skymap-add-object

name

skymap.add-object

description

Add a new deep-sky object or virtual object to Sky Map v2's catalog from a Wikipedia URL or user-supplied data, or add a new searchable alias/name to an existing object. Handles source-data CSV/JSON files (no protobuf/XML — v2 uses a Room-backed catalog generated from source-data/). Trigger on "add object to v2", "add nebula/galaxy/cluster to v2", "add <object name> to stardroid-v2", "add <name> as an alias for <object>", etc. ARGUMENTS — "[wikipedia_url_or_object_name]"

Sky Map v2: Add Catalog Object

Add a new deep-sky or virtual object to v2's source-data/ tree. This is a different pipeline from v1's skymap.add-object skill: v2 has no celestial_objects.xml, no celestial_info_cards.xml, no object_info.json, and no protobuf regeneration step. Instead source-data/ (CSV + JSON, English + per-locale) is compiled into a bundled Room database (skymap.db) automatically at build time by the :data:generateCatalogDb Gradle task — see source-data/README.md and docs/design/catalog-and-schema.md.

Work from stardroid-v2/.

Files to Edit (in order)

1. source-data/dso.csv — positional catalog (skip for virtual/map-less objects — see below)
2. source-data/names/en.csv — primary English name(s)
3. source-data/names/universal.csv — catalog designations that should match in every locale (M31, NGC 224, etc.)
4. source-data/info_cards/en.json — info card text (English; other locales are a separate translation pass, not part of this skill — see AGENTS.md on translation timing)
5. source-data/objects.json — image reference + metadata overlay (see-also links, parent, type override for virtual objects)

Step 1 — Gather Astronomical Data

If $ARGUMENTS contains a Wikipedia URL, fetch that page and extract:

Field	Notes
Primary name + aliases	Primary → names/en.csv (is_primary=1); catalog aliases (NGC/IC/M/Caldwell numbers) → names/universal.csv (is_primary=0)
RA (decimal degrees)	Convert from h m s: (h + m/60 + s/3600) * 15
Dec (decimal degrees)	Convert from °ʹʺ: ±(d + m/60 + s/3600)
Magnitude	Search a second source if not on Wikipedia; ask the user if still unknown
Angular size (arcmin)	Search a second source if not on Wikipedia; ask the user if still unknown. Currently unused by the app but retained in the schema — still fill it in.
Type	Hierarchical code from source-data/types.json, e.g. nebula.planetary, galaxy.spiral, cluster.globular. Add a new types.json entry only if nothing existing fits — ask the user first.
Distance (light-years)	For info card
Physical size / mass	For info card size/mass strings
Any catalog numbers	NGC, IC, Messier, Caldwell — go in designations (dso.csv) and names/universal.csv

Never use placeholder or default values for magnitude or angular size. If a value cannot be found after searching a second source, ask the user before proceeding.

Step 2 — Derive the Object ID

Namespaced, stable, permanent (never renamed once added — decision in source-data/README.md): dso/<slug>, where <slug> is the primary name lowercased, spaces → underscores, special chars stripped. Example: Exposed Cranium Nebula → dso/exposed_cranium_nebula.

Unlike v1, there is no digit-prefix rule to worry about — ids are free-form strings, not Android resource names. 47 Tucanae can be dso/47_tucanae directly.

Use the same id consistently across all four files below.

Step 3 — Edit dso.csv

Header: id,ra_deg,dec_deg,magnitude,type,size_arcmin,designations,names

Append a row (order doesn't matter, but keep roughly alphabetical/grouped with neighbors for diff-friendliness):

dso/exposed_cranium_nebula,142.03422,-49.6107,13.0,nebula.planetary,1.5,PMR 1,Exposed Cranium Nebula

• designations: pipe-separated catalog IDs (e.g. M1|NGC 1952), or the primary catalog ID if no common name exists.
• names: informational only (not used for display — real display names live in names/*.csv); keep it for readability/grep-ability.

Skip this step for virtual (map-less) objects — see the dedicated section below.

Step 4 — Edit names/en.csv

Header: object_id,name,is_primary

dso/exposed_cranium_nebula,Exposed Cranium Nebula,1

Add one row per alias that should be searchable in English, is_primary=0 for anything that isn't the map label. If the name has non-English-locale variants you know about, that's a separate translation task — don't invent them here.

Step 5 — Edit names/universal.csv

Header: object_id,name,is_primary

Add one row per catalog designation that should search-match regardless of locale (these are the '' universal locale):

dso/exposed_cranium_nebula,PMR 1,0

Step 6 — Edit info_cards/en.json

source-data/info_cards/en.json is {"cards": {"<id>": {...}}}. Insert a new entry:

"dso/exposed_cranium_nebula": {
  "description": "<2-3 sentence description: what it is, where it is, what makes it notable>",
  "fun_fact": "<1-2 sentence surprising/record-breaking/historically significant fact>",
  "distance": "~5,000 light-years",
  "size": "~2 light-years across",
  "image_credit": "<Credit string — added once Step 8's image is deployed>"
}

Optional fields, add only when relevant:

• mass — for galaxies/black holes (e.g. "1.5 trillion solar masses")
• spectral_class — for stars
• search_subtext — subtitle shown below the name in search results; mainly used for virtual objects (e.g. "Moon of Jupiter")

Keep valid JSON — run python3 -m json.tool source-data/info_cards/en.json >/dev/null to verify after editing.

Step 7 — Edit objects.json

source-data/objects.json is {"objects": {"<id>": {...}}}. This is metadata overlay on top of the positional catalog — only add fields you actually have:

"dso/exposed_cranium_nebula": {
  "image_ref": "deep_sky_objects/pmr1_exposed_cranium_nebula.webp"
}

Add image_ref once Step 8 (image) has deployed the asset. see_also (array of related object ids, reciprocal both ways) is optional — add it if there's an obvious related object (parent planet for a moon, sibling galaxies, etc.).

Adding an Alias to an Existing Object

Sometimes the ask isn't a new object at all — it's an additional searchable name for one that already exists (e.g. a culturally significant name, a colloquial nickname). This is much lighter than the full flow above: no dso.csv/stars.csv row, no info card, no objects.json change, no image.

1. Find the object's existing id — grep source-data/names/en.csv or dso.csv/stars.csv for its current display name.
2. Add one row to source-data/names/en.csv (or names/universal.csv if the name is a catalog designation that should match in every locale, e.g. an NGC number): <object_id>,<Name>,0. Use is_primary=0 — you're adding a search alias, not replacing the map label. Group it next to the object's other existing rows for diff-friendliness.
3. Don't invent translations for other locales — that's a separate task. Per LocaleSpec's fallback chain (exact tag → language → English → universal), an English-only alias is still searchable from any locale that doesn't override that object's names.
4. Sanity-build and confirm the row landed: ./gradlew :data:generateCatalogDb, then inspect the generated db (data/build/generated/assets/generateCatalogDb/skymap.db) — e.g. sqlite3 <path> "SELECT * FROM object_name WHERE object_id='<object_id>';".
5. Run ./gradlew :data:test :data:generator:test ktlintCheck before committing.

Example: adding "Matariki" (the Māori name for the Pleiades, and NZ's official holiday marking the Māori new year) as a search alias for dso/m45:

dso/m45,Matariki,0

added next to the existing dso/m45,Pleiades,1 / dso/m45,Seven Sisters,0 rows in names/en.csv.

Adding a Virtual (Map-less) Object

A virtual object has an info card, appears in search, and can be linked from a related object's "see also" — but is not itself rendered on the sky map (e.g. moons, positioned via their planet).

Skip Steps 3 (dso.csv) entirely — virtual objects still get names/en.csv and info_cards/en.json entries, but objects.json carries the positioning/type metadata instead of a catalog row:

"moon/io": {
  "type": "moon",
  "parent": "planet/jupiter",
  "image_ref": "planets/galileo_io.webp",
  "see_also": ["planet/jupiter", "moon/europa", "moon/ganymede", "moon/callisto"]
}

• type here overrides/supplies the type for objects with no dso.csv/stars.csv row.
• parent is the id of the renderable object the map should navigate to when this object is searched or opened.
• Add the reciprocal see_also entry on the parent object too.
• Use the moon/<name> namespace for moons (matching existing convention); other virtual-object namespaces should follow the pattern of what they represent.

Step 8 — Image (optional but recommended)

Same sourcing rules as v1 — look for a freely licensed image:

• NASA (nasa.gov, hubblesite.org, webb.nasa.gov) — public domain
• ESA/Hubble or ESA/Webb (esahubble.org, esawebb.org) — CC BY 4.0, attribute
• ESO (eso.org) — CC BY 4.0, attribute
• Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0, attribute
• Avoid images with unclear or more restrictive licenses.

Invoke the skymap.celestial-image skill (v2 version — same 480×800 WebP pipeline as v1, same app/src/main/assets/celestial_images/<category>/ destination) to process and deploy it. After it completes, set image_ref (Step 7) to the returned path and add image_credit in the info card (Step 6).

Step 9 — Verify

• dso.csv row added with correct decimal-degree RA/Dec (or skipped for virtual objects)
• names/en.csv has a primary row; aliases added where relevant
• Catalog designations added to names/universal.csv
• info_cards/en.json entry present and the file is still valid JSON
• objects.json entry present with image_ref if an image was added
• If image added: file exists at app/src/main/assets/celestial_images/<category>/<name>.webp
• Sanity-build the catalog: ./gradlew :data:generateCatalogDb (no manual step needed otherwise — it's wired into the normal build)

Reference — Coordinate Conversion

RA:  h m s  →  (h + m/60 + s/3600) * 15   (decimal degrees — NOT decimal hours, unlike v1!)
Dec: D° M' S"  →  ±(D + M/60 + S/3600)     (decimal degrees, negative = south)

Example: RA 9h 28m 41.28s → (9 + 28/60 + 41.28/3600) × 15 = 142.1719 Example: Dec −49° 36′ 38.46″ → −(49 + 36/60 + 38.46/3600) = −49.6107

This differs from v1, which stores RA in decimal hours — v2's dso.csv/stars.csv store RA in decimal degrees throughout (ra_deg column). Don't reuse a v1 decimal-hours value directly.

Reference — Existing Object Patterns

Object	Id	Type
Crab Nebula (M1)	dso/m1	nebula.supernova_remnant
Cygnus X-1	dso/cygnus_x_1	black_hole
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)	dso/m31	galaxy.spiral
Io (Jupiter's moon)	moon/io	moon (virtual, parent: "planet/jupiter")
Orionids meteor shower	shower/orionids	meteor_shower (virtual, fixed ra/dec/activity)

Valid top-level type roots (see source-data/types.json for the full hierarchy): star, planet, dwarf_planet, moon, constellation, galaxy, cluster, nebula, star_cloud, asterism, black_hole, meteor_shower, other.