<p>The Hipparcos catalogue by van Leeuwen (2007) contains all the information you require, plus estimates of distance from parallax. It is open and free to use for scientific purposes.</p>

<p><a href="http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=I%2F311" rel="nofollow">http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=I%2F311</a></p>

<p>The direct page that describes the catalogue contents and ftp site is <a href="http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?I/311" rel="nofollow">http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?I/311</a></p>

<p>The tables themselves are at <a href="ftp://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/pub/cats/I/311" rel="nofollow">ftp://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/pub/cats/I/311</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-12T01:33:05.123Z
@uhoh This is an open source catalogue for scientific use. There is no paywall, and you didn't encounter one. If you intend some sort of commercial use you will have to make your own arrangements with ESA. Could you not find your way to where the entire catalogue can be downloaded? have added the link to the table descriptions page (which you'll need) that has links to ftp downloads of the entire catalogue.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-12T01:35:39.107Z
@uhoh ps The query page I sent you *does* allow you to download as much of the table as you like. The option is in the preferences box on the left hand side, in a drop-down box labelled "max".
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-12T01:37:32.403Z
@uhoh I've added it.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-12T01:47:04.143Z
OK this seems to work! I've clicked only the boxes I need, typed `<6.5` for magnitude, and after some coaching from @RobJeffries I looked on the left where it says "preferences" and changed Max: to *unlimited* and the format to ASCII, and received 7,982 stars! I'll follow up with ESA, but I'm non-commercial, this is a personal "science project." Thanks!!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-12T08:25:59.420Z
@uhoh Good. The catalogue is completely free and open for scientific and non-commercial use.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-11T07:49:45.850Z
2016-03-12T01:38:45.920Z
2016-03-12T01:38:45.920Z
ProfRob
<p>I'm looking for a link to a table of visible stars that is open and available to everyone. It should have magnitude, RA, dec, and possibly some indication of color. This will be used to produce somewhat realistic night skies as a backdrop for showing the motion of the planets in the sky.</p>

<p>I'm not so interested in names, constellations, etc. These are of course useful to know and possibly to plot, but what I'm primarily after is the information necessary to illustrate star position, brightness, and some color information.</p>

<p><strong>edit:</strong> to reiterate, "<em>...table of visible stars that is open and available to eveyone.</em>" I'm assuming that in 2016 the visible stars are not behind a paywall, am I wrong? Approx RA, dec, mag - are these available for open access and usage?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-22T15:13:03.727Z
@barrycarter Yikes!! Is there some way that can preserve all of that information - some kind of community wiki like was [done here](http://space.stackexchange.com/a/16713/12102) and [also here](http://meta.space.stackexchange.com/q/249/12102)? Of course curating the Astronomy SE Q&A is also important. I can offer to help if necessary but I don't know how to go about it alone.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T16:22:38.310Z
@barrycarter OK that's great - it makes the most sense just to update the wiki you've started. I'll take a look and try to consolidate there. Thanks!
uhoh
<astrometry><star-catalogues>
Open access table of visible stars with magnitude, coordinates, and possibly color?
uhoh
# Open access table of visible stars with magnitude, coordinates, and possibly color?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-11)

I'm looking for a link to a table of visible stars that is open and available to everyone. It should have magnitude, RA, dec, and possibly some indication of color. This will be used to produce somewhat realistic night skies as a backdrop for showing the motion of the planets in the sky.

I'm not so interested in names, constellations, etc. These are of course useful to know and possibly to plot, but what I'm primarily after is the information necessary to illustrate star position, brightness, and some color information.

**edit:** to reiterate, "*...table of visible stars that is open and available to eveyone.*" I'm assuming that in 2016 the visible stars are not behind a paywall, am I wrong? Approx RA, dec, mag - are these available for open access and usage?

**Tags:** astrometry, star-catalogues

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @barrycarter Yikes!! Is there some way that can preserve all of that information - some kind of community wiki like was [done here](http://space.stackexchange.com/a/16713/12102) and [also here](http://meta.space.stackexchange.com/q/249/12102)? Of course curating the Astronomy SE Q&A is also important. I can offer to help if necessary but I don't know how to go about it alone.  
> **username_0**: @barrycarter OK that's great - it makes the most sense just to update the wiki you've started. I'll take a look and try to consolidate there. Thanks!  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-03-11. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

The Hipparcos catalogue by van Leeuwen (2007) contains all the information you require, plus estimates of distance from parallax. It is open and free to use for scientific purposes.

<http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=I%2F311>

The direct page that describes the catalogue contents and ftp site is <http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?I/311>

The tables themselves are at <ftp://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/pub/cats/I/311>

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: @username_0 This is an open source catalogue for scientific use. There is no paywall, and you didn't encounter one. If you intend some sort of commercial use you will have to make your own arrangements with ESA. Could you not find your way to where the entire catalogue can be downloaded? have added the link to the table descriptions page (which you'll need) that has links to ftp downloads of the entire catalogue.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 ps The query page I sent you *does* allow you to download as much of the table as you like. The option is in the preferences box on the left hand side, in a drop-down box labelled "max".  
> **username_1**: @username_0 I've added it.  
> **username_0**: OK this seems to work! I've clicked only the boxes I need, typed `<6.5` for magnitude, and after some coaching from @RobJeffries I looked on the left where it says "preferences" and changed Max: to *unlimited* and the format to ASCII, and received 7,982 stars! I'll follow up with ESA, but I'm non-commercial, this is a personal "science project." Thanks!!  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Good. The catalogue is completely free and open for scientific and non-commercial use.  

---

