SAISNCAT - Sternberg Astronomical Institute Catalog of Supernovae

Overview

This table comprises the Sternberg Astronomical Institute (SAI) Catalog of Supernovae. This version contains data on 2991 extragalactic supernovae (SNe) which were discovered from 1885 until December 12, 2004 and on their host galaxies. Data for host galaxies were compiled from the following catalogues: (1) RC3 (de Vaucouleurs et al. 1991, Cat. <VII/155>); (2) UGC (Nilson 1973. Cat. <VII/26>); (3) PGC (Paturel et al. 1989, Cat. <VII/119>); (4) MCG (Vorontsov-Velyaminov et al. 1962-1968, Cat. <VII/62>, <VII/100>); (5) ESO (Lauberts 1982, Cat. <VII/34>); (6) CfA (Huchra et al. 1994, see Cat <VII/193>), and (7) from van den Bergh (1994, Cat. <J/ApJS/92/219>). The main source of morphological types, major diameters and axial ratios was the RC3; the data from other sources were reduced to the system of RC3. Photographic magnitudes of galaxies were adopted from the UGC and the PGC together with individual data from the literature. The sources of recession velocities or cz values were the RC3, the CfA, the PGC and IAU Circulars. Position angles were taken from the RC3, UGC and the ESO catalogues, and inclination angles were mainly derived from data in RC3 according to Holmberg (1958MeLu2.136....1H). Some data for SNe and host galaxies were adopted from the GCVS (Samus et al. 1995, Cat. <II/205>).

Catalog Bibcode

2004AstL...30..729T

References

The SAI Catalog of Supernovae and radial distributions of Supernovae
of various types in Galaxies.
     Tsvetkov D.Yu., Pavlyuk N.N., Bartunov O.S.
    <Pis'ma Astron. Zh., 30, 803 (2004)>
    =2004PAZh...30..803T
    =2004AstL...30..729T
The Online SAI Catalog of Supernovae
     http://www.sai.msu.su/sn/sncat

Provenance

This table was created by the HEASARC in June 2005 based on CDS table II/256/sn.dat. Notice that the number of entries (2991) is more than the number of 2780 mentioned in the published reference: this is apparently due to the fact that the CDS table contains supernovae as recent as December 12, 2004, while the latter is complete only until January 6, 2004.

HEASARC Implementation

For many supernovae, particularly the older ones, their positions were not given in the original table, so, in such cases, the HEASARC has set the values of the SN positional parameters ra and dec equal to those of the galaxy positional parameters ra_galaxy and dec_galaxy, respectively. In order for such cases to be readily identified, the HEASARC added a new parameter called position_flag to the HEASARC version of this catalog which is set to the value 'G' for all such cases where the supernova positional information was NOT explicitly provided in the original catalog. The HEASARC has made some other minor changes, too. Parameter values of '*' have been changed to alphabetic values since an asterisk is a wild-card symbol in our database, and the original values of '>'have been switched to '<' for the parameter called limit_maxmag in this HEASARC representation. The discovery_date and max_epoch parameters have had the year prepended. For discovery_date, this change is rather trivial; however, the max_epoch year occasionally differs from the discovery_date year. The original table noted some of these edge cases, but the HEASARC found and corrected additional dates. The reader should verify the max_epoch dates using the relevant literature references to be sure.

Parameters

Name
The supernova designation in the standard form as recommended by the Dictionary of Nomenclature of Celestial Objects, consisting of the 'SN' prefix followed by the year it was discovered, and either the upper-case letters 'A' through 'Z' (for the first 26 SNe discovered in a given year) or the lower-case letters 'aa', 'ab', etc. (for the 27th, 28th, etc., SNe discovered in a given year). Notice that searches by name in the HEASARC database are presently translated to upper-case characters, so that lower-case letters should not be specified in searches by name as a parameter in this table; users should instead enter names such as 'SN 2004gs' in the 'Object Name or Coordinates' box on the Browse query page, and have the Simbad or NED name resolvers find the SN position.

Note_Flag
This flag is set to 'Y' if there is a note about the supernova in the file https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/ftp/cats/II/256/notes.dat.

Galaxy
The SN host galaxy identification from the following catalogs and using the following naming scheme: N for NGC, I for IC, M for MCG, U for UGC, P for PGC, and E for ESO, or from the LEDA database. Anonymous galaxies are labelled 'ANON'.

RA_Galaxy
The Right Ascension of the host galaxy fixed in the J2000.0 equinox in which it was given in the original catalog, and (usually) specified to 0.01 minutes of time (sometimes to lower precision).

Dec_Galaxy
The Declination of the host galaxy fixed in the J2000.0 equinox in which it was given in the original catalog, and (usually) specified to 0.1 arcminutes (sometimes to lower precision).

Bmag
The photographic or other magnitude of the host galaxy.

Ref_Bmag
A flag that indicates that the source or type of the galaxy magnitude given in the parameter bmag using the following schema:

      1 = from the PGC Catalog,
      2 = from the IAU Circular reporting the SN discovery,
      3 = from the NED database,
      4 = from the LEDA database,
      5 = means that bmag is the total I-magnitude of the host galaxy

PA
The position angle of the major axis of the host galaxy, measured counterclockwise from North to East, in degrees.

Inclination
Only given for disk-like systems, this is the inclination of the galaxy with respect to the plane of the sky, in degrees. Thus, this parameter is 0 degrees for face-on systems.

Radial_Velocity
The heliocentric radial velocity of the host galaxy, measured in km/s, typically given for nearby galaxies with redshifts less than 1.

Radial_Velocity_Flag
A flag which is set to ':' if the radial velocity is considered to be uncertain.

Redshift
The redshift of the host galaxy, typically given for distant galaxies with redshifts greater than or equal to 1.

Morph_Type
The host galaxy morphological type from the RC3 Catalog. The symbols 'L' and 'E' refer to late and early types of host galaxies, respectively.

Log_Axial_Ratio
The decimal logarithm of the apparent axial ratio of the host galaxy.

Log_Diameter
The decimal logarithm of the apparent isophotal major diameter of the host galaxy, in units of 0.1 arcminutes.

T_Type
The host galaxy morphological type numerical code, using the RC3 coding system.

Luminosity_Class
The luminosity class of the host galaxy, taken from the RC3.

RA_Offset
The offset of the supernova in the RA (E or W according to the value of the parameter ra_offset_dir) direction from the nucleus of the host galaxy, in arcseconds.

RA_Offset_Dir
The direction of the offset of the supernova in the RA direction relative to the nucleus of the host galaxy.

Dec_Offset
The offset of the supernova in Declination (N or S according to the value of the parameter dec_offset_dir) from the nucleus of the host galaxy, in arcseconds.

Dec_Offset_Dir
The direction of the offset of the supernova in the Declination direction relative to the nucleus of the host galaxy.

Limit_Maxmag
This flag is set to '=' if this is the maximum magnitude, whereas if the value is '<', this is the discovery magnitude, and the magnitude at maximum could then have been brighter. (Note that the HEASARC has changed this latter value from the original value of '>' in the CDS table in order to conform with the usual logic that smaller numerical magnitudes are brighter.)

Maxmag
The supernova magnitude at maximum (or discovery) in the photometric band given in the parameter band_maxmag, if available; if the value of the parameter limit_maxmag is '=', this is the maximum magnitude, whereas if the value is '<', this is the discovery magnitude, and the magnitude at maximum could then have been brighter. (Note that the HEASARC has changed this latter value from the original value of '>' in the CDS table in order to conform with the usual logic that smaller numerical magnitudes are brighter.)

Band_Maxmag
The photometric band in which the value of the SN magnitude (maxmag) is given: values of U, B, V, R, I, J, H, K, and L refer to observations in the standard Johnson-Cousins photometric system, values of g, r, i and z refer to data obtained in SDSS or HST bands, and a value of 'Note' means that a description of the magnitude is presented in remarks for the catalog. (The HEASARC is not sure where these remarks are located.)

Maxmag_Flag
This flag is set to ':', if the parameter maxmag is considered to be uncertain.

Discovery_Flag
This flag is set to 'P' if the supernova was discovered photographically.

Max_Epoch
The date of supernova maximum light. The year in which this occurred is usually, but not always, the year given in the supernova's name. The exceptions (which are usually indicated by the parameter mx_epoch_flag having a value of 'D') are supernovae which were discovered at a date late in the year (and hence named after the discovery year), but which then reached maximum light early in the following year, e.g., SN 2003lq was discovered on 2003 Dec 28, but reached maximum light on or around 2004 Jan 7.

Max_Epoch_Flag
This flag is set to ':' if there is uncertainty in the date of maximum light, or set to 'D' if the discovery and maximum light years are different.

Discovery_Date
The date on which the supernova was discovered. This is always in the year which appears in the supernova's name.

SN_Type
The supernova type, following the standard classification.

RA
The RA of the supernova in the specified equinox. Notice that the input table from which this parameter was obtained contained this parameter in J2000.0 equinox specified to the nearest 0.01 - 1 seconds of time. For many, particularly the older, SNe, this parameter was not given in the original catalog as obtained from the CDS. In such cases, the HEASARC has set the value of the parameter ra equal to that of the parameter ra_galaxy: in order for such case to be readily identified, we have added a new parameter in the HEASARC version of this catalog called pos_flag which is set to the value 'G' for all such cases.

Dec
The declination of the supernova in the specified equinox. Notice that the input table from which this parameter was obtained contained this parameter in J2000.0 equinox specified to the nearest 0.1 or 1 arcseconds. For many, particularly the older, SNe, this parameter was not given in the original catalog as obtained from the CDS. In such cases, the HEASARC has set the value of the parameter dec equal to that of the parameter dec_galaxy: in order for such case to be readily identified, we have added a new parameter in the HEASARC version of this catalog called pos_flag which is set to the value 'G' for all such cases.

LII
The galactic longitude of the supernova.

BII
The galactic latitude of the supernova.

Position_Flag
This flag indicates whether or not positional information for a supernova was provided in the original catalog as obtained from the CDS. For many, particularly the older, SNe, this information was not provided, so, in such cases, the HEASARC has set the values of the parameters ra and dec equal to those of the parameters ra_galaxy and dec_galaxy, respectively. In order for such cases to be readily identified, we have added this new parameter pos_flag to the HEASARC version of this catalog: it is set to the value 'G' for all cases where positional information for a supernova was NOT explicitly provided in the original catalog, else it is left blank.

Uncertainty_Flag
This flag is set to '?' to indicate an uncertain supernova, and to '??' to indicate a very uncertain supernova.

Search_Program_Code
This is a code for the search program or observatory that discovered the supernova, as follows:

        AB Abastumani Observatory
        AS Asiago Observatory
        BA Berkeley Automatic SN search
        CA Cote d'Azur Observatory
        CR Cerro el Roble Observatory
        CT Cerro Tololo Observatory
        EV Visual SN search of R.Evans
        GA Sternberg Astronomical Institute
        MN SNe discovered by R.H. McNaught
        KO Konkoly Observatory
        P1 Palomar Observatory SN search 1958-1974
        P2 Palomar Observatory SN search 1937-1940
        P3 SNe discovered on POSS plates
        P4 SNe discovered on plates of second POSS
        ZM Zimmerwald Observatory
        SC The Supernova Cosmology Project (S. Perlmutter et al.)
        HZ High-Z Supernova Search Team (R.P. Kirshner, P. Garnavich,
            P. Challis et al.)
        PE Perth observatory supernova search program (A. Williams and R. Martin)
        MS Mount Stromlo Abell Cluster Supernova Search Team
            (L. Germany, D. Reiss, C. Stubbs, B. Schmidt, S. Chan)
        BE Beijing Astronomical Observatory Supernova Survey
            (Weidong Li, Qiran Qiao, Yulei Qiu, Jingyao Hu)
        KU Supernovae discovered by R.Kushida, Yatsugatake South Base
            Observatory, Japan
        JP Other Japanese Professionals and Amateurs (Aoki, K. Okazaki et al.)
        IT Italian Professionals and Amateurs
            (S. Pesci, M. Villi, A. Gabrielcic et al.)
        WJ Supernovae discovered by W. Johnson, CA
        TE Supernovae discovered by M. Schwartz (Tenagra Observatory, Oregon, USA)
        ER Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres (EROS) collaboration
            (O. Perdereau, J.C. Hamilton)
        MD University of Texas McDonald Observatory Supernova Search Team
            (M.T. Adams, T. Montemayor, D.A. Howell, J.C. Wheeler, M.H. Ward,
             and W. Wren)
        HB Supernovae discovered with help of HST
        WS Wise Observatory Optical Transients Search
        NG Nearby Galaxies Supernova Search Team
        EC European Supernova Cosmology Consortium
        ST STRESS team (E. Cappellaro, A. Pastorello, M. Prevedello, M. Salvo,
            and M. Turatto, Padova; J. Danziger, P. Mazzali and L. Rizzi,
            Trieste, F. Patat - ESO
        PP PUC-Padova Supernova Search. See IAU Circulars NN 7537, 7549
        LT The collaboration of the Lick Observatory Supernova Search
            and the Tenagra Observatory Supernova Search (using the KAIT and
            Tenagra II, III automated telescopes)
        LI Lick Observatory Supernova Search)
        __ Other notes for individual supernovae.

Discoverer
The name of the SN discoverer(s). For organized search teams, the standard acronyms are given, e.g., the ESSENCE project, the SDSS collaboration, etc.

Class
The Browse object classification as created by the HEASARC based on the value of the sn_type parameter.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the SAISNCAT database table can be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Monday, 16-Sep-2024 17:34:20 EDT