ROSAT Status Report #37:
Nov 17, 1992
ROSAT AO4
Proposals are now being accepted for the fourth round of ROSAT pointed observations. The observations will be performed over an interval of one year, beginning 15 June, 1993. Proposals are due at NASA headquarters by close of business, 1 February, 1993.
One very important change in the ROSAT mission will take place during the observing interval covered by this NRA. The PSPC gas supply is expected to run out around the end of December 1993, approximately six months after the start of this observing cycle. After that time, only the HRI will be available for observations. The following adjustments will be made in the AO4 procedure.
- A total of six months' observing time with the PSPC will be accepted. The PSPC will be placed in the focal plane at the start of the AO4 observing period, and left there for six months, or until it becomes unusable.
- A total of six months observing time with the HRI will be accepted. This will make possible a switch over to the HRI at any time, should the PSPC die prematurely.
- The AO4 period will cover one year. It will include the remaining time that the PSPC operates, followed by six months of HRI only time.
- No targets proposed for the PSPC will be changed into HRI targets after the end of the PSPC lifetime. Observers must propose specifically for the use of each instrument. Moreover, a given ROSAT proposal must contain ONLY HRI or PSPC observations. Proposals mixing instruments will NOT be accepted. Separate proposals requesting the PSPC and the HRI for particular target are permitted. A new box on the proposal cover sheet allows specification of whether a proposal is for PSPC or HRI observations.
- The end of the PSPC lifetime represents a major shift in the emphasis of the ROSAT mission. Previously, only about 10-15 percent of all observations utilized the HRI. As most of the remainder of the mission will utilize the HRI exclusively, prospective proposers are strongly encouraged to explore the uses of this powerful instrument for their investigations. Conversely, as only a relatively small amount of PSPC time remains available, and it is unclear how rapidly its performance will degrade after June 15, only the very highest priority PSPC observations will be accepted, with no guarantee that they will be performed, or that the quality of the data will facilitate a successful investigation.
Also note that, beginning with this announcement, proposals purely for the use of public archival ROSAT pointed data, involving no new observations, should be submitted in response to the NASA Astrophysics Data Program (ADP) research announcements, and not to this announcement.
Because of the large number of proposals anticipated in response to this NRA, strict page limits will be applied to all proposals. The scientific justification should consist of not more than four pages, of which a maximum of three may be devoted to justification text. Type should not be smaller than 10 point (standard typewriter size print). These four pages and the target form(s) comprise the scientific proposal and should provide the U.S. reviewers and the IUC with the essence of your scientific proposal.
The scientific justification must provide the following information and is to be structured as follows:
(1) Scientific Problem:
State clearly the scientific problem to be addressed, along with relevant scientific background and references to previous work. Show how the proposed ROSAT observations and data analysis techniques are expected to address the problem and advance previously obtained knowledge. Justify the use of ROSAT pointed observations: explain why the science cannot be done using all-sky survey data and indicate how the observations use the unique strengths and capabilities of ROSAT. Note that a strong justification must be provided for reobservation of targets already observed or approved from previous ROSAT announcements (suggested maximum text length 2 pages).
(2) Technical Feasibility:
State how the proposed ROSAT exposure time makes possible the fulfillment of the scientific objectives. State how targets or pointing locations were selected. A clear listing should be provided of the assumptions about source intensity, surface brightness, and/or spectrum (depending on the nature of the proposed investigation). Estimates of both count rates and total counts needed to carry out the investigation should be provided. Note that it is in the proposer's best interest to provide enough detail to allow a reviewer to understand the proposer's target brightness assumptions and to reproduce estimates for counting rates and minimum observing times ( suggested text length 1/2 page).
(3) Previous ROSAT Observations:
List all ROSAT pointed observations, regardless of principal investigator, that have already been performed, are scheduled, or are awaiting scheduling that are directly relevant to this proposal (suggested text length 1/2 page).
The proposal forms are very similar to those used for AO3, with one substantive change. On the cover sheet, proposers are asked to specify the instrument being proposed for, as well as number of targets and total observing time. Observing proposals should have "PSPC" or "HRI" entered in the instrument field. Proposals for survey participation or for funding to participate in a non-US proposal should have "none" entered in the instrument field, and "0" for number of targets and total time.
The official NASA Research Announcement and the ROSAT appendices will be available within the next few weeks. Included in the appendices will be an up-to-date observation log, including all observations performed and scheduled through 15 June, 1993. An updated ROSAT technical description will include information regarding the HRI point spread function and spectral capability. Individuals interested in receiving updated appendices should contact Alan Bunner at NASA Headquarters.
Electronic submission of proposal forms is strongly encouraged for AO4. There are two ways of doing this. Forms can either be filled out through the utility within MIPS, or the Remote Proposal Software (RPS) can be employed. Use of and access to RPS are described below.
Remote Proposal Submission (RPS) Overview
The Remote Proposal Submission (RPS) package provides all the tools necessary for the remote generation and electronic submission of observing proposal forms for the US ROSAT Pointed Observation Program. The primary feature of RPS is that it is designed for the user to run on his/her home machine. RPS enables guest observers to submit electronic versions of their proposal forms and to generate hard copy (LaTeX) versions. All ROSAT proposals must be submitted in a paper version that includes the proposal forms and scientific justifications. Before using RPS, the user should be familiar with the requirements of the US ROSAT Pointed Observation Program as outlined in the NASA Research Announcement (NRA). RPS offers a number of advantages to users: it will check the data entered into each form, thereby ensuring that the form the user submits does not contain incorrectly entered, incomplete or inconsistent data. In addition to the scientific justification a ROSAT proposal consists of the following forms:
1) The Cover Page which contains details of the Principal Investigator (PI), the proposal title, subject category, and the number of targets proposed.
2) The General Form which contains the details of any Co-Investigators (Co-I's), the official endorsement of the PI's institution, and the PI declaration.
3) One or more Target Forms which contain the technical details of the proposed observation(s) of each target.
4) Each target may have a Constraints Form if the investigator(s) wants one of the time constraints applied to the observation of that target.
5) A page summarizing the target data produced automatically by RPS.
6) A Budget Summary Form which contains summarized proposed costs for items such as salary, equipment, travel, etc.
7) A Detailed Budget Form which contains more specific information pertaining to the proposed cost of an investigation.
Additionally, abstracts must be entered into a separate ASCII file that is "included" into the submitted file.
NOTE: This version of RPS is derived from the original software written by Martin Ricketts et al. at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom.
How to Copy RPS
To download RPS to your home machine, log into the FTP account on ROSAT as follows:
$ FTP ROSAT.GSFC.NASA.GOV Connection opened (Assuming 8-bit connection)login Foreign username: anonymous ls cd rps
ls cd sun
mget *
After logging on with username anonymous, the user should give his/her e-mail address as password. Then change the directory to rps (cd rps). RPS currently is available for three platforms: VAX (VMS), DECstation (ULTRIX), and SUN (UNIX). Change to the appropriate subdirectory (cd sun to obtain the RPS files needed to run on a SUN UNIX platform, cd vax to obtain the RPS files needed to run on a VAX VMS platform, and cd decstation to obtain the RPS files needed to run on a DECstation ULTRIX platform). Then download the files to the home machine (mget * will transfer all files in the current subdirectory to the home machine). All files must reside in the same subdirectory on the home machine. The file AAREADME.DAT is an electronic copy of the RPS brochure and contains information on how to run RPS.
For further information about the ROSAT Remote Proposal Submission (RPS) system or for copies of the RPS brochure, please contact:
by e-mail -------> ROSAT::REQUEST or by writing to ---> RPS Administrator Code 668 NASA/GSFC Greenbelt, MD 20771
ROSAT at the Phoenix AAS meeting.
-------------------------------- If you have read your preliminary announcement for the Phoenix AAS meeting, you will have noticed a special HEAD session devoted to ROSAT. The session will consist of three invited talks:
R. Petre - The ROSAT View of the Cosmos
R. Rosner - A New Look at Stars from ROSAT
B. Wilkes - ROSAT Beyond the Milky Way
The intent of these talks is to survey the most exciting and important results that ROSAT has thus far produced, with particular emphasis on those which have come from pointed observations with US participation. The speakers will also try to highlight those areas where further observations during the last few months of PSPC lifetime are crucial. As ROSAT data is spread out among hundreds of guest observers there is no possible means by which these speakers can know about all the exciting results without help. We are therefore requesting that observers with results they would like to see highlighted in these presentations contact Rob Petre, the US project scientist (at lheavx::petre or petre@lheavx.gsfc.nasa.gov). Initially, an E-mail note will suffice, but eventually we would like viewgraphs/slides depicting the results.
In support of these talks, we encourage observers with ROSAT results to present them at the meeting. Drawing attention to ROSAT results serves two useful purposes. In the short term, it might stimulate some new ideas for the final months of PSPC life. In the longer term, those who control the funding for guest observer programs will notice, and might adjust the funding for ROSAT accordingly.
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