Aladin Desktop

Aladin Desktop is a Java‑based application for visualizing and manipulating digitized astronomical images and surveys. It lets users overlay entries from catalogues and databases, and retrieve related information from services such as Simbad and VizieR for any object in the field. The tool supports a wide range of data collections—including DSS, SDSS, PanSTARRS, Gaia, and many others—along with numerous image, cube, and table formats, and it can handle unlimited image sizes and millions of source overlays.

The interface provides interactive navigation (zoom, pan, rotate) and supports multiple projections and coordinate systems (FK4, FK5, ICRS, GAL, etc.). Users can apply colour maps, contours, cropping, mosaicking, photometric measurements, and catalog operations such as filtering, merging, cross‑matching, and scatter plotting. Compliance with Virtual Observatory standards (e.g., JSAMP, TAP, SSA) enables interoperation with other analysis tools.

Aladin Desktop runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux and can be launched with a bundled Java runtime or any standard Java distribution. It is extensible through plugins and a VOApp interface, fully scriptable, and available in multiple languages, making it a versatile environment for multi‑wavelength data exploration and scientific research.