In my posts of double star observations, I almost always refer to "WDS" stating whether a double star is physical or not. If there's an orbit, I copy the image of the orbital solution.
This information comes via StelleDoppie, which I presumed is a search engine for the WDS. I've recently found out that this is not really the case. The website author has downloaded data from the WDS, but the output and representation of that data on the website is entirely the result of algorithms he has developed. It is very handy data, to be sure. But WDS never states whether a pair is physical, not physical, or uncertain -- these classifications are calculated by StelleDoppie, as are any ephemerids and orbital solutions.
Given the elegant presentation and completeness of information available on the site, I presumed it spoke for WDS itself. So I mention in my reports "WDS says..." But WDS does not "say" at all. Thank god no one reads my blog otherwise I will feel guilty of spreading the misimpression. I'm not sure I have time to go back and edit everything out ("StelleDoppie says..."). But I'll be more careful about it in the future, and refer to the WDS & 6th Orbital Catalog data directly whenever I can, and cite StelleDoppie if that's where I'm pulling the information.
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