| name | rave-dr6-data-access |
| description | Use when querying, caching, or plotting RAVE DR6 data via its TAP/ADQL service, including Gaia cross-match tables, recent observations, stellar parameters, southern-sky coverage caveats, VOTable parsing, and publication-ready visualizations. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | AstroAgent / AIP |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["astronomy","rave","tap","adql","catalog","stellar-parameters"],"related_skills":["astro-data-access-umbrella","tap-pyvo-adql-access","astro-catalog-plotting-cache"]}} |
RAVE DR6 Data Access
Overview
This is the canonical RAVE DR6 skill. It consolidates RAVE TAP querying, Gaia cross-match access, recent-observation queries, and plotting caveats. Use this before older RAVE plotting/animation examples.
When to Use
Use this skill when the user asks to:
- query RAVE DR6;
- access RAVE stellar parameters, radial velocities, or Gaia cross-matches;
- find recent RAVE observations;
- plot RAVE RA/Dec, Galactic, or CMD-like views;
- explain RAVE southern-sky coverage bias.
Endpoint and Key Tables
TAP endpoint: https://www.rave-survey.org/tap/
| Table | Purpose |
|---|
ravedr6.dr6_x_gaiaedr3 | Gaia EDR3 cross-match: RA/Dec, parallax, G magnitude, BP-RP |
ravedr6.dr6_sparv | stellar parameters: Teff, log g, metallicity, RV |
ravedr6.dr6_obsdata | observations and dates |
ravedr6.dr6_orbits | orbital parameters |
Do not use old www.rave-aip.de; it is not the canonical endpoint.
Basic pyvo Query
import pyvo
service = pyvo.dal.TAPService("https://www.rave-survey.org/tap/")
query = """
SELECT TOP 100 source_id, ra, dec, l, b, parallax, phot_g_mean_mag, bp_rp
FROM ravedr6.dr6_x_gaiaedr3
WHERE parallax > 0
ORDER BY parallax DESC
"""
df = service.run_sync(query).to_table().to_pandas()
curl Fallback
curl -s -X POST 'https://www.rave-survey.org/tap/sync' \
-d 'REQUEST=doQuery' \
-d 'LANG=ADQL' \
--data-urlencode 'QUERY=SELECT TOP 100 source_id,ra,dec,l,b,parallax,phot_g_mean_mag,bp_rp FROM ravedr6.dr6_x_gaiaedr3 WHERE parallax > 0 ORDER BY parallax DESC' \
-d 'FORMAT=votable' \
-o rave_dr6.xml
RAVE may return VOTable even when another format is requested; parse the response content rather than trusting the file extension. LANG=ADQL is required.
Recent Observations
SELECT TOP 100 *
FROM ravedr6.dr6_obsdata
ORDER BY obs_start_date DESC
If a date column name differs, inspect TAP_SCHEMA.columns first.
Coverage Caveat
RAVE is a southern-hemisphere survey. Plots will show strong sky-coverage bias. Always mention this when presenting RAVE all-sky or RA/Dec visualizations.
Caching
from pathlib import Path
out = Path("outputs/rave-dr6")
out.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
df.to_parquet(out / "rave.parquet", index=False)
df.head(20).to_csv(out / "preview.csv", index=False)
(out / "query.adql").write_text(query)
Then hand off to astro-catalog-plotting-cache.
Plotting Defaults
For nearest-star or cross-match plots:
- RA/Dec: small samples can use scatter, large samples should use density.
- Galactic projection: show Sun at origin if plotting unit vectors.
- CMD-like plots: use
bp_rp vs phot_g_mean_mag or absolute magnitude only when distances/parallax treatment is explicit.
- Include RAVE coverage caveat in captions.
REANA Pattern
For final products, create analysis.py and run:
python reana-workflows/reana-operator/scripts/reana_operator.py task \
--project /tmp/rave-dr6-task \
--task "query RAVE DR6 and plot" \
--script analysis.py \
--output rave.parquet \
--output rave_plot.png \
--environment-profile astro-ml \
--package pyvo \
--run --timestamp
Common Pitfalls
- Missing
LANG=ADQL in POST. RAVE returns a field-required error.
- Wrong schema. RAVE does not expose
gaiadr3.gaia_source; use ravedr6.* tables.
- Using Gaia-specific assumptions. RAVE tables and coverage differ.
- Overclaiming all-sky completeness. RAVE has strong southern coverage bias.
- Large queries without TOP. Keep probes modest.
- Rank slicing in ADQL. TAP has no portable
OFFSET; query TOP M then slice in pandas if needed.
Verification Checklist
