I've been using the VSP API for fetching CCD photometry tables using the variable star's name just fine. I've got a project underway to detect photometry changes by comparing the current photometry table to a previously-fetched table. To do that, I tried using the version of the VSP API that allows fetching photometry using chart ID, e.g.:
https://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/vsp.pl?chartid=16940AU&fov=30&maglimit=16.5&ccdtable=on&delimited=yes
What is provided back in the response includes only one star, and that star has an incorrect RA of 00:00:00.
But if I do a query using the starname, everything seems okay:
https://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/vsp.pl?name=AX%20And&charttitle=AX%20And&fov=30&maglimit=16.5&ccdtable=on&delimited=yes
Have I stumbled on a bug? Or am I mis-using the API? Is this how fetching by chart ID is supposed to work? (And, is there an easier way to know when the photometry for a given star is changed?)
- Mark Munkacsy, MMU
Portsmouth, RI (USA)
The API to use to fetch photometry is:
https://www.aavso.org/apps/vsp/api/chart/16940AU/?format=xml
The old API using vsp.pl is deprecated. This kind of dodges your question of "is there a bug" here.
We are trying to keep the https://www.aavso.org/apis-aavso-resources page up to date. And if you have questions, please do ask. And yes, I see that this reply to your question is a year old. Sigh.
The second question you ask is pretty interesting: Is there an easier way to know when the photometry for a given star is changed? There should be a way to query the VSD (the db holding the comp star references) or one could be made. So, please do ask that question again.
George
(Sorry if this has been asked somewhere else before -- I searched but couldn't see and answer that was relevant. I certainly didn't look at every post.)
I can retrieve the JSON or XML version of a chart, which includes the detailed photometry information when available. Rather than having to write my own script to recreate a table view of that photometry data, is there an API call that will retrieve a ready-made table similar to the "deprecated" table view of the photometry data, viewable in a browser? Thanks, Dick