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This Legacy journal article was published in Volume 6, August 1995, and has not been updated since publication. Please use the search facility above to find regularly-updated information about this topic elsewhere on the HEASARC site.

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        NAME      Observatory name            Description           Update
                                                                     (y.d)
    ------------+-----------------+-------------------------------+-------
  1 ARIEL5        ARIEL V           ARIEL-V All-Sky Monitor         95.082
  2 ARIEL3A       ARIEL V           3rd Ariel-V SSI Catalog         95.082
  3 ASCAPUBLIC    ASCA              Archival Data                   95.256
  4 ASCALOG       ASCA              Observations Log                95.206
  5 ASCAO         ASCA              Proposals                       95.082
  6 BBXRT         BBXRT             BBXRT Archive                   95.082
  7 ZWCLUSTERS    CATALOG           Zwicky Clusters of Galaxies Ca  95.082
  8 MCG           CATALOG           Morphological Galaxy            95.082
  9 MCKSION       CATALOG           McCook & Sion WD Catalog        95.082
 10 OPENCLUST     CATALOG           Catalog of Open Clusters        95.171
 11 MESSIER       CATALOG           Messier Catalog                 95.160
 12 KUEHR         CATALOG           Extragal. Radio Sources         95.236
 13 NGC2000       CATALOG           NGC 2000.0 Catalog              95.082
 14 NLTT          CATALOG           NLTT Catalog & 1st Supplement   95.082
 15 NORTH20CM     CATALOG           20cm Radio Catalog              95.082
 16 NORTH6CM      CATALOG           6cm Radio Catalog               95.082
 17 MRC           CATALOG           Molonglo Radio Src Catalog      95.248
 18 LBN           CATALOG           Lynds Bright Nebulae Catalog    95.082
 19 LDN           CATALOG           Lynds Dark Nebulae Catalog      95.082
 20 LINEENERGY    CATALOG           Line Energy Catalog             95.082
 21 HIIREGION     CATALOG           Sharpless H II Region Catalog   95.082
 22 HBC           CATALOG           3d Emission-Line Star Catalog   95.082
 23 HIC           CATALOG           Hipparcos Input Main Catalog    95.082
 24 HD            CATALOG           Henry Draper Catalog            95.082
 25 GSC           CATALOG           Guide Star Catalog              95.082
 26 M31STARS      CATALOG           Field of M31 Bright Stars       95.129
 27 MARKARIAN     CATALOG           Markarian Galaxies Catalog      95.124
 28 SNRGREEN      CATALOG           Green SNR Catalog               95.236
 29 VERON89       CATALOG           Veron Quasars & AGN Catalog     95.236
 30 VERON91       CATALOG           Veron Quasars & AGN             95.236
 31 VERON93       CATALOG           Veron Quasars & AGN             95.082
 32 ZCAT          CATALOG           Huchra CfA Redshift Catalog     95.082
 33 VLANEP        CATALOG           1.5 GHz VLA-NEP Survey          95.249
 34 VSTARS        CATALOG           4th Variable Stars Catalog      95.082
 35 VSTARSUSP     CATALOG           Suspected Variables Catalog     95.082
 36 WOOLLEY       CATALOG           Stars <25 pc from Sun           95.082
 37 XRBCAT        CATALOG           X-Ray Binaries                  95.237
 38 SAO           CATALOG           SAO Stars Catalog               95.082
 39 PKSCAT90      CATALOG           Parkes Southern Radio Catalog   95.236
 40 PLNEBULAE     CATALOG           Strasbourg Gal Planet Nebulae   95.082
 41 PMN           CATALOG           PMN Surveys                     95.236
 42 PPM           CATALOG           Positions and Proper Motions    95.082
 43 RITTER        CATALOG           Ritter CVs & LMXRBs Catalog     95.082
 44 PULSAR        CATALOG           Lyne Pulsar Catalog             95.082
 45 QSO           CATALOG           Hewitt & Burbidge QSO Catalog   95.082
 46 RC3           CATALOG           3rd Ref Catalog of Gal's        95.082
 47 OSTARS        CATALOG           Galactic O-Stars Catalog        95.082
 48 DUERBECK      CATALOG           Galactic Novae Ref Catalog      95.163
 49 CPSTARS       CATALOG           Gen Catalog of Ap & Am Stars    95.187
 50 CNS3          CATALOG           Third Catalog Of Nearby Stars   95.082
 51 ESOUPPSALA    CATALOG           ESO-Uppsala ESO(B) Atlas Surve  95.082
 52 BSC5P         CATALOG           Bright Stars                    95.082
 53 BESTARS       CATALOG           Be Stars                        95.082
 54 ABELL         CATALOG           Abell Clusters                  95.082
 55 CABSCAT       CATALOG           Chromospherically Active Binar  95.214
 56 BD            CATALOG           Bonner Durchmusterung           95.082
 57 CARBONSTAR    CATALOG           Cool Carbon Stars Catalog       95.082
 58 CVCAT         CATALOG           Cataclysmic Variables Catalog   95.082
 59 DIXON         CATALOG           Dixon Radio Sources             95.236
 60 DOCUMENTS     CATALOG           HEASARC Documents               95.082
 61 EDGEENERGY    CATALOG           Edge Energies                   95.082
 62 GLOBCLUST     CATALOG           Galactic Globular Clusters      95.139
 63 ACRS          CATALOG           Astrographic Cat of Ref Stars   95.237
 64 EGRETSRC      CGRO              EGRET Sources                   95.131
 65 EGRET         CGRO              EGRET pointing database         95.082
 66 GROLOG        CGRO              Viewing Plan                    95.082
 67 BBURST        CGRO              BATSE Bursts Catalog            95.082
 68 COSB          COS B             Photon Event Files              95.082
 69 HRIDEEP       EINSTEIN          Deep Survey HRI Src Positions   95.082
 70 HRICFA        EINSTEIN          HRI CfA Source List Catalog     95.082
 71 SSS           EINSTEIN          SSS Spectra and Lightcurves     95.082
 72 SSSHME        EINSTEIN          SSS Modified                    95.082
 73 IPCOSTARS     EINSTEIN          Count Rates for IPC OStars      95.082
 74 MPCRAW        EINSTEIN          Einstein MPC Raw Data           95.157
 75 EINLOG        EINSTEIN          Observation Log                 95.082
 76 EMSS          EINSTEIN          EMSS Catalog                    95.082
 77 FPCSFITS      EINSTEIN          FPCS Events Files               95.082
 78 IPCPHOT       EINSTEIN          IPC Photon Event Data           95.082
 79 IPCSLEW       EINSTEIN          IPC Slew Catalog                95.082
 80 IPCLXLBOL     EINSTEIN          LX & LBL Values For IPC OStars  95.082
 81 HRIEXO        EINSTEIN          HRI EXO Source Catalog          95.082
 82 IPCIMAGE      EINSTEIN          IPC Images                      95.082
 83 IPCDEEP       EINSTEIN          IPC Deep Catalog                95.082
 84 IPC           EINSTEIN          IPC Source Catalog              95.237
 85 HRIPHOT       EINSTEIN          HRI Photon Event Data           95.082
 86 HRIIMAGE      EINSTEIN          HRI Image                       95.082
 87 EUVECAT1      EUVE              First EUVE Source Catalog       95.082
 88 EUVEBSL       EUVE              1st EUVE Bright Sources         95.082
 89 EUVELOG       EUVE              EUVE Log of Spectrometer Point  95.129
 90 CMA           EXOSAT            Catalog/Images/Lightcurves      95.082
 91 CMAIMAGE      EXOSAT            Images for each pointing        95.082
 92 EXOLOG        EXOSAT            Observation Log                 95.082
 93 EXOPUBS       EXOSAT            Bibliography                    95.082
 94 EXOHGLS       EXOSAT            EXOSAT HGLS Database            95.095
 95 EXOGPS        EXOSAT            Galactic Plane Source Catalog   95.082
 96 TGS2          EXOSAT            TGS Spectra and Lightcurves     95.082
 97 ME            EXOSAT            Spectra and Lightcurves         95.082
 98 LE            EXOSAT            Central 6 Arcmin Catalog        95.082
 99 GS            EXOSAT            Spectra and Lightcurves         95.082
100 TGS           EXOSAT            TGS L and R Orders              95.082
101 EXOFOT        EXOSAT            Final Observation Tapes         95.082
102 GINGALOG      Ginga             LAC Observation Log             95.082
103 GINGAMODE     Ginga             Ginga LAC Mode Catalog          95.082
104 A4            HEAO1             A4 X-Ray Catalog                95.090
105 A3            HEAO1             MC LASS Catalog                 95.082
106 A1            HEAO1             HEAO 1 A1 X-ray Catalog         95.082
107 A2PIC         HEAO1             HEAO 1 A2 Piccinotti Catalog    95.082
108 A2LED         HEAO1             HEAO 1 A2 LED Sky Catalog       95.082
109 A2POINT       HEAO1             A2 Point Catalog                95.082
110 HSTOBS        HST               HST Observations Catalog        95.235
111 HSTEXP        HST               HST Exposure Catalog            95.235
112 IRASFSC       IRAS              IRAS Faint Source Catalog       95.206
113 IRASID        IRAS              IRAS FSC Assoc. Catalog         95.082
114 IRASZSURV     IRAS              IRAS 1.2 Jy IRAS Redshift Surv  95.187
115 IRASPSC       IRAS              IRAS Point Source Catalog       95.235
116 ALLDATA       MASTER CATALOG    Archival Data                   95.082
117 RADIO         MASTER CATALOG    Radio Catalogs                  95.156
118 OPTICAL       MASTER CATALOG    Optical Catalogs                95.164
119 XRAY          MASTER CATALOG    X-ray Catalogs                  95.119
120 OBSLOG        MASTER CATALOG    Observation Logs                95.082
121 XCOLL         MASTER CATALOG    X-ray Collim. Catalogs          95.082
122 PVOTRIG       PVO               PVO Gamma-ray Burst Catalog     95.082
123 WFCBSC        ROSAT             Catalog of WFC Bright Sources   95.082
124 WFCPOINT      ROSAT             WFC Public Archive              95.082
125 WGACAT        ROSAT             Catalog of PSPC WGA Srcs Rev 1  95.134
126 WGACAT0       ROSAT             Rev 0 Catalog of PSPC WGA Srcs  95.082
127 ROSWFC2RE     ROSAT             ROSAT WFC 2RE Catalogue         95.150
128 ROSAO         ROSAT             Proposals                       95.201
129 ROSATLOG      ROSAT             Observation Log                 95.248
130 ROSATSRC      ROSAT             Catalog of Rev0/1 PSPC sources  95.082
131 ROSDISTRIB    ROSAT             Distributed Data                95.187
132 ROSID         ROSAT             SIMBAD for ROSAT Databases      95.129
133 ROSLTL        ROSAT             Long-term Timeline              95.082
134 ROSPUBLIC     ROSAT             Archival Data                   95.236
135 ROSOBS        ROSAT             Processing Status               95.103
136 ROSSTL        ROSAT             Short-term Timeline             95.082
137 SMMGRS        SMM               GRS Gamma-Ray Bursts            95.082
138 TD1           TD1               Stellar UV Flux Catalog         95.082
139 UHURU4        Uhuru             4th Uhuru Catalog               95.207
140 KONUS         VENERA            Konus 11 & 12 Burst Catalog     95.082
141 VELA5B        Vela 5B           All-Sky Monitor Lightcurves     95.082


New Catalogs and Databases

Catalogs and other databases added since publication of the previous issue of Legacy include the following:

ZWCLUSTERS - Zwicky Clusters of Galaxies Catalog

The ZWCLUSTERS database is based on the "Catalogue of Zwicky Clusters of Galaxies." The Zwicky clusters were identified by F. Zwicky in 560 POSS fields. They are rich clusters, each having at least 50 members within 3 magnitudes of the brightest member.

OPENCLUST - Catalog of Open Clusters

OPENCLUST is a catalog of open cluster data compiled by Gosta Lynga, Lund Observatory. The aim of this catalog is to give salient data for all known open star clusters in our galaxy. As far as possible only published data values have been quoted; for some of the parameters, these values have been selected from references. Those references can be obtained from the HEASARC.

This data, herein referred to as JDL data, results in part from the merging of the data resulting from a joint project between K. Janes, C. Duke, and Lynga. The aim of that project was to discuss properties of the open cluster system by using existing data and by taking their accuracy into proper regard. Thus the data were assessed (mostly by Janes), weight assigned, and weighted mean values derived of reddenings, turn-off colors, and distances.

MESSIER - Messier Catalog

The Messier Catalog of bright extended objects was compiled by the comet-hunter Charles Messier in the 18th century. It comprised a list of 110 objects that are mostly brighter than 10th magnitude and have angular sizes from 1 to 100 arcminutes. M102 is now generally considered to be spurious with the object so named being actually M101. Thus this electronic version of the Messier Catalog contains only 109 objects.

The objects in the Messier Catalog are predominantly star clusters in our Milky Way galaxy with 29 of them being globular clusters and 27 open clusters; the rest are spiral galaxies (27), elliptical galaxies (11), diffuse and planetary nebulae (10), and miscellaneous objects (5). All of the objects in the Messier Catalog are north of -35 degrees declination.

NLTT - NLTT Catalogue and First Supplement

The NLTT Catalogue (Luyten 1979, 1980) is a collection of stars on more than 800 Palomar Proper Motion Survey plates found to have relative annual proper motions exceeding 0.18 arcsec. The motions have been determined by Luyten and his coworkers by either hand blinking and measuring or with the automated computerized scanner and measuring machine built by Control Data Corporation and located at the University of Minnesota. The new catalog replaces the LTT Catalogues (Luyten 1957, 1961, 1962), wherein stars in the Bruce Proper Motion Survey discovered to have motions exceeding 0.2 arcsec had been compiled. For further information on the NLTT Catalogue itself, including discussions of positional errors, estimation of magnitudes, star designations used in the catalog, completeness, and accuracy of the measured motions, the introduction to the published NLTT (see Volume I) should be consulted.

The First Supplement to the NLTT Catalogue (Luyten and Hughes 1980) is the result of continued plate analysis and measurements during printing of the NLTT. The Supplement contains data for 398 stars having motions larger than 0.179 arcsec annually.

LINEENERGY - Line Energy Catalog

The LINEENERGY database contains the wavelength (Angstroms), ion, lower level, upper level, oscillator strength, collision strength (at a temperature T such that kT equals the energy difference between the two levels), and lower and upper level statistical weights for a selection of lines. These data are derived from the compilations of Raymond and Smith (1977) for most UV and X-ray lines except inner shells; Mendosa (1982) for optical and IR forbidden lines; Bethe and Salpeter (1957) for hydrogen and He II; Elton (1967) and Feldman and MacAlpine (1978) for He I; and from the inner shell energies of Clementi (1965) for inner shell fluorescence lines. This compilation was performed by T. Kallman and is employed by the XSTAR spectrum synthesis code.

M31STARS - Field Of M31 Brightest Stars

M31STARS is a catalog of 11438 stars in the field of M31 and 8778 stars in 2 nearby "foreground" fields. It is based on a set of Tautenburg Schmidt plates in U, B, V, and R taken by van den Bergh. The range of visual magnitudes of stars is 11.5 < V < 20.

MARKARIAN - Markarian Galaxies Catalog

The MARKARIAN database contains the lists "Galaxies with Ultraviolet Continuum" (see references). Markarian galaxies have a moderate to strong ultraviolet continuum, as detected by an objective-prism survey at Byurakan Observatory from 1965 to 1978. The survey was done with a 40-inch Schmidt telescope, with a dispersion of 2500 angstroms/millimeter at H-alpha. The catalog contains no galaxies brighter than magnitude 13.0 or fainter than magnitude 17.5.

VERON93 - Quasars and AGN

The VERON93 database is the 6th edition of the Veron-Cetty & Veron "Catalogue of Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei (1993)." It contains data for 7383 (+54) quasars, 1855 AGNs, and 171 BL Lac objects.

DUERBECK - Reference Catalog of Galactic Novae

The DUERBECK database contains the Reference Catalog of Galactic Novae, Duerbeck, version 1990. It lists all objects known or believed to be novae at one time or other. Objects that were later found to be spurious have been omitted. Completeness was attempted only for novae and not for dwarf novae, X-ray novae, etc.

CPSTARS - General Catalog of Ap and Am Stars

The CPSTARS database is derived from data contained in the General Catalogue of Ap and Am Stars by P. Rension.

ESOUPPSALA - ESO-Uppsala ESO(B) Atlas Survey

The ESOUPPSALA database is derived from information provided in "The ESO/Uppsala Survey of the ESO(B) Atlas" (ESO/U), which is a joint project undertaken by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Uppsala Observatory to provide a systematic and homogeneous search of the ESO(B) Atlas (also known as the Quick Blue Survey). The ESO(B) Atlas, taken with the ESO 1 m Schmidt telescope at La Silla, Chile, covers 606 fields from -90 to -20 degrees of declination. The fields are similar in size and scale to those of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. Unsensitized IIa-O plates and a 2 mm GG385 filter were used to give a passband similar to the Johnson B color.

CABSCAT - Chromospherically Active Binaries Catalog

The CABSCAT database contains a catalog of 206 spectroscopic binary systems with at least one late-type component that shows Ca II, H, and K emission in its spectrum. These systems include the classical RS CVn binaries and BY Dra binaries. The catalog summarizes information on the photometric, spectroscopic, orbital, and physical properties of the systems as well as space motions and positions. Up to 42 "parameters" for each stellar system are listed followed by the appropriate reference to direct interested colleagues to the original papers. A comprehensive selection of further information for each star is given in the individual notes. This version updates and replaces the 1988 catalog of similar information. (Strassmeier et al., 1988). A key to the number codes used for the references in the present database is given in the Strassmeier et al (1993) paper. This paper also has short notes for each entry in the catalog that has not been included in the present on-line version. A "W" precedes numerical values that are approximately equal to whatever follows the flag.

CARBONSTAR - Cool Carbon Stars Catalog

This catalog is intended to list all known cool carbon stars in the Milky Way galaxy, having known positions of at least roughly the precision of the Henry Draper Catalog. Cool carbon stars are defined as stars whose spectra at relatively low dispersion are known to show bands of the Swan system of the C2 molecule; or, if the spectral region of the Swan bands is inadequately observed, they show the red or near-infrared bands of CN in sufficient strength to infer that the Swan bands are almost certainly present in the unobserved spectral regions. In addition, stars classified as carbon stars solely from the 11.2-micron SiC emission visible in the low-resolution Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) spectra (cf. Little-Marenin et al. (1987)) have also been included.

The closing date for the literature search for inclusion in this catalog was 1989 June 30.

EDGEENERGY - Elemental Edge Energies

This database lists edge energies (also known as photoionization threshold energies) for 572 shells of the most astrophyiscally abundant elements: H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni. These data are derived from the Hartree-Fock calculations of Clementi (1965) for inner shells, and from the compilations of Moore (1970) and Allen (1973). This compilation was performed by T. Kallman and is employed by the XSTAR spectrum synthesis code.

GLOBCLUST - Catalog of Galactic Globular Clusters

The GLOBCLUST database collects data for all well known galactic globular clusters.

ACRS - Astrographic Catalog of Reference Stars

The ACRS contains the Astrographic Catalog of Reference Stars.

For a number of years there has been a great demand for a high-density catalog of accurate stellar positions and proper motions that maintains a consistent system of reference over the entire sky. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Star Catalog (SAO; SAO Staff 1966) has partially met those requirements, but its positions brought to current epochs now contain errors on the order of 1 second of arc, plus the proper motions in the SAO differ systematically with one another depending on their source catalogs.

The ACRS was compiled at the U. S. Naval Observatory with the intention that it be used for new reductions of the Astrographic Catalogue (AC) plates. These plates are small in area (2 x 2 deg) and the IRS is not dense enough. Whereas the ACRS was compiled using the same techniques developed to produce the IRS, it became clear as the work progressed that the ACRS would have applications far beyond its original purpose. With accurate positions and proper motions rigorously reduced to both the FK4 and FK5 (Fricke et al. 1988) systems, it does more than simply replace the SAO. Rather, it provides the uniform system of reference stars that has been needed for many years by those who require densities greater than the IRS and with high accuracy over a wide range of epochs. It is intended that, as additional observations become available, stars will be migrated from Part 2 to Part 1, with the hope that eventually the ACRS will be complete in one part. Additional details concerning the compilation and properties of the ACRS can be found in Corbin & Urban (1989) except that the star counts and errors given here supersede the ones given in 1989.

With the completion of the Second Cape Photographic Catalogue (CPC2; de Vegt et al. 1989), a photographic survey comparable in density to the AGK3 (Dieckvoss 1975) was finally available for the southern hemisphere. These two catalogs were used as a base and matched against the AGK2 (Schorr & Kohlschuetter 1951-58), Yale photographic zones (Yale Trans., Vols. 11-32), First Cape Photographic Catalogue (CPC1; Jackson & Stoy 1954, 55, 58; Stoy 1966), Sydney Southern Star Catalogue (King & Lomb 1983), Sydney Zone Catalogue -48 to -54 degrees (Eichhorn et al. 1983), 124 meridian circle catalogs, and catalogs of recent epochs, such as the Carlsberg Meridian Catalogue, La Palma (CAMC), USNO Zodiacal Zone Catalog (Douglass & Harrington 1990), and the Perth 83 Catalogue (Harwood [1990]) to obtain as many input positions as possible. All positions were then reduced to the system of the FK4 (Fricke & Kopff 1963) using a combination of the FK4, the FK4 Supplement as improved by H. Schwan of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in Heidelberg, and the International Reference Stars (IRS; Corbin 1991), then combined with the CPC2 and AGK3. The total number of input positions from which the ACRS was formed is 1,643,783.

The original catalog is divided into two parts. Part 1 contains the stars having better observational histories and, therefore, more reliable positions and proper motions. This part constitutes 78 percent of the catalog; the mean errors of the proper motions are +/-0.47 arcsec per century and +/-0.46 arcsec per century in right ascension and declination, respectively. The stars in Part 2 have poor observational histories and consist mostly of objects for which only two catalog positions in one or both coordinates were available for computing the proper motions. Where accuracy is the primary consideration, only the stars in Part 1 should be used, while if the highest possible density is desired, the two parts should be combined.

EGRETSRC - EGRET Sources Catalog

The EGRETSRC database contains information on all discrete sources seen in the First EGRET source catalog (Fichtel et al., Ap.J. 1995). It combines information on pulsars, AGN's, and the unidentified high and low galactic latitude sources, and includes the detection of the LMC. Upper limits are not included, but if the source was detected in more than one viewing, then several entries may be included. For each source a GRO name and, where possible, a counterpart name is given.

IPCOSTARS - Catalog of O-type Stars

The IPCOSTARS database contains information derived from the Einstein X-ray Observatory Catalog of O-type Stars. It provides information regarding the Soft X-ray measurements for all normal, massive, O-type stars surveyed with The Einstein Observatory.

MPCRAW - Einstein Observatory MPC Raw Data

The MPCRAW database contains raw data from the Einstein (a.k.a. HEAO-2 and HEAO-B) Observatory Monitor Proportional Counter (MPC), a non-focal plane instrument that monitored the 1 to 20 keV X-ray flux of the source(s) being observed simultaneously by the operational focal plane instrument.

The MPC was a collimated proportional counter filled with argon and carbon dioxide. It had a circular field of view, 1.5 degrees in diameter (FWHM), which was co-aligned with the telescope. A 1.5 mil Be window sealed the gas in the detector and shielded the detector from ultraviolet radiation. The active area of the MPC was 667 square cm. The MPC obtained useful data from 1978 November 19 until 1981 April 17, with the exception of a 3-month period from 1980 Aug 27 to 1980 Dec 08 when operation was intermittent, due to Einstein Observatory attitude control problems.

IPCLXLBOL - Einstein X-ray O-Type Star Catalog

Soft X-ray (0.2 - 3.5 keV) measurements for all normal, massive, o-type stars surveyed with the Einstein Observatory are presented as a catalog in the IPCLXLBOL database. It contains 89 detections and 176 upper bounds together with a detailed discussion of the reduction process. Values of L[x]/L[bol] listed for most stars, range from 10E-5.44 to 10E-7.35; l[x] spans more than 3 orders of magnitude, ranging from 1.5 x 10E31 to 2 x 10E34 ergs s^-1. It is noted that at least 30% of o-type stars are variable in X-rays, but that there is little evidence for new objects whose X-ray emission might be significantly enhanced by accretion processes onto a neutron star.

EUVELOG - EUVE Log of Spectrometer Pointings

EUVELOG is the log of EUVE Spectrometer pointings. This is provided for ease of comparison with the logs of X-ray telescope pointings, such as ASCALOG and ROSATLOG, that are also available through the HEASARC. This log is a preliminary version of the EUVE Spectrometer pointings provided by Jeremy Drake of the Center for EUV Astrophysics in January 1995.

EXOHGLS - EXOSAT High Galactic Latitude Survey

A survey of serendipitous source performed in the very soft X-ray band (0.05-2.0 keV) using the EXOSAT imaging telescopes is presented in the EXOHGLS database. The survey covers 783 square degrees of high galactic latitude sky and includes 210 serendipitous sources which define a complete (flux-limited) sample. An extensive program of optical and radio observatories together with cross-correlations with catalogs of known objects lead to the identification of 200 of the 210 detected sources. The 10 remaining objects have been preliminarily classified on the basis of their X-ray to optical flux ratios, thus making the sample essentially fully identified. Twenty-three additional serendipitous sources which did not satisfy the requirements for inclusion in the complete sample were also identified during the optical observations program. The complete sample has been used to study the logN-logS relation and the average spectral slope of AGN. It is found that the logN-logS slope is consistent with that of the Einstein Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS) and with the "Euclidean" value of 1.5. The normalization of the logN-logS is a strong function of the assumed spectral slope of AGN. Consistency with the results of the EMSS implies that the average (energy) slope of extragalactic sources in the soft X-ray band is very steep (alpha ~1.5). An analysis of the association between AGN detection and Galactic NH also shows that alpha is steep and inconsistent with the canonical value of 0.7. The survey was particularly successful in detecting nearby Galactic soft X-ray emitters and includes a significantly higher percentage of stars than the Einstein EMSS, five White Dwarfs, and three previously unknown AM Her type systems.

The sample of sources in this catalog was selected from the HEASARC CMA database which was generated using standard processing on the LE data. The source detection algorithm used a sliding cell method. The size of the search cell is such as to maximize the sensitivity across the field of view. For more information about the LE processing see the documentation in the CMA database.

An image and a lightcurve are available for each entry. The data products were created in a binary format during the post-operational phase at the EXOSAT Observatory using a standard automatic analysis. The HEASARC converted the images and lightcurves into FITS format.

IRASZSURV - IRAS 1.2 Jy IRAS Redshift Survey

This is The Redshift Survey of Fisher, Huchra, Strauss, Davis, Yahil, and Schlegel; the data set is described in full in ApJ 361, 49 (1990). The data for the brighter half are included in ApJ Supp 1992, 83, 29; the data for the fainter half are included in ApJ Supp 1995, 100, 69. The survey contains 9897 objects selected from the IRAS database according to the following criteria:

F60 > 1.2 Jy;

F60^2 > F12 f25;

|b| < 5;

high source density flag at 60 microns not raised.

Thus, this database consists of both galaxies and Galaxian contaminants. The sample contains ~5320 galaxies, and 14 objects without identifications at the present time.

ROSWFC2RE - ROSAT Wide Field Camera 2RE Source Catalogue

The ROSWFC2RE database is the ROSAT Wide Field Camera 2RE Source Catalogue. It contains 479 EUV sources found during the ROSAT all-sky survey of July 1990 to January 1991. The information in this database is based on what will be published by Pye et al. (1995, MNRAS, in press). It supersedes the earlier Bright Source Catalogue (BSC; Pounds et al. 1993, MNRAS, 260, 77).

The British Wide Field Camera (WFC) on the German/US/UK ROSAT spacecraft consists of a 5 degree diameter field of view EUV telescope with a curved microchannel plate detector with a resistive readout at the focus. The WFC is coaligned with the German X-ray Telescope.

ROSAT performed a 6-month all-sky survey in the interval July 30, 1990, to January 25, 1991, during which 96 percent of the sky was covered. During the survey two filters in the WFC were alternated daily to provide two EUV passbands. These were S1 [60-140 A (90-206 eV)] and S2 [110-200 A (62-110 eV)]. Sky coverage was greatest at the ecliptic poles, where integrated exposures reached 70,000 seconds in each filter; at the ecliptic equator exposures were lowest, being around 1,500 seconds per filter.

Taking advantage of several improvements over what was possible during the course of the BSC work, the all-sky data were completely reprocessed; the new 2RE catalogue being the result. There are about 120 new sources and a significant increase in the number of detections common to both wavebands (80% versus 60%).

Two independent methods were used for point source detection, PSS (Allan, Ponman & Jefferies 1994) and SESAME (Page 1995). Both use a maximum likelihood technique. The primary criterion for inclusion of an EUV source in this catalogue was that the `combined' significance over both wavebands be >= 5.5. (Combined: square root of the sum of the squares of the significances in each passband.) Simulations suggest that the expected number of spurious sources should be less than ~20.

Two associated data products have been made available: (1) S1 and S2 images containing 2RE detections; (2) S1 and S2 exposure and background corrected source light-curves (and exposure-corrected local background lightcurves).

Updates to databases

Databases which are updated regularly are as follows:

ASCAPUBLIC - ASCA Archive Public Contents List

The ASCAPUBLIC database contains a record of data from the ASCA mission that is available from the HEASARC archive. The listing includes future data which may not yet be in the public domain. The data will initially be released in one-month batches, around the 15th of each month, with the first batch released on November 15, 1994. As the archive population becomes routine, the releases will be made more often, on a weekly basis.

Intrepid explorers of the ASCA public archive should note that the PV data, especially those taken in the first few months, are not always optimized for scientific investigation of the targeted object. Many observation were made for instrument calibration and contain frequent mode changes and non-standard parameter setting for which instrument responses are not available. The observation modes and instrument setting during the latter PV and AO phase are more stable. If in doubt, please ask the ASCA GOF by sending e-mail to

ascahelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov.

A full description of the ASCA archive and how to use it can be found on the WWW or in the ftp account at heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov in the document asca/doc/archive.txt.

ASCALOG - ASCA Observations Log

The ASCALOG database contains the ASCA observations log.

ASCAO - Proposals

The ASCAO database contains the listing of accepted proposals for ASCA AO1, AO2, and AO3, as well as targets from the PV phase. Not all listed targets were observed. The ASCALOG database will list the observed targets.

ROSATLOG - ROSAT Log of Observations

The ROSATLOG database has been created for the purpose of providing a complete, accurate, and easily accessible record of ROSAT observations. ROSATLOG is made by cross-correlating ROSAT observation records with the short-term timeline and contains information about all pointings executed by the satellite during the performance verification (PV) and AO phases. For each observation, details are given concerning target name and coordinates, pointing start and stop times, PI name and country, ROSAT Observation Request sequence number, and more.

ROSATLOG is periodically updated as new short-term timelines and observation records are generated at the German ROSAT Science Data Center at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) and sent to the ROSAT Guest Observer Facility at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Despite efforts to make ROSATLOG a complete and accurate record of ROSAT pointings, some errors may still appear; thus ROSATLOG should be used only as a basic guide to what pointings have been executed. ROSATLOG shows in which direction ROSAT pointed and at what time. HOWEVER, it does NOT reflect problems which may have occurred during the pointing and which can result in the total exposure time being much less than the duration of the pointing.

ROSPUBLIC - ROSAT Public Archive List

The ROSPUBLIC database contains the list of US and German ROSAT observations for which REV0 data have been distributed to the PI, including those data sets which have become available to the public. The ROSPUBLIC database is updated weekly, as new datasets are distributed to PI's and others are released for public use.

For each observation listed in ROSPUBLIC, the instrument used, processing site, and target name and coordinates are given, as well as the ROSAT observation request number (ROR), actual and requested exposure times, date the observation took place, date data were distributed to the PI, date data will become public, and more.

ROSDISTRIB - ROSAT Distributed Data List

The ROSDISTRIB database contains the list of US and German ROSAT observations for which REV0 data have been distributed to the PI, including those data sets which have become available to the public. The ROSDISTRIB database is updated weekly, as new datasets are distributed to PI's and others are released for public use.

For each observation listed in ROSDISTRIB, the instrument used, processing site, and target name and coordinates are given, as well as the ROSAT observation request number (ROR), actual and requested exposure times, date the observation took place, date data were distributed to the PI, date data will become public, and more.

ROSAO - ROSAT Proposals

The ROSAO database contains a complete list of all accepted ROSAT AO proposals. The total observation time amounts to 180% of that available, with a 1st, 2nd, 3rd priority system used to establish the probability of an observation taking place. All priority 1 and 2 observations will be eventually be made. The priority 3 observations are used to fill gaps in the observing program and not all will be performed.

Master Catalogs

Master Catalogs are updated regularly as new databases are added to the HEASARC On-line Service.

OPTICAL - Master Optical Catalog

The OPTICAL database is a newly-revised master catalog containing selected parameters from several optical source catalogs. OPTICAL was created by copying all of the entries and common parameters from the HEASARC databases which contain the following catalogs:

* ABELL - Abell Catalog of Galaxy Clusters (1989)
* RITTER - Ritter Catalog of CV's, X-Ray Binaries, & Related Objects (1990)
* VSTARS - General Catalog of Variable Stars, 4th ed. (Kholopov 1985-88)
* SAO - Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Star Catalog (1989)
* MCKSION - McCook & Sion White Dwarf Catalog (1987)
* QSO - Hewitt & Burbidge Catalog of Quasi-Stellar Objects (1987)
* WOOLLEY - Woolley Catalog of Stars within 25 Parsecs of the Sun (1970)
* HD - The Henry Draper Catalog
* HBC - Third Catalog of Emission-Line Stars (Herbig & Bell 1988)
* RC3 - Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (G. de Vaucouleurs, A. de Vaucouleurs, H.G. Corwin, R.J. Buta, P. Fouque, and G. Paturel, 1991)
* CNS3 - Third Catalog of Nearby Stars (Wilhelm Gliese and Hartmut Jahreiss)
* VSTARSUSP - Catalog of Suspected Variable Stars (Kukarkin et al. 1982)
* ZCAT - CfA Redshift Catalog (Huchra)
* HIC - Hipparcos Input Catalogue
* VERON91 - Veron-Cetty & Veron Quasars & AGN (1991)
* VERON93 - Veron-Cetty & Veron Quasars & AGN (1993)
* BD - Bonner Durchmusterung (Becker, 1951)
* CVCAT - General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Downes & Shara, 1993)
* SNRGREEN - Catalog of Galactic Supernova Remnants (Green 1990)
* NGC2000 - New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
* ROSID - ROSAT SIMBAD Identifications
* LBN - Lynds Catalogue of Bright Nebulae
* LDN - Lynds Catalogue of Dark Nebulae
* MCG - Morphological Catalog of Galaxies (Vorontsov-Velyaminov)
* BESTARS - Jaschek and Egret (1982)
* BSC5P - Bright Star Catalog (5th Edition)
* PPM - Positions and Proper Motions (Roeser and Bastian)
* CARBONSTAR - Cool Carbon Stars Catalog (Second Edition, C.B. Stephenson)
* CPSTARS - General Catalog of Ap and Am Stars (P.Renson)
* ESOUPPSALA - ESO-Uppsala ESO(B) Atlas Survey
* HIIREGION - Sharless H II Region Catalog
* NLTT - NLTT Catalog and First Supplement (Lyuten 1979, 1980)
* OSTARS - Galactic O-Tyle Stars Catalog (Garmany, Conti, and Chiosi 1982)
* PLNEBULAE - Strasbourg Galactic Planetary Nebulae
* ZWCLUSTERS - Zwicky Clusters of Galaxies Catalog
* MARKARIAN - Markarian Galaxies Catalog
* M31STARS - Field of M31 Bright Stars
* GLOBCLUST - Galactic Globular Clusters
* DUERBECK - Galactic Novae Reference Catalog

The OPTICAL database has many entries but relatively few parameters. It provides users with general information about sources obtained from a variety of catalogs. OPTICAL is especially suitable for cone searches and cross-correlation with other catalogs. Each entry in OPTICAL has a parameter called `database` which indicates from which original database the entry was copied. Users can browse that original database should they wish to examine ALL of the parameter fields for a particular entry.

RADIO - Master Radio Catalog

The RADIO database is a newly-revised master catalog containing selected parameters from several radio source catalogs. RADIO was created by copying all of entries of some common parameters from the HEASARC databases which contain the following catalogs:

* NORTH20 CM - The 20 cm Northern Sky Catalog (White, R. L. and Becker, R. H.(1992))
* NORTH6CM - The 6 cm Northern Sky Survey Catalog (Becker, R. H., White, R. L., Edwards, A. L. (1991))
* KUEHR - Extragalactic Radio Sources at 5 GHz (Kuehr)
* MRC - Molonglo Reference Catalog of Radio Sources (1990)
* PKSCAT90 - Parkes Southern Radio Catalog
* PMN - PMN Southern & Tropical Survey
* DIXON - Dixon Radio Sources
* VLANEP - VLA 1.5GHz NEP Survey
* PULSAR - Lyne Pulsar Catalog

Each entry in RADIO has a parameter called `database` which indicates from which original database the entry was copied. Users can browse that original database should they wish to examine ALL of the parameter fields for a particular entry. More complete information is available in the original BROWSE databases from which the source information was collected.

XRAY - Master X-Ray Catalog

The XRAY database contains selected parameters from all HEASARC X-ray catalogs with source positions located to better than a few arc minutes. The XRAY database was created by copying all of the entries and common parameters from the following databases:

* A2PIC - HEAO 1 A2 Piccinotti catalog
* A3 - HEAO 1 A3 MC LASS Catalog of X-ray Sources
* EMSS - Einstein Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey
* HRICFA - Einstein High Resolution Imager (HRI) Source List
* IPC - Einstein Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) Source List
* IPCSLEW - IPC Slew Survey Catalog
* XRBCAT - X-Ray Binaries Catalog
* HRIDEEP - Einstein Deep Survey HRI Source Positions
* EXOHGLS - EXOSAT High Galactic Latitude Survey
* EXOGPS - EXOSAT Galactic Plane Sources

The XRAY database has many entries but relatively few parameters; it provides users with general information about X-ray sources, obtained from a variety of catalogs. XRAY is especially suitable for cone searches and cross-correlations with other databases. Each entry in XRAY has a parameter called `database` which indicates from which original database the entry was copied; users can browse that original database should they wish to examine ALL of the parameter fields for a particular entry.

ALLDATA - Master Data Catalog

The ALLDATA database is the master catalog for HEASARC data products.

Entries from the following database are contained in ALLDATA:

* ARIEL5 - Ariel-V All-Sky Monitor
* ASCAPUBLIC - ASCA Archival Data
* BBXRT - BBXRT Archive
* CMAIMAGE - CMA Images
* COSB - Cos-B Photon Event Files
* EXOHGLS - EXOSAT High Galactic Latitude Survey
* FPCSFITS - FPCS Event Files
* GS - GS Spectra and Lightcurves
* HRIIMAGE - HRI Images
* HRIPHOT - HRI Photon Event Data
* IPCIMAGE - IPC Images
* ME - ME Spectra and Lightcurves
* ROSPUBLIC - ROSAT Archival Data
* SSS - SSS Spectra and Lightcurves
* TGS - TGS L and R Orders
* TGS2 - TGS Spectra and Lightcurves
* VELA5B - Vela 5B All-Sky Monitor
* WFCPOINT - ROSAT WFC Public Archive

Access to the HEASARC On-line Service

Via the xray Account

Users can access the HEASARC On-line Service by typing

http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/W3Browse/

A Users Guide and Available Databases guide are available by contacting us via our Feedback form.

Via the ftp Account

Users can ftp to heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov to get data or documentation. To access the ftp account, simply type

ftp heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov

and, when prompted, log on as anonymous (or ftp) with the password as your e-mail account. Anonymous ftp has no graphical capabilities, but is a quick and easy way to transfer data if you know what you're looking for. To list the contents of a directory, type ls or dir, and to change directory, type cd dir_name.

Via the WWW

The HEASARC On-line Service is available via the World Wide Web (WWW). The URL for the HEASARC is

http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov

and the Browse area can be access by clicking on the Browse button at the top or bottom of the HEASARC Home Page. Searches by RA and Dec and by name are the only searches enabled on the WWW at this time. The advantage to the WWW is that the user can view the data before transferring it.

Via Gopher

Users can connect to the HEASARC via a Gopher by typing

gopher heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov

(or gopher heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov).

The advantages of a gopher are that the user need not know details such as the node name or e-mail address of other internet services, the ability to immediately display files before transferring, and the ability to do searches in a directory for files with names containing a specified alphanumeric string.


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Last modified: Wednesday, 20-Oct-2021 10:51:52 EDT

HEASARC Staff Scientist Position - Applications are now being accepted for a Staff Scientist with significant experience and interest in the technical aspects of astrophysics research, to work in the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD. Refer to the AAS Job register for full details.