User manual

3 Getting started

To give you a brief overview of Aladin, here's a typical scenario for visualizing images

and catalogues around an astronomical object:

1. Launching Aladin

2. Searching for an optical image of M51

3. Searching SIMBAD around this object

4. Loading NOMAD catalogue around this object

5. Visualizing data (panning, zooming…)

6. Browsing measurement and accessing original record

7. Saving

Let’s go through this scenario step by step.

Launching Aladin (1)

The method to launch Aladin depends on

the type of hardware you have. On

Windows and Macintosh, double-click

the icon Aladin for starting the

application. With Linux and other Unix

stations, it will probably be necessary to

launch the application via this command

line:

Aladin

Data loading (2, 3 et 4)

The easiest way to load an image in

Aladin is to use the menu “File => Load

astronomical image=> DSS => DSS from

ESO", and to specify a name or an object

position in the form that appears. In our example “M51”.

And then, just press the “SUBMIT”

button.

The form opened in the previous

step displays the data servers that

Aladin can access. The image

servers appear on the left side. In

fact, the previous step has pre-

selected the corresponding form,

here “DSS from ESO”. On the right

side appear the tabular data

servers (SIMBAD, NED…) and

astronomical catalogues via

VizieR.