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GSFC XMM-Newton GOF Status Report #166: XMM-NEWTON NEWS #84
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_/ XMM-NEWTON NEWS #84 --- 14-Nov-2008 _/
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XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre at
ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre,
P.O. Box - Apdo. 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain
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SOC Home Page:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/
Helpdesk web interface:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_user_support/helpdesk.shtml
Helpdesk email address:
xmmhelp@sciops.esa.int<mailto:xmmhelp@sciops.esa.int>
News Mailing List:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/news_list/index.php
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Contents:
- XMM-Newton back to science operations
- Patch to SAS (version 8.0.1) and two experimental tasks released
- User Guide to the XMM-Newton SAS: update
- SAS 8.0 validation report
- Release of new versions of the instrument calibration status
documents for RGS, OM and EPIC
- New XMM-Newton Optical Monitor effective area and response
matrices files
- New XMM-Newton 'blank sky' background events files
- Meeting announcement: IXO Science Meeting
- Meeting announcement: Strengthening European Cooperation in
High-Energy Astrophysics - Toward a Proposal for FP7
XMM-Newton back to science operations
=====================================
After XMM-Newton loss of contact on October 18 and recovery on
October 22 (see Newsletter#83), XMM-Newton successfully resumed
scientific operations on November 2. In the days before the re-start
of observations, EPIC calibration exposures were taken. Analysis of
both calibration and astronomical exposures confirms that there has
been no impact on the instruments' performances, all of them
performing as well as before October 18.
Patch to SAS (version 8.0.1) and two experimental tasks released
================================================================
A general patch to SAS 8.0.0 has been released on October 24, 2008.
The two main reasons for patching SAS 8.0.0 now are problems related
to bugs found in the new task epiclccorr, and a shortcoming of
rgscombine. As in former occasions, the opportunity was taken to also
release several minor fixes. They are all described in the SAS web
pages at:
http://xmm2.esac.esa.int/sas/8.0.0/documentation/releasenotes/xmmsas_8.0.1.shtml
In addition, two new tasks have been released on November 13, 2008,
which can be added to the SAS suite. Both have experimental character
and have not been yet fully validated. The two new tasks are:
psechain, a chain for point source data extraction, is a metatask for
general processing of all the XMM-Newton data corresponding to one
observation, but in particular, for the extraction of scientific
reduced data related to one or several point sources.
eradial is a routine to extract a radial profile of a source in an
image field and fit a point spread function to it.
Further information on these tasks is given at:
http://xmm2.esac.esa.int/sas/8.0.0/documentation/releasenotes/xmmsas_8.0.1_add.shtml
User Guide to the XMM-Newton SAS: update
========================================
XMM-Newton SOC has updated the User Guide to the XMM-Newton
Science Analysis System for SAS version 8.0. The guide is available
in different formats (postscript, pdf and html) from the XMM-Newton
Proposers Documents & Manuals Web page (Section: Data Analysis) at:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_user_support/documentation/
SAS 8.0 validation report
=========================
The outcome of the SAS 8.0 scientific validation, a quality control
campaign in order to confirm reliability of the software release,
has been summarized in a report now available at:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_data_analysis/sas_validation/
Release of new versions of the instrument calibration status
documents for RGS, OM and EPIC
============================================================
New versions of the instrument calibration status documents for RGS,
OM and EPIC have been released.
These documents reflect the improvements in the instruments
calibration and include updates such as:
- RGS: new plots of the evolution of the effective area over the
course of the mission, discussion of the introduction last year of
single-node readout operations in RGS2, flux comparisons with EPIC.
- OM: time sensitivity degradation, absolute flux calibration,
photometric AB system, effective area and response matrices for
all filters.
- EPIC: minor updates with respect to version 2.7 (see XMM-Newton
Newsletter#80).
The documents are available from the XMM-Newton Calibration Portal at
http://xmm2.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_sw_cal/calib/index.shtml
New XMM-Newton Optical Monitor effective area and response
matrices files
==========================================================
A new effective area file for the Optical Monitor has been released.
It includes a better approach for the fudge factor, probably due to
molecular contamination, in the UV filters. The new effective area
is particularly important for analysis of cool sources in the UV.
The effective area file, the corresponding response matrices for use
in XSPECv11, as well as a concise description and guidelines for use,
can be obtained from:
http://xmm2.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_sw_cal/calib/om_files.shtml
These response files will allow users to make a combined spectral
fitting of XMM-Newton Optical Monitor and X-ray data using packages
such as XSPEC.
New XMM-Newton 'blank sky' background events files
==================================================
The EPIC Background Working Group announces the release of a major
reworking of the blank sky project, such that the entire XMM-Newton
EPIC database is being background-processed with the most up-to-date
software in a self-consistent manner. Users within the community
will then be able to request blank sky files specifically catered
for, and precisely tuned to their own particular needs. Users may
request for example files from a sky region centred on their own
target position, from a period in the mission centred around the
date of their own observation, and from observations of similar
duration. Files such as these have proved extremely useful in the
analysis of diffuse or extended sources which cover a large area of
the detector field of view, thus preventing the usage of any 'local'
background.
The relevant web page can be found at:
http://xmm2.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_sw_cal/background/blank_sky.shtml
Meeting announcement: IXO Science Meeting
=========================================
There will be an IXO science meeting on January 28 - 29, 2009 in
Cambridge, MA at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in which participation by
members of the scientific community is welcomed.
The meeting will focus on preparing for the upcoming U.S. Decadal
Survey, and will feature presentations by the Science Definition Team,
the Instrument Working Group, the Telescope Working Group, and the
ESA, JAXA and NASA projects. There will be updates on the mission
configuration from both the recent ESA Concurrent Design Facility (CDF)
effort as well as the latest developments in the NASA Mission Studies.
The overall science goals of the IXO mission will be discussed and the
status of preparing the science case for submission to the Decadal
Survey presented.
Please see the mission web sites (http://ixo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and
http://sci.esa.int/ixo <http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=42271> ) which will be updated shortly with details of the
meeting, or contact Mike Garcia (mgarcia@cfa.harvard.edu<mailto:mgarcia@cfa.harvard.edu>).
Meeting announcement: Strengthening European Cooperation in
High-Energy Astrophysics - Toward a Proposal for FP7
===========================================================
A call for participation on a European Framework Programme 7 (FP7)
proposal on Integrated Activities for the High-Energy Astrophysics
Domain (AHEAD) has been issued (see also XMM-Newton Newsletter#77).
Following the request of the steering committee for this proposal,
a related meeting is announced here:
Strengthening European Cooperation in High-Energy Astrophysics:
Toward a Proposal for FP7
A European FP7 proposal on Integrated Activities for
the High-Energy Astrophysics Domain (AHEAD)
09-10 February 2009, Roma, Italy
This meeting aims to present to the high-energy astrophysics
community the current structure of activities of AHEAD. Activities
submitted as a response to the call for participation and deemed by
the steering committee potentially most interesting for inclusion in
the future AHEAD proposal will also be presented. This meeting will
be open to the community to increase the dialogue between all
interested parties. Therefore, members of the high-energy
astrophysics community are encouraged to register and participate.
More information is available at:
http://isdc.unige.ch/ahead/meetings/meeting_2009_02/index.html
Deadline for registration is 31 December 2008.
Yours sincerely,
XMM-Newton SOC
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