NVO iPortal Testing Platform

Last Updated: Dec 28, 2007

The iPortal is a Virtual Observatory WebApp designed for the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. This test interface is meant to provide the same look-n-feel but doesn't have all the same functionality as the actual device. This interface is still under development, however enough of it should be functional that users can begin to play with it. Please report any problems or suggestions to fitz@noao.edu

Caveats:

• You MUST be running a Safari or Opera web browser on a Mac to see the correct formatting of the interface.
• Data retrieval failures from services are not yet handled gracefully.

Screenshots:

• A page of screenshots is available here if you do not have an iPhone/iPod or the appropriate browser.

To Begin:

Enter a keyword (one or more), object name or RA/Dec coordinates (sexagesimal or decimal) in the text box on the interface. Example entries would be things like

galaxy clusters	(keyword search)
NGC4258	(object name)
13:29:55.72 +47:13:53.4	(coords)

Alternatively, select the Help button on the interface to view more detailed help.

Keyword Searches:

• Keywords will cause the VO Registry to be searched for matching Resources.
• Selecting resource types will show you only those resources, for speed reasons there is no way to access all matching resources at a time.
• Selecting a resource link will show you the full description of the resource. The 'Try It' button will let you query the service and view real data.
• Vizier tables can only be accessed with a full download of the table.
• Image results will display a link for Graphic images (GIF/JPEG) if available and display a scaled image. An iPhone/iPod Touch has a "pinch interface" to allow zoom/pan of scaled image.

Object/Coord Searches: Object names will be resolved to coordinates and users will see an image of the object at a fixed 0.25 deg size. Coordinates will also be available Coordinate strings will show an image of that part of the sky. Sexagesimal strings may be whitespace or colon-delimited Positions that lie within the SDSS DR6 footprint will be color cutouts, all other positions will show a DSS image however full-sky coverage is supported.

Keyword Qualifiers Searches may be constrained by prepending with one of the qualifiers below followed by a colon, e.g. "img:hst to search only for HST images. key Force a keyword search img Search only image archives cat Search only catalog tbl Search only published journal tables

Future development plans include: A Dashboard Widget version for Mac desktop/laptops Simple RA vs Dec Plot capability for tabular data Simple spectrum plot capability Stylesheet for landscape mode Stylesheet for full-screen browser windows