Asterank

SkyMorph/NEAT API

Overview

This API wraps NASA's SkyMorph archive in a RESTful JSON interface. Currently, it provides observation and image data from the NEAT survey.

Sample images:

Search Queries

Query for a specific target:

http://asterank.com/api/skymorph/search?<params>

target Target object (lookup in MPC).

Query based on orbital elements:

http://asterank.com/api/skymorph/search_orbit?<params>

epoch Epoch ([M]JD or ISO)
ecc eccentricity
per Perihelion distance (AU)
per_date Perihelion date ([M]JD or ISO)
om Longitude of ascending node (deg)
w Argument of perihelion (deg)
i Inclination (deg)
H Absolute magnitude

Query based on position and time (+/- 1 day):

http://asterank.com/api/skymorph/search_position?<params>

ra Right ascension (HMS)
Dec Declination (DMS)
time Date and time (UTC)
per_date Perihelion date ([M]JD or ISO)
om Longitude of ascending node (deg)
w Argument of perihelion (deg)
i Inclination (deg)
H Absolute magnitude

Target/orbital elements search response:

obs_id Observation id
time Time in UTC (ISO)
predicted_ra Predicted object position RA (HMS)
predicted_dec Predicted object position dec (DMS)
center_ra Observation center RA (HMS)
center_dec Observation center dec (DMS)
mag Absolute magnitude
veloc_we Velocity west-east ("/hour)
veloc_sn Velocity south-north ("/hour)
offset Offset (')
pos_err_major Position error major (" or 'n.a.')
pos_err_minor Position error minor (" or 'n.a.')
pos_err_ang Position error angle
pixel_loc_x Pixel X location
pixel_loc_y Pixel Y location
key Encoded string for requesting observation imagery

Position query search response:

obs_id Observation id
time Time in UTC (ISO)
ra Right ascension (HMS)
dec Declination (DMS)
exposure Exposure time (min).

Image Queries

To get the image corresponding to an observation returned by a search query, use the key parameter of the observation.

http://asterank.com/api/skymorph/image?key=<key>

Sample Usage

This request searches for observations of MPC object J99TS7A:

/api/skymorph/search?target=J99TS7A

Response: 

{
  "results": [
    {
      "pos_err_major": "n.a.",
      "triplet": "y",
      "mag": 20.7,
      "veloc_sn": -11.08,
      "obs_id": "001204124410",
      "center_dec": "+04 04 21.4",
      "veloc_we": -4.28,
      "predicted_dec": "+04 38 24.1",
      "center_ra": "08 33 21.03",
      "predicted_ra": "08 36 15.06",
      "pos_err_minor": "n.a.",
      "key": "|001204124410|51882.530787037|129.062741402712|4.64001695570385|128.337645|4.0726|20.70|-4.28|-11.08|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|71.9154214757038|547.287989060186|y|",
      "offset": 55.14,
      "pos_err_ang": "n.a.",
      "pixel_loc_y": 547.29,
      "time": "2000-12-04 12:44:20",
      "pixel_loc_x": 71.92
    },
    {
      "pos_err_major": "n.a.",
      "triplet": "y",
      "mag": 20.69,
      "veloc_sn": -11.07,
      "obs_id": "001204131418",
      "center_dec": "+04 04 38.1",
      "veloc_we": -4.3,
      "predicted_dec": "+04 38 18.5",
      "center_ra": "08 33 20.10",
      "predicted_ra": "08 36 14.91",
      "pos_err_minor": "n.a.",
      "key": "|001204131418|51882.551712963|129.062129001731|4.63846213373038|128.33376|4.07724|20.69|-4.30|-11.07|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|62.8970527907925|563.965686638963|y|",
      "offset": 55.07,
      "pos_err_ang": "n.a.",
      "pixel_loc_y": 563.97,
      "time": "2000-12-04 13:14:28",
      "pixel_loc_x": 62.9
    }, ...

To retrieve imagery for an observation, use the key:

/api/skymorph/image?key=|001204124410 ...

Response:

Image load speed

An uncached image can take a very long time to load, on the order of 10 seconds or more. For faster load times (up to several seconds), use the /fast_image endpoint.

The catch: data used to generate the image is the same, but the sharpness/contrast post-processing is done on Asterank servers rather than the NASA/JPL implementation. In some images, it's possible to lose detail. You should try the endpoints for yourself to determine which is suitable for yoru purposes.

Planned Improvements