| Alternative names | WDS |
|---|---|
TheWashington Double Star Catalog, orWDS, is acatalog ofdouble stars, maintained at theUnited States Naval Observatory. The catalog contains positions,magnitudes,proper motions andspectral types and has entries for (as of January 2024) 157,012 pairs of double stars. The catalog also includesmultiple stars. In general, a multiple star withn components will be represented by entries in the catalog forn-1 pairs of stars.
The database used to construct the WDS originated atLick Observatory, where it was used to construct theIndex Catalog of Visual Double Stars, published in 1963. In 1965, under the initiative of Charles Worley, it was transferred to the Naval Observatory.[1]
The catalog has since been augmented by many measurements, mainly from theHipparcos and Tycho catalogues and results fromspeckle interferometry, as well as other sources. A unique 1–3 letterdiscovery code is used to identify the observer who reported the information. For example, HEI is used for the German astronomerW. D. Heintz.[2]
These files are no longer updated. This is an archival website for the 2001.0 edition of the Washington Double Star Catalog. The last major update to this site was 26 September 2001 by Brian Mason.