FreeHow credits work →
SI
Astronomical objectsSIMBAD TAP sync

SIMBAD

SIMBAD is the astronomical object database kept by the CDS at the Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory in France. It records identifiers and basic data for objects outside the Solar System. Through ScholarMuse an agent can give an object name or catalogue identifier and get the main identifier, object type, coordinates, parallax, proper motion, radial velocity, spectral type, magnitudes and up to ten other names.

ScholarMuse tools: lookup_astro_object. Each successful call uses credits.

Use in my agent

Ask your agent

What are the coordinates and spectral type of Betelgeuse?
What type of object is M87, and what is its radial velocity?
What other catalogue names does HD 209458 have, and how far away is it?

What your agent gets back

Every record carries id, source, title, url, license, attribution and retrievedAt. The fields below are the data that comes from SIMBAD.

lookup_astro_object

One SIMBAD record for the matched object. distancePc is a simple 1/parallax value. Fields with no value in SIMBAD are omitted.

mainId
SIMBAD main identifier
objectType
Object type in words, e.g. a kind of star or galaxy
raDeg
Right ascension in degrees (ICRS, J2000)
decDeg
Declination in degrees (ICRS, J2000)
parallaxMas
Parallax in milliarcseconds
distancePc
1/parallax distance in parsecs
pmRaMasYr
Proper motion in RA, mas per year
pmDecMasYr
Proper motion in Dec, mas per year
radialVelocityKmS
Radial velocity in km/s
spectralType
Spectral type
vMag
V-band magnitude (bMag gives B)
identifiers
Up to 10 other names, common ones first

What it covers

  • Stars, galaxies, nebulae and other objects outside the Solar System that have an identifier in SIMBAD.
  • Common names (Betelgeuse) and catalogue identifiers (M31, HD 209458, NGC 224) are both accepted.
  • Basic data only: type, position, parallax, proper motion, radial velocity, spectral type, V and B magnitudes.

Limits

  • One object per call, found by its name or identifier; there is no search by coordinates or by object type.
  • The name must be one SIMBAD knows. An unknown name returns an error, not a list of near matches.
  • Solar System bodies are not in SIMBAD, and the bibliography and measurement tables are not returned.
  • Only 10 of an object's other identifiers are listed; identifierCount gives the number read, up to 200.

How ScholarMuse reaches SIMBAD

The connector sends ADQL queries to the SIMBAD TAP sync service at simbad.cds.unistra.fr: one to match the name in the identifier table and read the basic data, one to list the object's other identifiers. No API key is sent.

Responses are cached for up to 14 days, so recent edits in SIMBAD can take that long to appear.

API key: the upstream API can be called without one, so you do not add one.

Licence and attribution

Licence: CDS General Terms and Conditions (cds.unistra.fr/legals); citation of CDS/SIMBAD required

This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France (CDS/SIMBAD; Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).

Records that come from SIMBAD carry this licence and attribution. When you cite the data in a paper, follow SIMBAD's own citation guidance.

Capabilities that use SIMBAD

Exoplanets & stars

Exoplanets & stars

Astronomy · NASA Exoplanet Archive, Gaia Archive, SIMBAD

Related sources

NASA Exoplanet ArchiveGaia Archive

FAQ

ScholarMuse is not an official SIMBAD product. It is one MCP server for academic data, and its lookup_astro_object tool queries SIMBAD. An agent connected to ScholarMuse can use SIMBAD without a separate server.

No. The SIMBAD API can be called without a key, and ScholarMuse does not ask you for one. You sign in to ScholarMuse once and your agent calls the tool.

The connector sends ADQL queries to the SIMBAD TAP sync service at simbad.cds.unistra.fr: one to match the name in the identifier table and read the basic data, one to list the object's other identifiers. No API key is sent. Responses are cached for up to 14 days, so recent edits in SIMBAD can take that long to appear.

CDS General Terms and Conditions (cds.unistra.fr/legals); citation of CDS/SIMBAD required. Attribution: This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France (CDS/SIMBAD; Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9). Records that come from SIMBAD carry this licence and attribution.

Yes. Each successful call to lookup_astro_object uses credits, and a call that fails is not charged. Current price: Exoplanets & stars, 1 credit / call.