Hipparcos Example Catalogue Pages

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The following links give some example pages from different volumes of The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues. Most of these files have been extracted from Volume 17 (ASCII CD-ROM) and are in pdf/ps format. Details of the individual fields for each volume are given in Volume 1: Introduction and Guide to the Data (available online).

	Volumes 5 to 9 contain the main results from the Hipparcos satellite observations. A 2 page extract illustrates the format of the left and right hand pages in the printed catalogue.
	Volume 10 of the catalogues contains the Double and Multiple Systems Annex (DMSA) and Solar System Objects. For a number of non-single stars, the standard astrometric solution used to derive the parameters given in the main Hipparcos Catalogue (Volumes 5 to 9) was not appropriate and more complex models had to be used. The additional information arising from these models is given in the Double and Multiple Systems Annex. Five distinct models (each given in a separate subsection of Volume 10) were identified: Component solutions (DMSA/C), Acceleration solutions (DMSA/G), Orbital solutions (DMSA/O), VIM (Variability-induced movers ) solutions (DMSA/V) and Stochastic solutions (DMSA/X).
	Volume 11 of the catalogues is the Hipparcos Variability Annex. This Annex is divided into two tabular sections.Part 1: Periodic Variables contains data on a subset of stars for which a period and variability amplitude has been derived on the basis of the Hipparcos data.
	The second part of Volume 11 (Part 2: Unsolved Variables) contains relevant information for the unsolved variables--objects which could be classified as variable on the basis of the Hipparcos data, but for which periods could not be determined from the Hipparcos data.
	Volume 12 of The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues contains light curves compiled from the Hipparcos observations. This volume is subdivided into three parts: Part A contains folded light curves for periodic variables; Part B contains light curves (not folded) which have been fitted to data obtained from the AAVSO data base; Part C contains light curves (not folded) for unsolved systems which have conspicuous features in their light curves.
	Volumes 14 to 16 of The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues comprise the [external link] Millennium Star Atlas, a joint venture between ESA and the Sky Publishing Corporation. This all-sky atlas contains one million stars to visual magnitude 11 from the Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues and 10,000 nonstellar objects.

• The 150 stars in the Hipparcos Catalogue closest to the Sun;
• The 150 stars in the Hipparcos Catalogue with largest proper motion;
• The 150 stars in the Hipparcos Catalogue with largest transverse velocities;
• The 150 most luminous stars in the Hipparcos Catalogue.
• The 150 stars in the Hipparcos Catalogue with highest apparent magnitude.
  [This table is not in the original printed catalogue.]

The first table lists results for the 150 stars closest to the Sun, as deduced from the Hipparcos parallaxes. No criterion was applied to the precision of the individual parallax determinations. The entries in the table are sorted by decreasing parallax (increasing distance).

The second table gives the results for the 150 stars with the largest total proper motions in the Hipparcos Catalogue, again without further selection on precision. The third table gives the results for the 150 stars with the largest total transverse velocity, as deduced from the Hipparcos proper motions and parallaxes. In the latter table, only stars with relative distance precision sigma_pi/pi < 0.1 were included. The entries in these tables are sorted by decreasing total proper motion and total transverse velocity, respectively.

For the table of 150 stars with the highest absolute luminosity, the selection was more delicate. Although Hipparcos has determined for each entry at least a lower limit for the distance, and consequently for the luminosity, the inclusion of stars with only such a lower limit in the table was not considered meaningful. The stars in the table meet the two following criteria: (i) relative distance precision sigma_pi/pi < 0.3; (ii) absolute magnitude M_V when computed with the 2 sigma lower distance limit 1/(pi+2 sigma_pi)} smaller than -2 mag. The entries are sorted by increasing M_V, i.e. decreasing luminosity.

The fifth table lists results for the 150 stars with highest apparent magnitude. The entries in the table are sorted by decreasing brightness (increasing V magnitude).

All four tables give results for the same series of quantities. The successive fields contain:

1. the identifier in the Hipparcos Catalogue (the HIP number, Field H1);
2. if available, the identifier in the HD Catalogue (the HD number, Field H71);
3. the (truncated) right ascension (alpha), in degrees (Field H8);
4. the (truncated) declination (delta), in degrees (Field H9);
5. the visual magnitude V (FieldH5);
6. the absolute visual magnitude, computed as M_V=V+5 log (pi)-10, with pi in milliarcsec;
7. the trigonometric parallax (pi), in milliarcsec (Field H11);
8. the standard error in the trigonometric parallax sigma_pi, in milliarcsec (Field H16);
9. the relative precision of the distance sigma_pi/pi;
10. the total proper motion |mu| in milliarcsec per year;
11. the proper motion in right ascension (mu_alpha*) in milliarcsec per year (Field H12);
12. the proper motion in declination (mu_delta) in milliarcsec per year (Field H13);
13. the transverse velocity, computed as V_T = A_v |mu|/pi, in km/s;
14. an asterisk indicating that the star is in the Catalogue of Nearby Stars, 3rd version (CNS3);
15. the Bayer/Flamsteed name of the star (as in Volume 13); if not available, a common name (as in Volume 13); if not available, blank.

For the star with a negative parallax value, for which the proper motion value is nevertheless significant, the computed fields using the parallax (absolute magnitude, distance precision, and transverse velocity) are left blank.

Contact Us Updated on: October 10, 2000