Tools for interrogating the Catalogues
Catalogue Search Facility
This online tool allows users to extract data from the Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues by using the HIP, HD or TYC identifiers. The search tool retrieves data from the Catalogues with field descriptions plus access to light curves, Double and Multiple Systems Annex and Variability Annex (where appropriate). This tool is appropriate for queries on individual entries.
 
Don't know the HIP number for your favorite star?
Check our Common Star Name table or the SIMBAD source name resolver.
 
Star Mapper visualisation
The ESA Star Mapper visualisation is an exploration of some central aspects of astrometric star catalogues, using data from ESA’s Hipparcos mission. This interactive experience allows users to delve into this dataset, exploring the three-dimensional distribution of almost 60,000 stars from the Hipparcos Catalogue. Stars are visualised as a function of their brightness; it is also possible to show their colours, as well as names and parent constellations for the brightest stars. Users can get a sense of where in the sky stars were located in the past – or will be in the future – based on their motions measured by Hipparcos. A visualisation of the 'Hertzsprung-Russell diagram', a tool used by astronomers to study the evolution of stars, is provided as well. The tool can be accessed here.
 
Java Tools
The Hipparcos Java Package is an interactive tool allowing users to show sky regions and animate them with proper motions, show and explore photometric light curves, and show and explore intermediate astrometric data.
 
Intermediate Astrometric Data
The Hipparcos Intermediate Astrometric Data are the one-dimensional coordinates (abscissae) on reference great circles obtained, by an independent analysis but using the same basic satellite data, by the FAST and NDAC Data Reduction Consortia. The data is available for all Hipparcos entries. Further information is available here.
 
Transit Data
The Hipparcos Transit Data file summarises intermediate astrometric and photometric information at the level of individual crossings of targets across the main grid of the Hipparcos instrument. The data is available for 38535 Hipparcos entries selected mainly on account of their known or suspected multiplicity, or as being parts of observations where the signal may be contaminated by the influence of another target close to the edge of the field of view. Further information is available here.
 
Interactive data access tool
The Hipparcos data access software provides tools to interrogate and display the Hipparcos data from overall statistics to the solution details for individual stars. It also provides access to large sets of ground-based photometric and spectroscopic data, where the Hipparcos information on (in particular) parallaxes can give insight into colour-index dependencies. Relevant calibration data are also made available.