Object name entry

An object name may be entered instead of central coordinates for pointed observation or plate look up.
If an object name is entered, either the Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibiliography for Astronomical Data (SIMBAD) database maintained by CDS, Strasbourg or the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) is queried for the corresponding coordinates, depending on which service is selected.
SIMBAD recognizes standard astronomical nomenclature for stellar and non-stellar objects outside the Solar system. A summary of all the catalogs in the SIMBAD database may be retrieved in LaTex format from the SIMBAD documentation page.
NED recognizes standard astronomical nomenclature for extragalactic objects. Although its domain is a subset of SIMBAD's, NED offers two advantages for referencing extragalactic sources: its coordinate resolver is not as particular about the formats of requests and its response time is faster, especially for U. S. users.
SIMBAD coordinate queries can require 30 seconds or longer to complete; please be patient.