APDB NearbyExtObject fields

Science Alerts & Brokers
#1

Looking at : Alert Production Database

There are fields such as nearbyExtObj1, which are integers.

What tables are these integers references into? The documentation says “DR Object”, which suggests to me that it will refer to a Data Release. If so, what will be in these fields during the first year of operation before there have been any DRs? Or will there just be no nearby extended object reference before the first DR is out?

For later years of operation, is there a way to know which DR this refers to?

Assuming these are indeed references to DR tables, are there schema for what these tables might look like? Looking at the DPDD (revision 2023-07-10), I think this would be the Object table in section 4.3.1 ; is that correct?

Similar question for NearbyObj1etc. fields: what table of what database? What will happen before the first DR exists? How do we know which DR it refers to when there have been more than one DR?

-Rob

#2

Hi @rknop, those indeed refer to Objects in the data release schemas. They will be null when no DR is present, and always refer to the most recent data release in later years.

The Schema Browser https://sdm-schemas.lsst.io/ is your best reference for current schemas being produced by the pieplines, although there are not yet schemas for DP1, DP2, DR1, etc. since those releases are still in the future.