THE JOURNAL OF ASTRONOMICAL DATA. INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS ============================================================ Contributions to JAD should describe in short the astrophysical background and motive for the scientific work done, a complete description of the data-collecting process, an assessment of the accuracy of the data and, finally, the data. In addition to the data it is also possible to submit a paper with the analysis or the scientific interpretation of the data. Submission Papers should be submitted to one of the Scientific Editors: C. Sterken (csterken at vub.ac.be) or Laszlo Szabados (szabados at konkoly.hu) A contribution should include: 1. the manuscript (containing a detailed description of the data, including samples of the data, and the data acquisition process) in pdf format 2. the data (see THE DATA). THE DATA Data should be submitted in FITS format (images and larger tables), although tables are preferred in the format as designed by the CDS, Strasbourg (anonymous ftp: cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr; file: /pub/cats/doc.tex). FITS file headers should also be provided in printed form. For smaller tables (up to ca. 15 Mbyte) a straight ASCII file is also acceptable. Also here, the CDS adopted standard is preferred, but if you choose not to, please adhere to the following. Columns should be separated by TABs or spaces. Multiplication signs and exponents should be indicated by a lower case `x' and a capital `E', respectively. (Examples: 1.305x10E-56, 1x10E+3). Greek characters can be spelled out (e.g. `Delta', `delta', `tau') A detailed description of the contents should be provided in print. A sample of the submitted data should be provided in print. Data can be submitted on CD/DVD-ROM, by email (tar format) or ftp. Please, contact the Editors for detailed instructions. A detailed description of the composition of the data tables or images should be given. If they are in FITS format, the headers of these files should be given as well. Please, provide a sample of images or data that are representative for the entire set of images or data tables on a few A4 (11") sheets. PostScript files can also be used to provide a sample. THE TEXT The manuscript should describe in detail the data acquisition and/or calibration process. The text must be submitted as a LaTeX file using 'article.cls' (parameters for text area 21 x 14 cm). We do not process tex files that call .cls files of other journals. The manuscript should be structured as follows: 1. Title and subtitle. 2. Authors. 3. Affiliations (complete addresses). 4. Abstract. 5. The main text divided into sections and subsections. 6. Acknowledgements. 7. References. 8. Figure captions. 9. Small tables (the data tables should be submitted as separate files). 10. List of data tables and images and their detailed description, like (FITS) headers and samples. Title The title should be typed as the regular text, i.e. starting with a capital and all else lowercase. E.g.: Photometric observations of Beta Cephei. Authors List the names of authors separated by `and' if there are two authors or by comma's if there are more than two authors. Each name should be tagged with a number between parentheses for their affiliation. Individual email addresses can be put between brackets after each name. E.g. Johnson, Q.A. (1) [johnson@inter.net.ad] Affiliation It is preferred that all affiliations should be given with their full postal address. E.g. (1) Astronomy Group, University of Brussels (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Abstract An abstract must inform the reader accurately about the content of the article in less than 200 words. For non-LaTeX users, please let the text precede by the word `Abstract.' Main text The main text is usually divided into sections and subsections. The sectional and subsectional headings should be typed similar to the regular text, i.e. the first word is capitalized while the remaining words are in lowercase letters. For non-LaTeX users: the sectional and subsectional headings should be preceded by: `Section #' or `Subsection #', respectively, where `#' is the number (in arabic numerals) of the section or subsection. The text of a section or subsection should start on a new line. E.g. 'Section 1. Introduction' or, 'Subsection 2.1. The Data' Acknowledgements These can be written at the end of the article. In LaTeX use: \section*{Acknowledgements}. Non-LaTeX users use the word 'Acknowledgements' and start the text on a new line. References 1. In the text: use the author-year notation. For one or two authors use: (Author(s) year) (note: there is no comma between author and year), or: Author(s) (year). If there are two authors, separate them by the word 'and' (not the ampersand '&'). If there are more than two authors, use First Author 'et al.' as the authors name. 2. In the reference list: a. Put the name(s) of authors with their initials behind their name in alphabetical order. b. Year of publication of the paper or book. c. Title of the journal or book. For journals it is allowed to use short abbreviations, as ApJ, AA, AJ, PASP, MNRAS, ApSS, ARAA, etc. d. For a journal, the volume number. For books and proceedings, the publisher. e. The page number(s) to which the reference is made. Examples: Johnson, Q.A. 1995, PASP 124, 45. Johnson, Q.A. and Smith, S. 1996, Icarus 56, 789. Johnson, Q.A. et al. 1997, J. Astron. Data 3, 1. Peterson, X.A. 1993, Analysis Methods, Publisher, 222. Peterson, X.A. 1994, in: Proceedings Title (Editors), Publisher, 332. Figure captions Captions for figures should be typed after the references. The Figures should be numbered with arabic numerals. Table captions Captions for small tables (not the data tables) should be typed after the references. The Tables should be numbered with arabic numerals. NO COPYRIGHT TRANSFER NEEDED Authors of submitted data and papers retain copyright. The Editors will ask for a signed 'permission to publish' with a license to distribute data in other ways than on CD-ROM. These distribution rights will not be sold to third parties. The data, images, figures and text must be submitted free of copyright claims from third parties. The Editorss will not pay fees to buy copyright of the submitted material.