Searching

Each separate search field allows for a separate requirement in the search, the equivalent of being joined by a boolean "AND". Fields with dropdown options (e.g. object name, galaxy identifier, etc) allow for further refinement using boolean keywords "AND" "OR", and "NOT." For example, to specifically find data from SN 1978k and SN 1986J, it is possible to enter "1978 OR 1986" in the search bar.

Reading Search Results

Once the search has run, a folded table of the results is displayed. The top level gives overview information for supernovae with measurements corresponding to the search requirements. By pressing the expansion button, found next to the supernova name, full information about the corresponding measurements is unfolded from the table. The value in parentheses next to the supernova name is the number of results found for that supernova.

Exporting Data

After a search, the export options tab is available. Expanding the export section allows for a download of the results from the search. Use the dropdown menu to select what it is you wish to download. If none of the options have the set of information that you would like, select "custom" from the menu. Then, use the text input to write in the columns you would like, with each entry separated by a column. For a list of the possible columns, see the list of fields.

It is also possible to generate a json formatted version of search results. For more information, look at the api documentation.

Plotting

For ease of comparison, it is possible to plot lightcurves of search results. Start by selecting the data you wish to plot, using the checkboxes on the left of each entry. Once the desired measurements have been selected, simply pressing the "plot selected" button will show the plot, as well as revealing customization tools to modify the plot. To make use of these tools select the changes you would like to make, and press "update." Any change that changes the data being represented requires reselecting the "plot selected" button.

Included in the plotting customization tools is the ability to fit the data. With this option selected each supernova will be fit to a power law, Y = c Xa; a table will appear listing the power law indices for each fit. These fits do not take upper bounds into account--for more information on the fitting, look at the methodology page.

Still confused? Email us at SNaX@kronos.uchicago.edu with any questions; we'll do our best to respond.