Data Lab Help Desk - Recent activity

Commented: I’m unable to install Ananke because the NOIRLab Data Lab environment does not provide a C/C++ compiler (gcc), which is required to build its Galaxia backend, so could compiler support be enabled or an alternative environment recommended?

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:56:15 +0000

Thank you. Yes, that is the link to the package that we were trying to install.

Answered: System offline again: mydatabase and ASQLqueries are offline (No catalogs and SQL offline)

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:24:29 +0000

Issue was resolved.

Answered: I'm unable to launch Jupyter notebook server

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:24:06 +0000

Thank you for reaching out. We had service outages around that time, which have been resolved in the meantime. Please let us know again should you experience more issues.

Answered: Data Explorer Systems offline (Mar 4)

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:23:12 +0000

Thank you for notifying us. We had some outages around thse dates, which have been seubsequently resolved.

Answered: Datalab Login trouble

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:22:33 +0000

Problem was resolved over email.

Answered: Table not found in TapSchema

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:21:47 +0000

The number added to your mydb tables is just the userID that's used internally. As to the issue you experienced: we had an outage of the MyDB services at that time.

local variable 'job' referenced before assignment

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:34:29 +0000

Hi,

I was trying to run the python code

from dl import authClient as ac, queryClient as qc

token = ac.login(input("Enter user name: (+ENTER) "),getpass("Enter password: (+ENTER) "))

query = '''SELECT d.*, z.id, z.targetid, xu.id1, xu.id2, xu.distance, u.unwise_objid, u.fluxlbs_w1, u.fluxlbs_w2, u.fracflux_w1, u.fracflux_w2, u.mag_w1_vg, u.mag_w2_vg, u.nm_w1, u.nm_w2, u.qf_w1, u.qf_w2, u.rchi2_w1, u.rchi2_w2
FROM mydb://desi_star AS d
INNER JOIN desi_dr1.zpix AS z
ON z.targetid=d.targetid
INNER JOIN unwise_dr1.x1p5__object__desi_dr1__zpix AS xu
ON xu.id2=z.id
INNER JOIN unwise_dr1.object AS u
ON xu.id1=u.unwise_objid
WHERE xu.distance < 1'''
try:
qc.query(adql=query,async_=True,wait=True,poll=15,verbose=1, timeout=86400, \
out='vos://desixunwise_star.csv', fmt='csv')
except Exception as e:
print(e.message)

And got this:

Error: local variable 'job' referenced before assignment

Is there something wrong with the code?

Answer selected: A question about the ID format in the desi_dr1.x1p5zpixsdss_dr17__specobj cross-match table

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 05:14:33 +0000

Thank you for your question. I ran a simple test query:

SELECT TOP 10 x.id1, x.id2, z.z, s.z
FROM desi_dr1.x1p5__zpix__sdss_dr17__specobj AS x
JOIN desi_dr1.zpix AS z ON z.id = x.id1
JOIN sdss_dr17.specobj AS s ON s.specobjid = x.id2

This returned 10 results as expected; in this case id1 is exactly desi_dr1.zpix.id, and you can use that to obtain any data from the corresponding rows of desi_dr1.zpix. However, desi_dr1.zpix.id is specific to that table and is intended for queries like the one above, rather than being a universal identifier of DESI objects.

To help you further, could you please describe in more detail the sort of query you are attempting to construct?

Answered: I'd like to query LS DR10 sources that are close to the survey detection limit; can you please show me which flags to use to ensure I get decent photometry?

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 21:37:22 +0000

The detection threshold can be found in ls_dr10.tractor.dchisq_1, where (PSF) sources with ls_dr10.tractor.dchisq_1 near 25 will be near our 5-sigma detection limit (summed across all optical bands). So one could choose 25 < ls_dr10.tractor.dchisq_1 < 49 to get those sources between 5- and 7-sigma detection.

Answered: How to download data with no limit in size

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:28:53 +0000

This is not a use case we support or encourage. Data Lab was built as a science platform where users can perform, for instance, well-designed queries which filter down the result set to what you actually want. Bulk downloads are often available from the survey teams themselves.

If you could provide (much) more specific information of what you are actually trying to achieve, we will be happy to support you in finding the right solution.

Answered: I want to run a query of the DESI DRR1 QSOAGN table, so that only sources with coordinates within the eROSITA public footprint are returned. The basic syntax is: SELECT TOP 100 * FROM desi_dr1.agnqso I want to get all sources in the eROSITA footprint

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:26:13 +0000

Hello,

it is likely very inefficient to request all sources in DESI DR1 that are within the eROSITA footprint. Unless you have very specific requirements to do so, may I suggest that you instead perform a cross-matching query for all sources of interest in the eROSITA survey (have a list of their IDs, RA, and Dec values, upload it as a table to your MyDB in Data Lab), within a desired search radius (usually in arcseconds). Then, retrieve those with matches in DESI DR1.

Examples of how to do crossmatches on Data Lab are in several of our Jupyter notebooks, for instance in this one:

https://github.com/astro-datalab/notebooks-latest/blob/master/04_HowTos/CrossmatchTables/How_to_crossmatch_tables.ipynb

You can also do cross-matches using our website, but with more restrictions on the number of rows for instance:

https://datalab.noirlab.edu/legacy/xmatch.php

Answered: Hi there! I think the jupyter server is offline. I am struggling to access my work :-(

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:36:23 +0000

Sorry for the temporary outage of services. They have been restored in the meantime.

Answered: Offline services (Feb 6)

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:35:51 +0000

Issue has been resolved.

Answered: Queries offline again (Feb 12)

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:35:31 +0000

The issue has been resolved.

Answered: How to get a token?

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:34:54 +0000

Just log in, either on the notebook server, or locally using the datalab Python package, or locally using the datalab command-line client.

Most of our example notebooks show how to log in in a Python environment (locally or on our notebook server): https://github.com/astro-datalab/notebooks-latest/

And the User Manual describes how to log in using the command-line client:

https://datalab.noirlab.edu/docs/manual/UsingAstroDataLab/CommandLineTools/TheDatalabCommand/TheDatalabCommand.html#data-lab-command-line-client

The token will be stored in your environment.

Answered: No catalos and SQL offline (Feb 12)

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:17:56 +0000

Thank you for reaching out. The systems are now back online.

Answered: Table upload to myDB from Web Explorer does not work

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 19:30:10 +0000

Hi, it looks like you have duplicate column names "ra" and "dec". Once those are removed or renamed, the upload to MyDB should work. I tried your example with renamed columns and it uploaded successfully. Let me know if it works for you or if you continue to run into issues!

Closed: hpix_4092 is given as float

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 06:57:31 +0000

in des_dr2.coverage, hpix_4092 is provided as float, though it should be bigint as shown in the schema browser.
Any way to retrieve hpix_4092 correctly?

Answered: Data Explorer Systems offline (Feb 2)

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:35:02 +0000

Thank you for reaching out. Should be fixed now.

Commented: Installing a custom package on astro data lab

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:38:13 +0000

Woops I wasn't notified that you responded. I've tried that and it theoretically installs, but then the package isn't available when I try to import it. I'm doing it in the ANTARES python environment. I'm first trying to install pymultinest, a preq for BAGLE. Any advice?

Commented: Download failure

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:20:33 +0000

Oh yes sorry I forgot to include that in my original reply but yep you got it, you need to be logged in with authClient first

Commented: Why am I unable to upload tables to MyDB?

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 19:49:02 +0000

Yes, I was initially using uppercase letters in my table name, but a look through some examples later I stuck to names like `data_2mass` (no .csv).

I also did try `mydb_import` from the client as well as the notebook. Same issue. No complaints when I call `mydb_create`, but if I try to list tables in `mydb` after that, it's empty. If I then try to `mydb_insert`, it throws an error.

Answered: Can't upload table to My DB

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:25:21 +0000

To import data into a MyDB table you should use `mydb_import`. This works for existing tables or the table can be created on the fly. The method `mydb_create` only creates a table using a provided schema.

Additionally, be sure your table name is only using lowercase letters and underscores.

See our documentation which provides more information and examples.

Answered: TLS certificate has expired

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:51:32 +0000

Thank you for notifying us, we should have caught it before you ;-) It's been renewed now.
Best,
Robert for Data Lab

Commented: Unable to make any queries since LS10 outage

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 14:47:56 +0000

Yep, I'm stil having this issue with the query timing out.

> query= "SELECT a.rax, a.decx, a.flux, a.quality, b.ls_id, b.brick_primary, b.ra, b.dec, b.mag_r, b.mag_g, b.mag_i, b.mag_w1, b.mag_w2, b.mag_w3, b.mag_w4, b.fracflux_r\n"
query+="FROM mydb://rosobjs AS a, ls_dr10.tractor as b\n"
query+="WHERE q3c_join(a.rax, a.decx, b.ra, b.dec,"+str(search_rad/3600.0)+");"
> res = qc.query(sql=query,fmt='table')

queryClientError: Error: QM: Query timeout at 300 sec

Using the similar queries which had previously worked do not appear to work anymore.

Answered: cross-matching query is timing out

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 22:02:13 +0000

Hello, we noticed that your issues occurred when we were in the middle of switching between two different database machines. Could you please confirm whether you are still experiencing the issues?

I would like to be able to use Galfit. It this possible, and if so, how can I install it and its dependencies?

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:39:36 +0000

Dear Astro Datalab support,

I would like to know if it's possible to install Galfit on the server, or if anyone has any advice on how to get a local user installation working within the limited linux environment available. I'd love to be able to work with students with limited computing resources available to them on analyzing host galaxy morphologies on the datalab if it's possible to do so! I got stuck trying to install dependencies (cfitsio; I tried with conda through the conda-forge channel and encountered a number of issues). If anyone has any insights or experience, please let me know!

Best,

Kristina

Answered: Cannot access the https://astrosparcl.datalab.noirlab.edu

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 02:50:26 +0000

Thank you for your report. We've found that our bot filtering tools are too aggressive and are banning legitimate users. We're working on fixing this issue for the next SPARCL release. In the meantime, there should be a temporary fix in place for you to continue with your regular research. Let us know if you continue to have problems!

Answered: DESI DR1 VAC

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 16:14:35 +0000

Hi, is there a particular DESI DR1 VAC that you have in mind? We currently have the desi_dr1.agnqso VAC and plan to also add the Milky Way Survey VAC. But any others from their list of VACs?

datalab storeClient public vospace not working

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 03:00:00 +0000

Hello,

I have a set of files stored in my public directory: aspatel://public/di_packets_F475W. However, when I try to access them when signed into another datalab other than aspatel using,

sc.get("aspatel://public/di_packets_F475W", "DI_x21_y81.fits")

I get,

['Error: The user does not have sufficient access privileges for this operation.']

This does not happen when I retrieve files from my other public vospace directory aspatel://public/di_packets_v3 and when signed into a different datalab account (other than aspatel). Any assistance would be helpful.

Datalab Fails Again

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:49:30 +0000

Hi, I was using datalab earlier to access Euclid Q1 data. But suddenly it started to fail and unable to load catalog and perform any sql search etc. Cleared cookies, tried other browsers, same issue.

It is down or it's user-end issue? Because the system seems green and online.

Answered: It's still not working

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 21:39:40 +0000

It should be working again, though we are tracking down the root cause, so it might happen again.

Answered: Data Explorer Down

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 19:21:49 +0000

Thank you for alerting us. We have restarted a stuck service, things should be working again.

Answered: LSST SIM reference needs updating

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 17:24:18 +0000

Thank you for letting us know! I changed it to:

Those who use LSST SIM data products should cite Dal Tio et al 2022.

Let me know if this is sufficient or if you'd like me to rephrase it.

Noirlab/datalab is down, cannot access catalog metadata

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 08:01:58 +0000

Dear astro data lab team,

I am trying to find column descriptions to a Euclid_Q1 catalog I downloaded earlier.

On https://datalab.noirlab.edu/data-explorer, on both firefox and epiphany(chrome), I get "Error: unable to load catalogs", whether logged in or not.

The "systems online" status tool says everything is online.

There is no static website on noirlab anymore that has column descriptions. This is unfortunate.

It is not possible to fall back on or create an archive.org copy of the noirlab data documentation pages. https://web.archive.org/web/20250820075851/https://datalab.noirlab.edu/data-explorer?showTable=euclid_q1.object

It would be great if FITS files downloaded with the "datalab" tool had their column descriptions (TCOMM) filled in.

Cheers,
Johannes

Answered: i was trying to login in my account in notebook, it was giving the output anonymous.

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 19:01:38 +0000

Thanks for reaching out. An account becomes suspended either after a year of not logging in, or after a number of failed login attempts. We have unsuspended your account now. Please let us know if you encounter further trouble.

Answered: Looks like the stale DB problem is back!

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 20:28:56 +0000

Thanks for your heads-up (again!) We are investigating the root cause. In the meantime, a manual reset of some stale connections should have made the service running again.

Commented: Can't access personal tables in myDB

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 18:16:31 +0000

Hi all! I'm also seeing that this issue has returned. Looks like the same problem.

Answered: SIA server down?

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 19:30:41 +0000

Thank you for reaching out. The backend service should be working again. We appreciate your patience.

Commented: unable to load a csv catalogue

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 04:13:44 +0000

Hi Robert, Thanks a lot for your check. Your suggestion (to use in the name of the file to upload only small-caps letters, digits, underscore symbol, and the first letter not be a digit) worked for me.

csv catalogue

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 06:32:09 +0000

Commented: Still getting gateway timeout error before my supplied timeout has expired

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 01:21:46 +0000

Since I could not reliably run my query, I broke it up into several queries. The initial query had a spatial condition so this wasn't especially difficult to do, but I have to put heuristics in my code to guess at the partitioning: fine enough that all queries would complete successfully but not much finer, since using finer partitioning than necessary leads to some inefficiency. It would help if error reporting made it clear that the problem had to do with returned data size.

Answered: Is there a limit on the size of files that can be loaded into mydb?

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:01:29 +0000

Hi, and sorry for the late reply. If you let us know the names of the two zero-size failed tables, we can try to delete them from your mydb.

A 17GB table doesn't exceed any limits on the DB. But in practical terms, there are many small factors that can contribute to a long upload failing, including formatting errors (usually only of concert for CSV files) and sometimes also overall server load.

If you were not able in the meantime to import your file correctly to MyDB, maybe you could place it inside the "public/" folder on your VOSpace and let us know via email (to datalab@noirlab.edu, and reference this helpdesk ticket) about it? I can then try to understand what's causing the import issues.

Answered: 'Bad Gateway' error return when trying to run an SQL query

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 23:44:02 +0000

Hi, a 502 usually happens when there is a problem server-side. We hope this was resolved in the meantime. If you encounter the problem again, please don't hesitate to reach out again.

Answered: Reference my earlier question. Problem solved.

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 23:41:48 +0000

Only seeing this one post under your user name. Maybe the previous one you submitted anonymously?

Answered: 502 Bad Gateway

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 23:39:55 +0000

We hope it was an intermittent server issue. Closing ticket.

Answered: how do I see my user space

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 19:36:33 +0000

Hi, I assume you mean the user remote file storage?

On the website, in the Data Explorer, you can see, download, and upload files:

https://datalab.noirlab.edu/docs/manual/UsingAstroDataLab/WebPortal/DataExplorer/DataSourcesPanel/DataSourcesPanel.html

Programmatically, you can use the storeClient. See this notebook for examples:

https://github.com/astro-datalab/notebooks-latest/blob/master/04_HowTos/StoreClient/How_to_use_the_Data_Lab_StoreClient.ipynb

You can also interface with your VOSpace from your local computer if you have the datalab command-line tool installed:

https://github.com/astro-datalab/datalab

Commented: Jupyter server down?

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 23:06:59 +0000

Yes, it started working normally within 90 minutes of my report. I cannot be more precise because I was not monitoring it closely - it was my students who first reported the "outage". Thanks for getting back to me!

Dave

Commented: What is the allowable range in Sersic index for the 'SER'-type objects?

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 08:35:56 +0000

Hey Ben, yeah, I did subsequently ask Dustin via email on 16th June, but haven't heard back yet. Thanks for the reminder re: https://help.desi.lbl.gov -- I've posted my question there now

Answered: Querying ls_dr9.apflux on ls_id returns many blank rows

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:05:53 +0000

What happens when you replace both "LEFT JOIN"s with just "JOIN"?