| ADQL |
Astronomical Data Query Language: the SQL-like language of the archive's TAP service. The ADQL tab of Search writes and runs it. |
| Allocation |
The computing your CANFAR account may use: the cores, memory and GPUs of sessions, batch jobs and Remote Compute. |
| Batch job |
A container on CANFAR that runs one command without a window, and ends. Also called a headless session. See Batch jobs. |
| Blink |
Alternating two images in the same place, to see what changed. |
| CADC |
The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre: the archive Verbinal searches, and the accounts it signs in with. |
| Calibration level |
How processed a product is: 0 raw, in the instrument's own format; 1 raw, in a standard format such as FITS; 2 calibrated; 3 built from several, such as a stack or a mosaic; 4 an analysis product, such as a catalogue. Cal. Level in Search. |
| CANFAR |
The Canadian Advanced Network for Astronomy Research: the science platform where sessions, batch jobs and Remote Compute run, and your VOSpace storage. |
| CAOM-2 |
The Common Archive Observation Model: how the CADC describes an observation, its planes (products) and their artifacts (files). |
| CARTA |
The Cube Analysis and Rendering Tool for Astronomy, run as a CANFAR session. |
| Collection |
The archive an observation belongs to: CFHT, HST, JWST, JCMT, GEMINI, … |
| Contributed session |
A session whose image someone contributed to CANFAR, such as a web application. Remote Compute runs as one. |
| Cube |
A FITS image with a third axis, usually wavelength or velocity: a spectrum at every pixel. See Cube Viewer. |
| Cutout |
The part of a file you need, cut by the CADC before you download it (with its SODA service). |
| DataLink |
The CADC service that lists an observation's files, previews and cutouts. |
| Data train |
The lists under the Search form (band, collection, instrument, filter…) that narrow each other as you choose. |
| DS9 regions |
The region file format of SAOImage DS9; Verbinal exports marks in it. |
| Firefly |
A web viewer for astronomical data, run as a CANFAR session. |
| FITS |
Flexible Image Transport System: the file format of astronomical images, cubes and tables. .fz files are FITS compressed with fpack. |
| Harbor |
The software of CANFAR's image registry, images.canfar.net. Its CLI secret is the password for the registry. |
| HDU |
Header Data Unit: one part of a FITS file, an image or a table with its header. A file can hold many. |
| Image (container) |
What a CANFAR session or job runs: an operating system with its software, stored in a registry. |
| IVOA |
The International Virtual Observatory Alliance, which defines TAP, DataLink, SODA, VOSpace and the registry of services. |
| Mark |
Your annotation on an image or cube: a circle, box, callout or text, kept with the file. Not the same as a hint. |
| MCP |
The Model Context Protocol, through which AI assistants such as Claude use Verbinal's tools. |
| MJD |
Modified Julian Date: days since 17 November 1858, used for observation times. |
| Notebook |
A Jupyter notebook: code, results and text in one document, run as a CANFAR session. |
| Plane |
One product of an observation in CAOM-2, such as the raw data or a calibrated image. |
| Probe |
The small batch job Image Discovery runs inside an image to list its packages. |
| Publisher ID |
An observation plane's identifier at the CADC, such as ivo://cadc.nrc.ca/HST?…. |
| Registry |
Two things: the IVOA registry, where Verbinal finds the CADC services; and a container registry, where images are kept. |
| Resolver |
The service that turns a name (M31, a supernova) into a position: SIMBAD, NED or VizieR, through the CADC. |
| Session |
An interactive container on CANFAR: a notebook, a desktop, CARTA, Firefly or a contributed application. |
| Skaha |
The CANFAR service that runs sessions and batch jobs. |
| SODA |
Server-side Operations for Data Access: the IVOA service the CADC cuts files with. |
| Stretch |
How pixel values become brightness: linear, logarithmic, square root, squared or asinh. |
| TAP |
Table Access Protocol: the IVOA service that answers ADQL queries. |
| VizieR |
The catalogue service of the CDS in Strasbourg. |
| VOSpace |
The IVOA standard for storage: your CANFAR storage. See Storage. |
| WCS |
World Coordinate System: the header keywords that map pixels to sky positions and wavelengths. |
| x1d |
An HST file holding a one-dimensional extracted spectrum, as a table. |