• Search for images of the bright galaxy M51 in Aladin.
• Try the various image servers: The Aladin image server, Skyview and Sloan Digitial Sky Survey
• Try the 'all VO' access (selecting image servers) - Note the method for selecting images at a given sky location. Clicking in the image puts a tick in the selection boxes of the available data.
• Make a colour composite image using the RGB tool.
• Use the multi-view windows to manage the various images you have in the 'stack'
• Try the 'match' button at the bottom of the image window to align the image for synchronized zooming
• Try the transparency control for viewing images overlaid on each other
• Overlay as SIMBAD identifications using the SIMBAD link in the Server selector window
• Check VizieR via Aladin for more detailed catalogues of HII emitting regions in M51. (e.g. Positions and photometry of HII knots in M51 (Calzetti+, 2005))
• Start Topcat and send tables from Aladin to Topcat (right-click on the plane in the stack, and 'Broadcast selected tables to ...')
• Note interoperability between Topcat and Aladin, e.g. selecting points in both tools (via position in Aladin, and via any plot window in Topcat)
• Make a subset of the brightest HII regions, and send the table back to Aladin using the Topcat 'Interop' menu

• Search for spectra available in the VO with the 'all VO' button in the server selector window.
• Find spectra available from the ST-ECF Hubble Space Telescope Spectra service, and view the positions of the spectra (and sometimes the spectral slit aperture) on the image. Make a plane containing all the spectra positions, and cross match these with the positions of the HII regions.
• Start VOSpec ( Web Start: http://esavo.esac.esa.int/webstart/VOSpec.jnlp ) and display some of the spectra, by clicking on the spectra in the server selector window, and 'Load in -> VOSpec'.

-- MarkAllen - 07 July 2009