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TOPCAT (software)
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The project was initially developed by Mark Taylor, an <a href="/facts/Astrophysics/krFPRWLA">astrophysicist</a> from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Bristol/naU7Gvlc">University of Bristol</a> in 2003. Taylor acknowledges inspiration for some features from <i>Mirage</i> from <a href="/facts/Bell_Labs/fKP5Gk0H">Bell Labs</a> and <i>VOPlot</i> from VO-India. Initially funded from the <a href="/facts/Starlink_Project/Dqmd5VnQ">Starlink Project</a> it has been funded by various other projects since.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="features">Features</h2> <p>Written in <a href="/facts/Java_(programming_language)/9ScgFyAL">Java</a>, TOPCAT can be used both standalone and within a web browser.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> It is suitable for use as a graphical viewer and data editor of tabular data from FITS and other sources.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Muna, in his 2016 paper "Introducing Nightlight: A New FITS Viewer", observes that <a href="https://sites.google.com/cfa.harvard.edu/saoimageds9">SAOImage DS9</a>, TOPCAT and <a href="https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/ftools/fv/">Fv</a> are the most common tools used to view FITS files.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> VisIVO is an alternative tool for working with virtual observatories.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>While TOPCAT is unable to visualise catalogues as a set of vectors it does have capabilities to explore correlations in two and three dimensional scatter plots.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h3>STILTS</h3> <p>The STILTS application complements TOPCAT with similar capabilities but is considered a steeper learning curve, however STILTS does have the advantage of being able to be scripted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h3>Applications</h3> <p>TOPCAT is used in training for use of <a href="/facts/Virtual_observatory/ap1Qzs0I">virtual observatories</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> including access via the Astronomical Data Query Language (ADQL).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> Applications using TOPCAT include MultiDark, a database for results from <a href="/facts/Physical_cosmology/ww4ChbEq">cosmological</a> simulations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="sources">Sources</h2> <ul><li>Campbell-White, Justyn (2019). <a href="http://www.sepnet.ac.uk/sepnet-graduate-network/student-led-on-line-learning-modules-e-learning-from-peers/virtual-observatory-tools-astronomers/">"Virtual Observatory Tools for Astronomers"</a>. <i>University of Kent</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190415001433/https://www.sepnet.ac.uk/sepnet-graduate-network/student-led-on-line-learning-modules-e-learning-from-peers/virtual-observatory-tools-astronomers/">Archived</a> from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.</li> <li>Comparato, M.; Becciani, U.; Costa, A.; Larsson, B.; et al. (August 2007). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086%2F521375">"Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis of Complex Astrophysical Data"</a>. <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>. 119 (858). <a href="/facts/Astronomical_Society_of_the_Pacific/1hWIYXTL">Astronomical Society of the Pacific</a>: 898–913. <a href="/facts/ArXiv_(identifier)/H6EtgnBe">arXiv</a>:<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/0707.2474">0707.2474</a>. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007PASP..119..898C">2007PASP..119..898C</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1086%2F521375">10.1086/521375</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/521375">10.1086/521375</a>.</li> <li>Muna, Demitri (17 April 2017). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088%2F1538-3873%2F129%2F975%2F058003">"Introducing Nightlight: A New FITS Viewer"</a>. <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>. 129 (975). Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 058003. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017PASP..129e8003M">2017PASP..129e8003M</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088%2F1538-3873%2F129%2F975%2F058003">10.1088/1538-3873/129/975/058003</a>. 1. Motivation.</li> <li>Parsons, H. A. L.; Berry, D. S.; Rawlings, M. G.; Graves, S. F. (21 February 2018). <a href="http://starlink.eao.hawaii.edu/docs/sc22.pdf">"The POL-2 Data Reduction Cookbook 1.0"</a> (PDF). <i>East Asian Observatory</i>. 5.3 TOPCAT. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190506094439/http://starlink.eao.hawaii.edu/docs/sc22.pdf">Archived</a> (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2019.</li> <li>Partl, Adrian M. (2012). "Data Mining of the MultiDark Simulation". In Sarro L.; Eyer L.; O'Mullane W.; De Ridder J. (eds.). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ys-e0SotvBoC"><i>Astrostatistics and Data Mining</i></a>. Springer Series in Astrostatistics. Vol. 2. Springer, New York, NY. pp. 209–211. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012adm..book..209P">2012adm..book..209P</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-3323-1_21">10.1007/978-1-4614-3323-1_21</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781461433231 – via <a href="/facts/Google_Books/lnGRMWXs">Google Books</a>.</li> <li>Pössel, Markus (2020). "A Beginner's Guide to Working with Astronomical Data". <i>The Open Journal of Astrophysics</i>. 3 (1): 2. <a href="/facts/ArXiv_(identifier)/H6EtgnBe">arXiv</a>:<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.13189v1">1905.13189v1</a>. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020OJAp....3E...2P">2020OJAp....3E...2P</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.21105%2Fastro.1905.13189">10.21105/astro.1905.13189</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:170079000">170079000</a>.</li> <li>Rousseau, Batiste; Érard, Stéphane (15 September 2019). <a href="https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2019/EPSC-DPS2019-514.pdf">"Using TOPCAT with sparse measurements on planetary surfaces"</a> (PDF). <i>ESPC Abstracts</i>. EPSC-DPS2019-514-1, 2019. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191105191533/https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2019/EPSC-DPS2019-514.pdf">Archived</a> (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.</li> <li>Solano, E. (December 2017). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190506134118/http://svo.cab.inta-csic.es/files/svo/Public/EducationVOcases/TOPCAT-STILTS.pdf">"Advanced TOPCAT-STILTS"</a> (PDF). <i>Spanish Virtual Observatory</i>. Archived from <a href="http://svo.cab.inta-csic.es/files/svo/Public/EducationVOcases/TOPCAT-STILTS.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on 6 May 2019.</li> <li>Steeghs, Danny; Wheatley, Peter (15 November 2013). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191105192213/https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/astro/people/steeghs/mpags-as2/mpags_techniques5b_edit.pdf">"TOPCAT & STIL(TS)"</a> (PDF). <i>The University of Warwick</i>. Archived from <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/astro/people/steeghs/mpags-as2/mpags_techniques5b_edit.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.</li> <li>Taylor, Mark (27 June 2017). <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Finformatics4030018">"TOPCAT: Desktop Exploration of Tabular Data for Astronomy and Beyond"</a>. <i>Informatics</i>. 4 (3). <a href="/facts/MDPI/KDkGXQav">MDPI</a>: 18. <a href="/facts/ArXiv_(identifier)/H6EtgnBe">arXiv</a>:<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.02160">1707.02160</a>. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017arXiv170702160T">2017arXiv170702160T</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Finformatics4030018">10.3390/informatics4030018</a>.</li> <li>—— (2019). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190506055031/http://www.g-vo.org/pmwiki/uploads/VOWorkshop/topcat.pdf">"TOPCAT Tutorial"</a> (PDF). <i>German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory</i>. Archived from <a href="http://www.g-vo.org/pmwiki/uploads/VOWorkshop/topcat.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li>* <a href="http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/">Official website</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Taylor (2017), p. 18. - Taylor, Mark (27 June 2017). "TOPCAT: Desktop Exploration of Tabular Data for Astronomy and Beyond". Informatics. 4 (3). MDPI: 18. arXiv:1707.02160. Bibcode:2017arXiv170702160T. doi:10.3390/informatics4030018. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Finformatics4030018" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390%2Finformatics4030018</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Rousseau & Érard (2019), p. 1. - Rousseau, Batiste; Érard, Stéphane (15 September 2019). "Using TOPCAT with sparse measurements on planetary surfaces" (PDF). ESPC Abstracts. EPSC-DPS2019-514-1, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019. <a href="https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2019/EPSC-DPS2019-514.pdf" target="_blank">https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2019/EPSC-DPS2019-514.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Rousseau & Érard (2019), p. 1. - Rousseau, Batiste; Érard, Stéphane (15 September 2019). "Using TOPCAT with sparse measurements on planetary surfaces" (PDF). ESPC Abstracts. EPSC-DPS2019-514-1, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019. <a href="https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2019/EPSC-DPS2019-514.pdf" target="_blank">https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2019/EPSC-DPS2019-514.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Pössel (2020), p. 26. - Pössel, Markus (2020). "A Beginner's Guide to Working with Astronomical Data". The Open Journal of Astrophysics. 3 (1): 2. arXiv:1905.13189v1. Bibcode:2020OJAp....3E...2P. doi:10.21105/astro.1905.13189. S2CID 170079000. <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.13189v1" target="_blank">https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.13189v1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"C.1 Acknowledgements". TOPCAT. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2019. <a href="http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/sun253/ack.html" target="_blank">http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/sun253/ack.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"TOPCAT". TOPCAT. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019. <a href="http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/" target="_blank">http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Taylor (2019), p. 1. - —— (2019). "TOPCAT Tutorial" (PDF). German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190506055031/http://www.g-vo.org/pmwiki/uploads/VOWorkshop/topcat.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190506055031/http://www.g-vo.org/pmwiki/uploads/VOWorkshop/topcat.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Gaia-ESO Survey Archive". Cambridge Astronomy Survey Unit. 1. TOPCAT. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2019. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181020104100/http://casu.ast.cam.ac.uk/gaiaeso/help" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20181020104100/http://casu.ast.cam.ac.uk/gaiaeso/help</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Muna (2017), 1. Motivation. - Muna, Demitri (17 April 2017). "Introducing Nightlight: A New FITS Viewer". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 129 (975). Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 058003. Bibcode:2017PASP..129e8003M. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/129/975/058003. 1. Motivation. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088%2F1538-3873%2F129%2F975%2F058003" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1088%2F1538-3873%2F129%2F975%2F058003</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Comparato et al. (2007), p. 899. - Comparato, M.; Becciani, U.; Costa, A.; Larsson, B.; et al. (August 2007). "Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis of Complex Astrophysical Data". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 119 (858). Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 898–913. arXiv:0707.2474. Bibcode:2007PASP..119..898C. doi:10.1086/521375. JSTOR 10.1086/521375. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086%2F521375" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1086%2F521375</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Parsons et al. (2018), 5.3 Topcat. - Parsons, H. A. L.; Berry, D. S.; Rawlings, M. G.; Graves, S. F. (21 February 2018). "The POL-2 Data Reduction Cookbook 1.0" (PDF). East Asian Observatory. 5.3 TOPCAT. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2019. <a href="http://starlink.eao.hawaii.edu/docs/sc22.pdf" target="_blank">http://starlink.eao.hawaii.edu/docs/sc22.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Solano (2017), p. 2. - Solano, E. (December 2017). "Advanced TOPCAT-STILTS" (PDF). Spanish Virtual Observatory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2019. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190506134118/http://svo.cab.inta-csic.es/files/svo/Public/EducationVOcases/TOPCAT-STILTS.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190506134118/http://svo.cab.inta-csic.es/files/svo/Public/EducationVOcases/TOPCAT-STILTS.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Campbell-White (2019). - Campbell-White, Justyn (2019). "Virtual Observatory Tools for Astronomers". University of Kent. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019. <a href="http://www.sepnet.ac.uk/sepnet-graduate-network/student-led-on-line-learning-modules-e-learning-from-peers/virtual-observatory-tools-astronomers/" target="_blank">http://www.sepnet.ac.uk/sepnet-graduate-network/student-led-on-line-learning-modules-e-learning-from-peers/virtual-observatory-tools-astronomers/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Steeghs & Wheatley (2013). - Steeghs, Danny; Wheatley, Peter (15 November 2013). "TOPCAT & STIL(TS)" (PDF). The University of Warwick. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191105192213/https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/astro/people/steeghs/mpags-as2/mpags_techniques5b_edit.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20191105192213/https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/astro/people/steeghs/mpags-as2/mpags_techniques5b_edit.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Pössel (2020), p. 28. - Pössel, Markus (2020). "A Beginner's Guide to Working with Astronomical Data". The Open Journal of Astrophysics. 3 (1): 2. arXiv:1905.13189v1. Bibcode:2020OJAp....3E...2P. doi:10.21105/astro.1905.13189. S2CID 170079000. <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.13189v1" target="_blank">https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.13189v1</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Partl (2012), pp. 209–211. - Partl, Adrian M. (2012). "Data Mining of the MultiDark Simulation". In Sarro L.; Eyer L.; O'Mullane W.; De Ridder J. (eds.). Astrostatistics and Data Mining. Springer Series in Astrostatistics. Vol. 2. Springer, New York, NY. pp. 209–211. Bibcode:2012adm..book..209P. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3323-1_21. ISBN 9781461433231 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ys-e0SotvBoC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=ys-e0SotvBoC</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>