Data Access for SDSS DR16 Overview
This page explains how to access DR16 data, and provides links to various data access tools.
The SDSS web sites offer several different online data access tools, each suited to a particular need. These sites are described in more detail in the Available Tools page.
The information on this page is organized by type of data. Each section includes a table that describes a common task you might perform with that type of data, along with a link to the best tool for that task.
If your question isn't addressed here, please look at the Frequently Asked Questions and/or Tutorials help pages.
If you are having difficulty connecting to any data server, please check the status page for announcements about planned outages.
- Optical spectra of galaxies, stars and quasars from the SDSS extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) and prior optical spectroscopic programs.
- Infrared spectra from the SDSS Apache Point Observatory Galaxy Evolution Experiment (APOGEE and APOGEE-2), including stellar abundance estimates for additional elements from the ASPCAP pipeline.
- Data cubes and maps from integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopic observations of nearby galaxies from the SDSS Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey
- Spectra of the MaNGA Stellar Library program (MaStar)
- Legacy imaging from prior SDSS programs
- A large selection of Value Added Catalogs (VACs) from current and previous surveys
How to find...
Images
The SDSS has taken deep images of more than one-third of the entire night sky. You can view SDSS images online for any object or sky position in the survey area, and download images of SDSS fields as FITS files.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- browse through sky images
- Navigate
- create a telescope finding chart
- Finding chart
- search-view-download SDSS imaging fields
- Imaging Field Search
- generate SDSS imaging mosaics
- Imaging Mosaics
- get a list of thumbnails
- Image List
Since some stars were targeted for APOGEE infrared spectroscopy using 2MASS survey data, we also offer access to 2MASS images through the Navigate tool (click on the 2MASS button).
Data from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey is not available in DR8-15, but is available in its entirety at the SDSS-II Supernova Survey website.
Optical Spectra
Data Release 16 marks the final release of alleBOSS spectra, and includes all optical spectra from the original SDSS-I/-II, SEGUE, and BOSS, as well as additional optical spectra measured as part of the Sloan Extended Quasar, ELG, and LRG Survey (SEQUELS) program. These spectra are all included into DR16.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- know whether SDSS has measured an optical spectrum for my object
- Navigate
- explore the optical spectra platelist
- Optical Plate Search
- search-download FITS files with the optical spectrum for my object(s):
- Optical Spectrum Search
- view the optical spectrum for my object(s):
- Optical Spectrum View
- get 50,000 spectra
- Bulk download documentation
- know which optical spectroscopic data files are available
- Spectroscopic pipeline description
- understand the format of a specific data file
- Data Model
APOGEE and APOGEE-2 Spectra
DR16 is the first data release to include data from APOGEE-2S, which began full operations in April 2017. DR16 also includes all previously released APOGEE and APOGEE-2 spectra, which have been re-reduced with the latest version of the APOGEE data reduction and analysis pipeline.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- know whether the SDSS has measured an infrared spectrum for my object
- Navigate
- explore the infrared spectra platelist
- Infrared Plate Search
- search-download FITS files with the infrared spectrum for my object(s)
- Infrared Spectrum Search
- view the infrared visits for my object(s)
- Infrared Spectrum View Visits
- view the infrared stars (combined or ASPCAP spectra) for my object(s)
- Infrared Spectrum View Stars
- get 50,000 infrared spectra
- Bulk download documentation
- know which APOGEE spectra data files are available
- Spectroscopic pipeline description
- get all measured parameters for all APOGEE stars at once
- allStar and allVisit files
MaNGA Spectra
Data Release 15 is the third and latest installment of the SDSS's Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey. It includes summary data on MaNGA targets and raw data consisting of data cubes. It also includes for the first time analysed data products and maps, as well as a visualisation and analysis tool (Marvin). These data products are all included in DR16.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- see summary data from SDSS IFU observations for my object
- Explore: MaNGA
- learn how to download data cubes or maps
- MaNGA data access
- download MaNGA data by plate
- SAS data browser for MaNGA
- visualise or analyse MaNGA data cubes or maps
- Marvin
- learn other ways to access MaNGA data
- MaNGA tutorials
MaStar Stellar Library Spectra
Data Release 15 is the first and latest public data release for MaNGA's stellar library program MaStar. It includes summary data on MaStar targets as well as single and combined optical spectra for stars. These data products are also included in DR16.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- see summary data from SDSS observations for my object
- Explore: MaStar
- learn how to download MaStar spectra
- MaStar data access
- view the optical spectrum for my objects
- MaStar Spectrum View
- learn other ways to access MaStar data
- MaStar tutorials
MARVELS Spectra
DR16 includes all MARVELS Interferometry spectra.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- view and retrieve MARVELS data
- MARVELS data
Catalog Data
Catalog data summarize quantities measured from the images and spectra such as magnitudes, redshifts, and object classifications. These are available either from the Catalog Archive Server (CAS) database, or as binary tables in FITS file format.
- I need to...
- Tool to use
- find all objects which match some simple selection criteria
- SkyServer SQL Search
- learn how to write SQL queries
- SQL Tutorial or SQL in SkyServer or Sample Queries
- perform a complicated, CPU-intensive query of SDSS catalog data
- CasJobs
- generate my own database with custom tables of a subset of SDSS data
- CasJobs
- understand the CAS database schema:
- Schema Browser
- download fits files with the catalog data
- See the bulk download documentation
- understand the format of a specific catalog data file
- Data Model
Data Access Sites
- Website
- Purpose
- test.sdss4.org/dr16/dr16
- DR15 Documentation (this site)
- https://dr16.sdss.org
- Science Archive Webapp: interactive search-view-download tool for infrared and optical spectra, imaging fields, and image mosaic creation.
- https://dr16.sdss.org/marvin/
- Marvin: interactive visualisation and analysis tool for MaNGA data cubes and maps.
- https://data.sdss.org/sas/dr16
- Direct download access to DR15 data files for experts
- https://data.sdss.org/datamodel
- Details of the SAS directory structure, file formats, and the contents of each file
- https://skyserver.sdss.org/dr16
- SkyServer: Browser-based access to the Catalog Archive Server (CAS) database, with resources for learning SQL and projects to teach science
- https://skyserver.sdss.org/casjobs
- Flexible advanced SQL-based interface to the CAS, for all data releases
