1. Wide-Field Plate Database: Status and Pilot Projects
Milcho K. Tsvetkov
Sofia Sky Archive Data Center
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Strasbourg, November 29th, 2002
Action 283

2. I.WFPDB Project History
Developed as a project of the IAU WG WFI, started in 1991 at the IAU GA in Buenos Aires (Argentina): WG WFI Chairman Richard West
Supported by: the Bulgarian NSF 1993, F-311, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Center for Informatics, Muenster University German Research Council DFG
ESO, IAU and COST A283

3. WFPDB Project Goals Main Directions:
Catalog of WFPA: 345, 2x106 plates
Plate logs transformation
Search in WFPDB
Plate digitization
Relationship to other projects: Collaboration: CDS, ESO, IVO, GAVO, UDAPAC, SVO, HYPERLEDA, DENIS, etc.

4. Web Site:http://www.skyarchive.org

5. Web Site:http://www.skyarchive.org

6. More Descriptions: Website:http://www.skyarchive.org
FOR MORE INFO...
Ask me at the address:
Website:

7. WFPDB: SEARCH

8. STAR GAZER-Visualization!

9. Team/Resources
State assumptions about resources, allocated for this project as a unit of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
locations: SOFIA, BAS - Campus 7km
people: 4As, 2PhD, 2St, 2Eng
equipment: SSADC, PDS, (UMAX), HPC
we support plate logs cataloging, database access, plate digitization, expert consultations, etc.
WFPDB: Core project for the Bulgarian AstroGrid Development

10. Competitive Analysis Strengths
we have already cataloged and collected info for 1/3 of the existing WF plates; listed (practically) all existing ones; free internet access is provided via database search browser in Sofia and CDS,
Key role in the Bulgarian AstroGrid
Weaknesses
low speed of cataloging and visualization, bad website updating, but funding...

11. Current PILOT Projects
Bamberg plate archive incorporation (“LMC” survey), fields preview
“Pleiades”: digitization of the 5° field around Alcyone for 100 yrs period
CWFPA version 5.0
2003 UMAX PL3000 flatbed scanners, involving in the plate digitization

12. Bamberg plate archive incorporation: 2002-2003
Bamberg plate archive: contains plates from Northern (10000) and Southern (22000) Surveys; Period (N) / (S)
13925 (43%) already cataloged and web available (2002), another (in early 2003): totally (88%) will be on line
2003 UMAX PL3000 flatbed scanners, involving in the plate digitization

13. Bamberg Photographic Patrol Sky Surveys
LMC plates from SBPPSS were selected and catalogued from all used telescopes and previews with CCD camera were made, including Mt. John and San Miguel Observatories plates
About 300 survey plates taken with Bamberg astrographs in Boyden, Lake Tekapo and San Miguel will be available via WFPDB in Previews of all plates will be added. Scanning of the plates will be done with UmaxPL3000Pro

14. Pleiades Photographic Plate Database
WFPDB Search in VizieR (VI/90) about 3000 plates in the field of 5°
Plates are distributed in different observatories: from : Sonneberg, Harvard, Konkoly, Asiago, Byurakan, Rozhen, Bamberg, Tautenburg, UKSTU, etc.

15. Pleiades Photographic Plate Database
Plate scanning is going in Konkoly, Sofia, Edinburgh, Cambridge (Bamberg and Sonneberg in progress). Already 400 plates are scanned from Konkoly, Rozhen, Potsdam, Bordeaux, Byurakan, UKSTU, Moscow...
The old scans from RGO (for about 300 plates in the database of Floor van Leeuwen) will be added.

16. Pilot Projects cont.
USING COMMERSIAL FLATBED SCANNERS
Commercial flatbed scanners are already involved in the plate digitization:
Epson E1640XL, Asiago, DLR, (2003 Byurakan) (16 μ/pix)
MMO (USA) AGFA T5000 (10 μ/pix) .
UMAX PL3000Pro in Konkoly ( Bambreg, Sofia, Harvard(?) (8 μ/pix)
Using HPC (MOSIX based) for data compression for the WFPDB purposes

17. Future Projects
Orion Nebula M42/43: cataloging and plate digitization at the 5° field around “Trapezium”
Digitization of the plates in the field of M31: Already started in Asiago: they just completed M31 Asiago Schmidt telescope survey, 200 plates, from Asiago + 80 from Castle Gandolfo are scanned (C. Barbieri & F. Rampazzi).

18. F I N