SIMBAD

(sim -bad) A large computer database, developed in the early 1980s by staff at the Centre de Données Astronomiques (CDA) in Strasbourg, France, allowing the user to access a large collection of astronomical data, including cross-identifications and measurements, together with bibliographic information on more than 2 750 000 celestial objects outside the Solar System, including stars, galaxies, nebulae, novae and supernovae. The name SIMBAD is an acronym for Sets of Identifications, Measurements, and Bibliography for Astronomical Data. The database went on-line for the first time in 1981 and since 1990 has been hosted by the Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg. In 1996 SIMBAD became accessible to astronomers over the World Wide Web as well as via public data transmission networks. It incorporates VizieR, a dedicated tool for retrieving astronomical data listed in published catalogs and tables, developed jointly by the CDA and the European Space Agency's European Space Research Institute. SIMBAD and its services are financed by sponsorship from major national and international agencies. NASA funds a mirror site of SIMBAD hosted by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.