WebPlotDigitizer, a polyvalent and free software to extract spectra from old astronomical publications: application to ultraviolet spectropolarimetry

TL;DR

WebPlotDigitizer is a free, versatile software tool designed to extract spectral data from old astronomical plots, aiding archival research and preparation for future UV spectropolarimetric studies.

Contribution

We introduce WebPlotDigitizer as a new, user-friendly software for extracting spectral data from various plot types, demonstrated through ultraviolet spectropolarimetry of NGC 1068.

Findings

Successfully extracted ultraviolet spectra from historical publications.

Compiled comprehensive UV polarimetric data for NGC 1068.

Facilitated future research with upcoming UV spectropolarimeters.

Abstract

In this contribution, we present WebPlotDigitizer, a polyvalent and free software developed to facilitate easy and accurate data extraction from a variety of plot types. We describe the numerous features of this numerical tool and present its relevance when applied to astrophysical archival research. We exploit WebPlotDigitizer to extract ultraviolet spectropolarimetric spectra from old publications that used the Hubble Space Telescope, Lick Observatory 3m Shane telescope and Astro-2 mission to observe the Seyfert-2 AGN NGC 1068. By doing so, we compile all the existing ultraviolet polarimetric data on NGC 1068 to prepare the ground for further investigations with the future high-resolution spectropolarimeter POLLUX on-board of the proposed Large UV/Optical/Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) NASA mission.