Hello everyone,
We have been making necessary changes to our AVSpec application, which are now live, and we wanted to share the highlights with you:
1) Echelle Support: We have had multiple requests for this and it is now finally available. You can now submit an echelle spectrum with all orders. If you are an echelle observer and want to know what those requirements are and how to upload, please go here. We would also like to mention that we support BESS guidelines, so you will be able to use the same protocol when uploading to our database.
2) Validation Emails: Instead of having to go to the website and check if your submission has been validated or not, you will now receive an email telling you once your spectrum is submitted and listing problems (if any). This should be a much smoother and clearer procedure than previously.
3) Enhanced Plotting Interface: We have added a new plotting module which allows you better zoom control and also the ability to download the plot as an image file.
4) Improved Search: The search feature is now paginated and will show you all the results from your search as opposed to just limiting you to the top 100.
5) Multiple File Download: Now you can select one, multiple, or all files on a given search page instead of having to download one by one. This will make downloading data much easier.
For those of you who want more, this represents the first phase of a 2-part project. The second will focus on a better submission experience, as well as educating users on possible pitfalls or ways they can enhance the spectra they take. A special thanks to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for sponsoring this effort.
Thanks,
Bert Pablo
Staff Astronomer
AAVSO