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Data repositories in physics are slightly anomalous. Unlike those in some disciplines who reuse existing data, researchers in physics typically produce their own data for each investigation they conduct, and there is rarely an effort to make those data accessible beyond what is immediately needed to support an investigation's conclusion. However, this does not mean that public repositories don't exist. In fact, many astronomy projects (especially government-affiliated ones) go to great lengths to make their data easily accessible, either through a dedicated website for the project or, in some cases, as part of a more general collection. This page contains links to some of these repositories, separated by their generality. A handful of general, non-astronomical physics data repositories are also included.**
General Astronomical Data
These repositories each contain many types of astronomical data. They often serve as meta-collections of various specialized or single-project repositories. This is a good place to start if you are not sure what specific kind of data you are looking for, or if you are looking for many different types of data.
- Infrared Science Archive (IRSA)Hosts astronomical data for various NASA projects. You can browse through the archive’s dataset collection by project, but the real strength of the site is its Data Discovery tool (accessed via the Search tab at the top), which pulls data about a particular object and a provided region around it. This tool includes data from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED).
- NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)Contains image, spectra, photometry, and redshift data for a variety of extragalactic objects, as well as various related data. The information contained in this database is included in the Infrared Science Archive (IRSA), meaning it can be searched using IRSA's Data Discovery tool; however, the NED website also has its own search and discovery tools.
- NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA)Collection of data and mission information, separated by subject (astrophysics, heliophysics, and solar system exploration). This is even higher-level than IRSA and NED: these two databases are linked within NSSDCA alongside many others. Unfortunately, the search function on this website is not nearly as advanced as that on IRSA or NED.
- Canadian Astronomy Data CentreRepository of data collected by various telescopes throughout Canada. Data can be searched by the target of observation, much like with IRSA and NED.
Specialized Astronomical Data
These repositories each either host a very limited range of astronomical data types or act as a repository for a specific project. Look here if you have a good idea of what type of data you are looking for, or if your research requires data from a specific source.
- Keck Observatory Archive (KOA)As the name suggests, the KOA hosts data gathered at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The site has a sophisticated search tool on its front page that includes filters for the specific instrument used to capture the data, the date the data was captured, and the name or location of the relevant astronomical object. Results can be selected and downloaded individually, or all of the results can be downloaded as a single archive.
- NASA Exoplanet ArchiveThis archive serves as a hub for data NASA has collected on planets (along with their corresponding stars) outside of our solar system. Data is indexed by object name; the search engine returns results for a given object, but it is very particular about the name's format (see the Advanced Search page for detailed information about what is accepted).
- NASA High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC)This is a compilation of data from NASA projects studying the radiation emitted by high-energy astronomical objects. Data can be browsed via a variety of search interfaces. The website also contains general information about all NASA observatories that are studying high-energy targets.
- NASA Planetary Data System (PDS)A collaboration between nine teams spread throughout the country, the PDS collects and makes available planetary data that falls into eight broad categories. The website includes a basic search across all categories (based on the target object or the mission), but each category also has its own website with a more advanced search function.
- NASA Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF)This site contains various data about the sun, our solar system, and trajectories of objects within it. The "Data & Orbit Services" tool is a fairly unique search function that connects particular data services to the particular spacecrafts that produced that data: clicking on a data service selects all spacecraft whose data is available as part of that service, and vice versa.
Non-Astronomical Physics Data
These repositories host physics data outside the realm of astronomy. In most cases, this data takes the form of very general quantities related to atomic and nuclear physics, but it can also include e.g. thermondynamic properties of certain materials.
- National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC)This site hosts a huge variety of data related to nuclear physics, all of which is accessible via a site index or links on the front page (there is not a search function). Examples of the types of data available include the following: nuclear structure and decay data, atomic masses, properties of atomic nuclei, and reaction data.
- Durham High-Energy Physics Database (HEPData)HEPData is a comprehensive collection of data from particle collisions. Unlike many of the other sites on this page, it actually indexes data within the literature: information is extracted from charts and plots within published particle physics papers and is made accessible through a rich search function.
