Object Observability Simple Access Protocol

*Note:* This protocol is formerly known as Object Visibility Simple Access Protocol (ObjVisSAP).

Current status: WD-1.0

GitHub repository: https://github.com/ivoa-std/ObjObsSAP

Abstract

The Object Observability Simple Access Protocol (ObjObsSAP) is an IVOA Data Access protocol which defines the standard for retrieving object constraint-free observability time intervals through a uniform interface within the VO framework for given object coordinates to be observed by a given Astronomical Observatory. The ObjObsSAP services can be registered in an IVOA Registry of Resources using the VOResource, Extension standard, having a unique ResourceIdentifier in the registry. The ObjObsSAP interface is meant to be reasonably simple to be implemented by service providers. A basic query will be done introducing a set of sky coordinates and a given time period (optional). The service returns a list of constraint-free observability time intervals formatted as VOTable. Thus, an implementation of the service may support additional search parameters (some of which may be custom to that particular service) to more finely control the selection of the observability periods. The specification also describes how the search on extra parameters has to be done.

Implementations

This list of implementations is mostly inspired from the ESA page vovisobs_protocols.

Services

• The INTEGRAL gamma-ray Observatory: Visibility and Observation Locator

  • Access URL: http://integral.esa.int/isocweb/tvp.html

• The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO): Visibility and Observation Locator (under development)

  • Access URL: http://integral.esa.int/interest//api/visibilities/chandra

• XMM-Newton: Visibility and Observation Locator

  • Access URL: http://xmmvisibility.esac.esa.int/vischecker/ServVISC

• The GAIA mission: Visibility (displaying scanning patterns)

  • Access URL: https://gaia.esac.esa.int/gost/ObjVisSAP/gaiaobjvisap

• The Insight-HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope) has developed a visibility interface based on these protocols. Currently only accounting for Sun and Moon. The effects of Earth and South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) will be included in the next version

  • Access URL: http://integral.esa.int/interest//api/visibilities/insight-xmt

• Nordical Optical Telescope (NOT) - basic geometrical visibility service

  • Access URL: http://integral.esa.int/interest//api/visibilities/not

• Swift ( GitHub):

  • Access URL: https://www.swift.psu.edu/vo/objobssap/query

  • Access URL: http://integral.esa.int/interest//api/visibilities/swift

• The NuSTAR mission provides their schedule in a VO-compliant format as csv files but do not provide an URL query service

  • Possibly inactive

Clients

• Web client TOBY

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