ANCH0R

Website: https://dpesce.github.io/ANCH0R

The ANCH0R program is conducting a volume-limited survey to search every galaxy within 20 Mpc for 22 GHz water megamaser emission, with the goal of finding "the next NGC 4258." The ANCH0R survey makes use of the Green Bank Telescope, the Effelsberg 100m telescope, and the Sardinia Radio Telescope.

This repository contains a static GitHub Pages coordination site. It tracks the master target catalog, campaign observation status, links to spectrum images, and provides a browser-side target planner for upcoming observing sessions.

Repository Layout

data/
  raw/                    Original telescope source lists
  observations.csv         Observation history, assessments, and spectrum links
  master_targets.csv       Generated review table
public/
  data/catalog.json        Generated website data
  spectra/                 Spectrum images linked from observations.csv
scripts/
  build_catalog.py         Builds generated catalog products
  validate_data.py         Validates source and campaign CSV files
src/                       Vite/React/TypeScript website

The raw source lists remain the telescope-specific inputs. Campaign progress is tracked through ordinary CSV edits in data/observations.csv.

Local Development

Requirements:

• Python 3.10 or newer
• Node.js 22 or newer
• pnpm

Build the generated catalog:

python3 scripts/build_catalog.py

Validate the catalog inputs:

python3 scripts/validate_data.py

Install website dependencies and start the development server:

corepack enable
pnpm install
pnpm run dev

Vite will print a local URL. Open the /ANCH0R/ path, typically:

http://localhost:5173/ANCH0R/

Build the deployed static site:

pnpm run build

Updating Campaign State

To mark a target as observed, add a row to data/observations.csv with status set to observed. Successful observations require:

• rms_mjy_per_1_km_s: RMS noise in mJy per 1 km/s spectral channel
• data_quality: trusted, possible_pointing_problems, possible_other_problems, or untrusted
• detection_status: detected, marginal, or undetected

A target that was attempted but not observed uses status=failed, with blank RMS, data-quality, and detection fields. Put spectrum images under public/spectra/ and use a site-relative URL such as /ANCH0R/spectra/example.png in the spectrum_url column.

After editing data files:

python3 scripts/validate_data.py
python3 scripts/build_catalog.py
git add data public/data public/spectra
git commit
git push

GitHub Actions validates the data, builds the site, and deploys GitHub Pages on pushes to main.

Data Notes

Target IDs are generated from source names. If a source name ever appears for multiple physical targets, the builder appends a coordinate suffix to keep the ID stable and unique.

The target-level detection status shown on the website comes from the last successfully observed row for that target that contains a detection assessment. This keeps repeated observations in the history while allowing a later report to update the current classification.

The target planner uses telescope eligibility from the source lists and a browser-side altitude calculation based on the site coordinates in src/lib/telescopes.ts. It is intended for campaign coordination, not final telescope scheduling constraints.

Filtered GBT targets and the complete available GBT catalog are exported as fixed-width .cat source catalogs. The format follows examples/example_GBT_catalog.cat, including its header and column alignment. Filtered SRT targets and the complete available SRT catalog are exported as .txt schedule catalogs following examples/example_SRT_catalog.txt, with the template header retained and one Nodcal/SARDARA row per target. Effelsberg and combined catalogs remain CSV until additional telescope-specific formats are added.

Observing Reports

The report page first shows an in-app confirmation screen and then opens a prefilled GitHub issue containing a versioned, machine-readable payload. The observing-report workflow validates that payload, adds one row per selected target to data/observations.csv, rebuilds the generated catalog files, and opens a pull request for review. Reports use the current V4 payload format; earlier report formats are intentionally unsupported while the interface is under active design.

License

This repository is distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.