National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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                         RELEASE NOTES FOR HEASOFT 6.6.2
                                 April 6, 2009
********************************************************************************

The HEASoft 6.6.2 release is primarily driven by the release of the
Suzaku (version 12) and Swift (version 3.2) software, but also includes
some other bug-fix updates to other packages to mirror the current
development versions in use at the HEASARC.

IMPORTANT:

  Please note that HEASoft 6.6.x is the last major distribution of HEAsoft
  in which we intend to include xspec v11. It is becoming increasingly hard
  to keep v11 up-to-date for new compilers and we do not have the resources
  to support two different versions. If there are v11 features that you are
  using and that we have omitted in the current version (v12) please let us
  know as soon as possible via the xspec12 help desk at:

     xspec12@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov


********************************************************************************
                                    CALLIB
********************************************************************************

- Added checks that the COUNTS column is integer. This avoids a potential
  silent problem if someone creates a spectrum with non-integer COUNTS values.

********************************************************************************
                                   CALTOOLS
********************************************************************************

- addrmf: Fixed memory allocation bug.

********************************************************************************
                                      FV
********************************************************************************

- Fixed startup problem on Solaris encountered when using the SunStudio
  compilers.

********************************************************************************
                                    HEASARC
********************************************************************************

- extractor: Backed out part of v5.09 change to speed up fixwmp because in
  cases where the image and WMAP coordinates differ and the satellite has
  attitude wobble it can leave photons in the WMAP within the supposedly
  filtered out area.

********************************************************************************
                                    XSELECT
********************************************************************************

- Fixed bug in handling submissions; probably only matters for Chandra
  grating data.

- xselect.mdb: Fixed an ASCA SIS entry which used wildcards too
  enthusiastically.

********************************************************************************
                                    XIMAGE
********************************************************************************

- AST library: Fixed buffer overrun in method SpecTrans, where AST's
  internal representation of FITS keywords (some longer than 8 characters)
  were written to a static array not big enough to hold them.

- Check AST status after trying to encode WCS. Fixes problem where, when
  no WCS information is in the FITS header, Ximage fails to read image.

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                                   XSPEC 12
********************************************************************************

HEASoft 6.6.2 includes Xspec v12.5.0ac.  See

  http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xanadu/xspec/issues/issues.html

for information about v12.5.0ac and to get patches beyond level 'ac'.


********************************************************************************
                                    SUZAKU
********************************************************************************
Suzaku software Version 12 - Changes since HEASoft v6.6:

-----------------
 Suzaku general:
-----------------

- aemkreg: Fix HXD FOV centered on HXD nominal.  Draw FWHM & FULL for PIN, GSO.

---------------------
 HXD specific tools:
---------------------

- hxdtime, hxdpi, hxdgrade:
       fixed bug in writing CHECKSUM when read_iomode = create.

- hxdbsttime:
       fixed bug in writing CHECKSUM of BSTIDT file.

- hxdwambstid:
       fixed bug in writing HHMMSS and FRZN_HHMMSS, and
       fixed bug when a FRZON or FRZOF time does not come.

- hxdmkwamspec:
       fixed bug of uninitialized parameters.     

- hxdmkbstlc:
       fixed bug in writing CHECKSUM of lc files.

- hxdmkbstspec:
       fixed bug in writing COUNTS of pha files.

---------------------
 XIS specific tools:
---------------------
 
- xisllegtigen (new):
       Generate a FITS file of good time interval (GTI) that
       does not suffer from incorrect light leak estimation (LLE).

- mkphlist:
       Update help file slightly.

- xiscoord:
       Use fits_update_key() instead of fits_modify_key()
       in writing TLMINn keywords.

- xisgtigen:
       Fix potential bug (writing null rows) in writing GTI.

- xispi:
       Change the number of transfers in window mode.
       Use simplified SCI-on CTI correction formula.

- xisputpixelquality:
       Update help file slightly.

- xistime:
       Accept timfile=NONE to re-generate GTI.

- xisrmfgen:
       Update 2x2 and psum messages in both code and help file.

- xissim:
       Bug fix in writing RAWY column (RAWX values were written before).
       Fix xrrt ray-tracing library for segmentation fault in rare occasions.

- xissimarfgen:
       Fix xrrt ray-tracing library for segmentation fault in rare occasions.


********************************************************************************
                                     SWIFT
********************************************************************************

Swift software Version 3.2(Bld24.2) - Changes since HEASoft v6.6.1:

--------------------
 BAT specific tools:
--------------------

- battblocks:
       Bug fixed: sscanf'ing of double precision argument with single
       precision format code.

---------------------
 UVOT specific tools:
---------------------

- uvotgrblc (v1.2):
       * Improved rejection of "bad" field sources used for FIELDSTARS
         aperture correction method.
       * Implemented centroiding of input images with uvotcentroid.
       * Improved plotting of lightcurves and images.
       * Added finding chart image plots.
       * New parameter 'object': overrides OBJECT keyword from FITS headers
         in plotting and output FITS headers.
       * New parameter 'skysummed': allows for input summed images to be
         treated as sky images (a.k.a. snapshots).
       * New parameter 'apermethod': allows user decide which of Curve of
         Growth or field star aperture correction methods gets used.
       * New parameter 'centroid': determines whether to run uvotcentroid
         on input images.
       * New parameter 'bkgfield': determines if detected field sources
         are excluded from user-supplied background region file or not.
       * New parameter 'usetrigtime': determines if light curves are offset
         by TRIGTIME (or 'trigtime' parameter).
       * New parameters 'usetargid' and 'targid': used in plotting.
       * New parameter 'fldexpthresh': improves selection of field stars
         for aperture correction.
       * New parameter 'appendcurves': determines if all light curves
         should be merged into a single, multi-extension FITS table.
       * New parameters 'xrtsrcra', 'xrtsrcdec', 'batsrcra', 'batsrcdec':
         if provided, error circles will be plotted on finding chart image.

- uvotsource:
       Correction for coincidence-loss error calculations for source and
       background rates.

---------------------
 XRT specific tools:
---------------------

- xrtcalcpi:
       * Added energy dependence in column to column PI correction for charge
         traps.
       * Handle new gain CALDB file format
       * New input parameter 'corrtype' to choose the method for PHA to PI
         conversion.
       * New input parameters 'userctcorrpar', 'alpha1', 'alpha2' and 'ebreak'
         to allow users to input coefficients for energy dependence of charge
         traps correction.
       * New input parameter 'savepinom' to store the PI values calculated
         with nominal method (i.e. old algorithm) in the 'PI_NOM' column.

- xrtgrblc:
       * Lowered distance at which a detected source is considered a field
         source from .01 degrees to 0.0028 degrees.
       * Update DATE-OBS/DATE-END keywords.
       * Bug Fixes:
         - Use maketime expression (param maketimeexpr) to generate a full
           GTI for all PC data.
         - This total GTI is used to extract the total PC events used for
           detecting field sources;
         - Changed PHA handling to not ignore PHAs with zero counts.  This
           effects the normalized count rate in Xspec, since the exposure
           time was not correct;
         - Fixed bug in updating orbit stop times after determining where
           to split orbits;
         - Fixed wrong calculation of split energy band flux conversion -
           now uses model flux in split energy bands divided by
           corresponding count rate;
         - Work-around for file limits in mathpha;
         - Work-around mgtime file limits;
         - Fixed a handful of undeclared variables.

- xrtpipeline:
      New input parameters 'picorrtype' and 'savepinom' for xrtcalcpi call.

- xrtproducts:
       Bug fixed in xselect task call.

- xrtscreen:
       Bug fixed in xselect task call.

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