1. The Contribution of the Wide-Field Plate Database to the International Virtual Observatory Milcho K. Tsvetkov and SSADC team  Sofia Sky Archive Data Center Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sydney, July 17-19, 2003

2. SSADC TEAM: coauthors Katya Tsvetkova 1, Konstantin Stavrev 1, Damyan Kalaglarski 3, Renate Budell 5, Ana Borisova 1, Galin Borisov 1, Vasil Popov 1 Rumen Bogdanovski 1, Svetoslav Christov 4, Hristo Lukarski 2 and Svetlin Fotev 2 1) Institute of Astronomy, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2) Space Research Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 3) Chair of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Sofia University 4) Chair of Informatics, South-Western University, Blagoevgrad 5) Institute of Planetology, Muenster University, Germany

3. I.WFPDB 10 year 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: - Bulgarian NSF 1993, F-311, 340 - Alexander von Humboldt Foundation - Center for Informatics, Muenster University - German Research Council (DFG) ESO, IAU and COST A283

4. WFPDB Project Goals Main Directions: –Catalog of WFPA: 345, 2x10 6 plates –Plate logs transformation –Search in WFPDB –Plate digitization Relationship to other projects: Collaboration: CDS, ESO, IVO, GAVO, UDAPAC, SVO, HYPERLEDA, DENIS, etc.

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

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

8. WFPDB: SEARCH

9. STAR GAZER-Visualization!

10. Team/Resources 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

11. 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...

12. 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 Developing consortium of organizations equipped with commercial flatbed scanners (f.e. like ESPON 1640XL) involving in the plate digitization (Italy, Germany, Armenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, etc.

13. Conclusions inventory! INVENTORY!! INVENTОRY!!! most important moment for the WFPDB progress is to increase the speed of the plate logs converting in the WFPDB format! the time of logs converting is comparable with the plate scanning!

14. Bamberg plate archive incorporation: 2002-2003 Bamberg plate archive: contains 32000 plates from Northern (10000) and Southern (22000) Surveys; Period 1928-1939(N) / 1963-1976 (S) 13925 (43%) already cataloged and web available (2002), another 14000 (in early 2003): totally 28000 (88%) will be on line EPSON Expression 1640XL flatbed scanner, involving in the plate digitization

15. 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 2003. Previews of all plates will be added. Scanning of the plates will be done with the flatbed scanner Epson 1640XL.

16. 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 1888-1990: Sonneberg, Harvard, Konkoly, Asiago, Byurakan, Rozhen, Bamberg, Tautenburg, UKSTU, etc.

17. 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. Pleiades Photographic Plate Database

18. Pilot Projects cont. Pilot Projects cont. USING COMMERSIAL FLATBED SCANNERS!!! Commercial flatbed scanners are already involved in the plate digitization: Asiago, DLR, Byurakan, Sofia, Bamberg Epson Expression 1640XL(16 μ/pix) MMO (USA), AGFA T5000 (10 μ/pix). Sonneberg, HP 7400 (4 scanners) (20 μ/pix) Konkoly, UMAX PL3000Pro (8 μ/pix) Using HPC (MOSIX based) for data compression for the WFPDB purposes

19. Future Projects Orion Nebula M42/43: cataloging and plate digitization at the 5° field around “Trapezium” NGC 2264 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).

20. F I N