BATSEPULSR - CGRO/BATSE Pulsar Observations

Overview

BATSE data are divided into four groups: trigger, daily, occultation, and pulsar. Each group has structured directories beneath it containing data ordered by an appropriate criterion. Typically, several files of data are necessary to form a complete set of data for a particular entity. The BATSE pulsar data are organized similarly to the OCCULTATION data set, with the difference being in the filename extensions: 'olc' files contain on-board folded light curves, whereas 'pll' files (available in the HEASARC anonymous FTP area, but not via this database table) contain pulsar low level data. This database table allows the user to select 'olc' files or GIFs created from these files for 8 out of the several dozen pulsars for which BATSE data are available.

Provenance

This database table was created by the HEASARC based on information supplied by the CGRO Project. The last update was in March 2003.

Data Products

These are available only via the Browse Web interface, notice. The 'olc' files have filenames of the form XXX_TJD1_TJD2YYY_lad_olc.fits where XXXX = source name (or the first 7 characters if the name is longer than that), YYY = characters assigned by the MSFC BATSE team, TJD = Truncated Julian Day defined by:

TJD = JD - 2,440,000.5 = MJD - 40,000.

and TJD1 and TJD2 represent the start and end TJD times of the observation, respectively. Thus, the BATSE on-board folded light curve for the source Her X-1 for the period from 1991-04-25 (TJD = 08371) to 1991-04-28 (TJD = 08374) are in the file herx-108371_08374ksh3_lad_olc.fits. For some sources, e.g., GRS 0834-43, in place of on-board folded light curve files there are continous light curve files: the BATSE continuous light curve file for this source for the period from 1991-05-04 (TJD = 08380) to 1991-05-07 (TJD = 08383) is named grs083408380_08383cawh3_lad_clc.fits. In the W3Browse version of this database these data products can be directly extracted, but not in the BROWSE version. In the latter case the user must use anonymous FTP or its Web equivalent to extract the files; the above-mentioned 'clc' file can be found in the https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/compton/data/batse/ area. Further information about these data products should be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk via http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/Feedback

Parameters

Name
The name of the pulsar.

ObsID
A unique observation ID that identifies each entry that is created with a concatenation of the string 'B.PULSAR_', the name of the target or its first 7 characters (whichever is shorter), the string '.', and the Truncated Julian Date (TJD) [which is equivalent to the Modified Julian Date - 40,000. days, remember] corresponding to the start time of the observing segment. Thus, an observation of the pulsar GRS0834-43 on 1991 May 01 (TJD = 08374) has been given an obsid of 'b.pulsar_grs0834.08374'.

Start_Time
The start time or date of the specified observing segment.

End_Time
The end time or date of the specified observing segment.

RA
The Right Ascension of the pulsar in the selected equinox.

Dec
The Declination of the pulsar in the selected equinox.

LII
The galactic longitude of the pulsar.

BII
The galactic Latitude of the pulsar.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the BATSEPULSR database table can be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Monday, 16-Sep-2024 17:24:59 EDT