how candidates were targeted and which luminosity or spectral-feature cuts were applied.
- Classification and redshift: how objects were confirmed and how redshifts were estimated.
- Release: which data version the records and measurements belong to.
Find a record and inspect an SDSS spectrum
SDSS documents several ways to move from a known object or a query result to its observations. Its DR17 overview identifies Quick Look for objects with science-primary spectra, the Spectroscopic Query Form, and the Science Archive Webapp. The Webapp includes an interactive viewer and download facilities; SDSS also links to data products such as FITS spectra. Consult the current SDSS data-access documentation for the available route and interface labels.
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When you open a result, note its classification and redshift, then inspect the spectrum rather than relying on the catalogue label alone. A spectrum lets you examine the measured signal, but its coverage and resolution are properties of the observation and release—not universal specifications for all quasar data.
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Search and extract catalogue records with VizieR
Use VizieR when you need to discover relevant published tables or extract records that match catalogue criteria. Its advanced interface can return results as VOTable, an astronomy data format suited to exchanging tabular results. Once you choose a table, read its metadata and documentation: column names, units, selection rules, and measurement provenance determine what a filtered result actually means.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Read DR12Q spectrum specifications in context
NASA HEASARC’s DR12Q record states that calibrated spectra span 3,600–10,500 Å, with resolving power 1,300 < R < 2,500, and directs users to the SDSS Catalog Archive Server for those spectra. These are specifications for the DR12Q data described by that record, not a promise about every SDSS release or another survey’s observations.
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For a downloaded sample, preserve the release name and the query or selection you used. That makes it possible to distinguish a DR12Q measurement from a similarly named field in a different release or catalogue.
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Decide which route fits your task
- One object, its spectrum, or related SDSS products: begin with SDSS data-access tools.
- A catalogue-defined sample or cross-catalogue discovery: use VizieR, then verify the selected table’s documentation.
- Comparing samples: align their sky coverage, target selection, confirmation and redshift methods, spectral coverage and resolution, and export workflow before interpreting differences.
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