rave-dr6-data-access

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

1. Missing LANG=ADQL in POST. RAVE returns a field-required error.
2. Wrong schema. RAVE does not expose gaiadr3.gaia_source; use ravedr6.* tables.
3. Using Gaia-specific assumptions. RAVE tables and coverage differ.
4. Overclaiming all-sky completeness. RAVE has strong southern coverage bias.
5. Large queries without TOP. Keep probes modest.
6. Rank slicing in ADQL. TAP has no portable OFFSET; query TOP M then slice in pandas if needed.

Verification Checklist

• TAP endpoint reachable with SELECT TOP 1.
• Query uses ravedr6.* table names.
• LANG=ADQL included for curl POST.
• Data cached to Parquet and preview CSV.
• Coverage caveat included in plot/report.
• Final task uses REANA when requested.