HEASARC News
Important Upcoming Proposal Deadlines
- 12/19/2025: Step 1 (NOI) Deadline for Astrophysics Data Analysis Program
- 01/22/2026: Step 1 (NOI) Deadline for Citizen Science Seed Funding Program
- 01/23/2026: Step 1 (NOI) Deadline for Astrophysics Pioneers Proposal
- 01/29/2026: Cycle 12 Deadline for NuSTAR General Investigator Proposal
- 33rd Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics: 2025 Dec 08 - 12
- Coupling Radiative Transfer and Atomic Physics to Study r-Process Transients: 2026 Jan 12 - 16
- 60th Rencontres de Moriond on Very High Energy Phenomena in the Universe: 2026 Mar 15 - 22
- BlackHolistic 2026: black holes, accretion and jets across the mass spectrum: 2026 Mar 23 - 27
Upcoming Deadlines
Upcoming Meetings
Recent News
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 12 proposal submission is Jan 29, 2026. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the NuSTAR Proposal Guide Page.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20251215. This release includes a new clock correction file, v219 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.12.3 is now installed in and available from the HEASARC CALDB. Chandra 4.12.3 was released by the CXC on December 16, 2025.
The latest version, 2.5.1, of the Fermi analysis software, Fermitools, was released on December 18, 2025
The XRISM Cycle 3 call for GO proposals has been announced and is now open. The due date for XRISM Cycle 3 proposal submission is February 27th, 2026. See the Proposals and Tools webpage for more information.
The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) November 2025 cycle application deadline has been extended to Friday 19 December 2025 at 6p Eastern (3p Pacific). The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers US and international scientists the opportunity to advance their research while contributing to NASA's scientific goals. The NPP supports fundamental science; explores the undiscovered; promotes intellectual growth; and encourages scientific connections. Selected by a competitive peer-review process, NPP Fellows complete one- to three-year Fellowship appointments that advance NASA's missions in Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics, astrophysics, biological and physical science, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration systems, space operations, space technology, and astrobiology. Search for NPP research opportunities here: NPP Research Opportunities.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20251201. This release includes a new clock correction file, v218 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details. Also released was NuSTAR caldb version 20251110, which included v217 of the clock correction file.
The results of the IXPE Cycle 3 peer review, held 12-18 Nov 2025, have been approved. The list of recommended targets, and targets sorted by Right Ascension are now available.
The HEASARC has added the CALET Gamma Ray Burst Monitory (CGBM) version 3.2a data to the archive, which contains data from the two Hard X-ray Monitor and Soft Gamma Ray Monitor instruments. The data is now complete up to the end of June 2025.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20251106 to update the clock correction file to v169 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20251027. This release includes a new clock correction file, v216 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The list of AO2 approved targets is now publicly available on the XRISM Proposals webpage. For each proposal submitted to NASA in response to the XRISM Cycle 2 call for Type-1 proposals, a detailed email with panel evaluation will be sent at a later stage.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20251006. This release includes a new clock correction file, v215 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The MAXI CALDB has been updated for the GSC. The GSC CALDB has been updated to version 20250915.
HEASoft 6.36 has been released. The HEASoft 6.36 release is driven by new and updated mission-specific data analysis software (XRISM, IXPE, MAXI, BurstCube, et al.) and other enhancements and fixes. 6.36 release notes for details.
The XRISM Caldb for the Resolve and XTEND instruments has been updated to version 20250915 (CALDB 12). Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250922. This release includes a new clock correction file, v214 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20250909 to update the clock correction file to v168 ...
The CALDB caldb.config file has been updated to include the BurstCube CS0, CS1, CS2, and CS3 entries, and the caldb setup tar file has been updated with the new caldb.config file.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250908. This release includes a new clock correction file, v213 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250908. This release includes a new clock correction file, v213 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers US and international scientists the opportunity to advance their research while contributing to NASA's scientific goals. The NPP supports fundamental science; explores the undiscovered; promotes intellectual growth; and encourages scientific connections. Selected by a competitive peer-review process, NPP Fellows complete one- to three-year Fellowship appointments that advance NASA's missions in Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics, astrophysics, biological and physical science, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration systems, space operations, space technology, and astrobiology. Search for NPP research opportunities here: NPP Research Opportunities. Applications are accepted three times each year: March 1, July 1, and November 1.
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website. The application submission page will be open from September 2 until the deadline on October 29, 2025.
The 7th X-ray Universe Symposium will be held in Elche, Spain, from 8-11 June 2026, organized by the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre. The conference will cover a broad range of high energy astrophysics topics, highlight results from XMM-Newton and other missions, and discuss future projects and analysis methods.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250825. This release includes a new clock correction file, v212 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250825. This release includes a new clock correction file, v212 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.12.2 is now installed in and available from the HEASARC CALDB. Chandra 4.12.2 was released by the CXC on August 19, 2025.
The MAXI CALDB has been updated for the GSC. The GSC CALDB has been updated to version 20250808.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250812. This release includes a new clock correction file, v211 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250812. This release includes a new clock correction file, v211 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The XLCALMASTR catalog records high-level information for the observations obtained with the XL-Calibur experiment and provides access to the XL-Calibur data obtained over its lifetime. XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne second-generation (X-ray-focusing) Compton polarimeter operational in the energy range ~15-80 keV with the main objective to measure polarization in hard X-rays for a selection of bright sources. It is available in both Browse and Xamin.
The BurstCube archive opens at the HEASARC for the initial data release. The HEASARC currently holds science and calibration data.
The XL-Calibur archive opens at the HEASARC for the initial data release. The HEASARC currently holds event and spectra data, with calibration data slated to be released in a future update.
The CCALSPEC database table records the spectra and time histogram results obtained with the CALET Calorimeter (CCAL), one of the two instruments in the scientific payload on the CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) mission. The calorimeter can measure all-electron spectra and the hadronic components of cosmic rays in the energy range up to ~10 TeV. It is available in both Browse and Xamin.
The due date for IXPE Cycle 3 proposal submission is Sept 11, 2025. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the IXPE Cycle 3 Guide for Proposals Page.
The BURCBMASTR catalog records high-level information for the observations made by the BurstCube mission and provides access to the BurstCube data obtained over its mission lifetime. It is available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250729. This release includes a new clock correction file, v210 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250729. This release includes a new clock correction file, v210 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
New CALET Calorimeter spectra data are available at the HEASARC for new elements.
The HEASARC has added the CALET Gamma Ray Burst Monitory (CGBM) version 3.2a data to the archive, which contains data from the two Hard X-ray Monitor and Soft Gamma Ray Monitor instruments. The data is complete up to the end of 2023, and includes trigger event files.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250714. This release includes a new clock correction file, v209 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20250708 to update the clock correction file to v167 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250630. This release includes a new clock correction file, v208 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250630. This release includes a new clock correction file, v208 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
IXPE's Detector Unit 2 (DU2) is operating in an anomalous but stable and functional state since 14 April 2025. The detector response has changed and the data processing is being adjusted. The spectral response has been corrected. The response for polarimetry and background filtering are being recalibrated. The data for observations after 10 May 2025 are being made available with DU2 event data removed. After the processing adjustments are completed and tested, new data sets will be released to HEASARC with DU2 included.
HEASoft 6.35.2 patch update has been released. HEASoft 6.35.2 contains an update to the NICER software (NICERDAS v14).
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250616. This release includes a new clock correction file, v207 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20250609 to update the XRT gains...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250617. This release includes a new clock correction file, v207 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
ESA plans to offer the scientific community an opportunity to access basic INTEGRAL data in the coming years. A knowledge transfer workshop on this topic is scheduled for half a day on 03 July 2025. The workshop venue is the Fraport Conference Center inside Frankfurt Airport, Germany.
The INTEGRAL Science Legacy Archive (ISLA) provides access to all consolidated data as well as high level products like time series, spectra and mosaics per observation for the high energy sources detected over the course of the mission's 22+ years science operations. In addition, a Community portal allows scientists to promote and make accessible their own science products.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250602. This release includes a new clock correction file, v206 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20250515 to update the clock correction file to v166 ...
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250521. This release includes a new clock correction file, v205 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Astrophysics Data System (ADS) Abstract Service provides routinely updated and complete past listings of Gamma-ray burst Coordinates Network (GCN) notices for CALET.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250428. This release includes a new clock correction file, v204 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250428. This release includes a new clock correction file, v204 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
NICER has regained additional daytime observation capabilities thanks to repairs completed during a spacewalk in January and a reconfiguration of its detectors.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250415. This release includes a new clock correction file, v203 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250415. This release includes a new clock correction file, v203 using a new temperature mod el. Please see the release notes for more details.
The first XRISM International Conference will be held in Kyoto, Japan, Oct 20-24th 2025. Abstracts are due July 4th.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250331. This release includes a new clock correction file, v202 using a new temperature model. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250331. This release includes a new clock correction file, v202 using a new temperature mod el. Please see the release notes for more details.
HEASoft 6.35 has been released and contains updates to the IXPE software tools. Please see the release notes for more details. The HEASoft 6.35.1 patch release contains an update to the extractor tool that is important for IXPE users. Downloads are available from the HEASoft page. IXPE users are recommended to use the latest version of HEASoft for their analysis.
HEASoft 6.35.1 patch update has been released. HEASoft 6.35.1 contains an update to the extractor task.
The first BurstCube Calibration Database (version 20250226) has been released at the HEASARC. As part of this release, the CALDB caldb.config file has also been updated to include the BurstCube release, and the caldb setup tar file has been updated with the new caldb.config file.
Publication of the first results from the 2024 XL-Calibur observations of the Crab Nebula and Pulsar.
The XRISM caldb.indx file released as part of the 20250315 XRISM Resolve caldb release was incorrect. The correct caldb.indx file is now installed in the XRISM Resolve CALDB, and the tar files updated. Please replace previously downloaded versions of the caldb.indx20250315 in the $CALDB/data/xrism/resolve/index directory with the corrected version.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250317. This release includes a new clock correction file, v201. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250317. This release includes a new clock correction file, v201. Please see the release notes for more details.
The XRISM Cycle 2 call for GO proposals has been announced and is now open. The due date for XRISM Cycle 2 proposal submission is May 15, 2025. See the Proposals and Tools webpage for more information.
An update to the XRISM Caldb for the Resolve, XTEND and gen instruments is now available. Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
An update to the XRISM Caldb for the Resolve, XTEND and gen instruments is now available. Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20241028) and the GPD (version 20250225). Please see the release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20241028) and the GPD (version 20250225). Please see the release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is the definitive catalog of X-ray sources detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The CSC delivers a wide variety of uniformly calibrated properties and science ready data products for detected sources over four decades of flux. The Chandra Source Catalog version 2.1 (CSC 2.1) was released on April 2nd 2024; the current minor release is version 2.1.1, updated on 2024 October 18. This release of the catalog includes measured properties for 407,806 unique compact and extended X-ray sources in the sky, allowing statistical analysis of large samples, as well as individual source studies in the "Master Sources" table, available in Browse and Xamin.
HEASoft 6.35 has been released. HEASoft 6.35 contains new and updated mission-specific data analysis software (XRISM, IXPE, Swift, RXTE, et al.) 6.35 release notes for details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250303. This release includes a new clock correction file, v200. Please see the release notes for more details.
Version 22.1 PATCH of the Science Analysis System (SAS) released
The IXPE Quick Start guide has been updated and includes various changes, including demonstrating the use of the ixpepolarization tool.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250224. This release includes a updated ARF files for FPMA, and an updated bad pixel file for FPMB. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250224. This release includes a updated ARF files for FPMA, and an updated bad pixel file for FPMB. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20250304 to update the clock correction file to v165 ...
The European Space Agency's gamma-ray telescope ended its observations on 28 February 2025. During its 22+ years in space, INTEGRAL has reshaped our view of the most dramatic events in the Universe.
The first BurstCube CALDB has been released at the HEASARC. The HEASARC caldb.config file has also been updated to include the BurstCube release, and the caldb setup tar file has been updated with the new caldb.config file.
The Viewing tool's integration with the XMM-Newton Target Visibility Tool has been updated to work with the latest version of the European Space Agency's tool.
The XMM slew catalog ( XMMSLEWFUL) and associated catalog of clean sources ( XMMSLEWCLN) offer the third catalog of X-ray sources found in slew data from 3,120 observations made between 2000 August 26 and 2023 August 11. The full catalog contains 68,383 more detections (for a total of 140,735 detections); the "clean" sample of sources contains 46,110 sources. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250218. This release includes a new clock correction file, v199. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250218. This release includes a new clock correction file, v199. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250203. This release includes a new clock correction file, v198. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.12.0 is now installed in and available from the HEASARC CALDB. Chandra 4.12.0 was released by the CXC on January 31, 2025.
The latest release of the XMM-Newton Science Analysis Software is now available.
Verification observations of the installation of 9 patches during U.S. Spacewalk 91 show that the detectors behind the patched optics are receiving lower levels of optical light during orbit night, and the level of light inside the instrument during orbit day is substantially reduced. Some continued data degradation due to sunlight during orbit day is, however, still evident. NICER continues to operate with its full measurement capabilities during orbit night, and assessment of daytime data recovery is ongoing.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250122. This release includes a new clock correction file, v197. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250122. This release includes a new clock correction file, v197. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20250121 to update the clock correction file to v164.
During EVA 91 on January 16, 2025, ISS Astronaut Nick Hague successfully installed 9 patches into 8 of the NICER XTI sunshades to mitigate light leaks from damaged portions of the optical blocking filters. You can watch a recording of the NICER portion of the spacewalk activity from Nick Hague's helmet-camera.
The new due date for NuSTAR Cycle 11 proposal submission is February 19, 2025.
JAXA has announced that the Suzaku satellite has re-entered the Earth's on 2025 January 5.
The proposal selection process for Cycle 7 of the General Observer program is complete, and lists of selected proposals and approved targets are available.
Astronauts onboard the ISS will perform an EVA planned for January 16 during which the light leak in NICER's X-ray Timing Instrument will be repaired by applying patches to NICER's sunshades above damaged areas of the thermal films. These patches will reduce optical light and allow NICER's X-ray detectors to perform as intended during orbit day. The repair is scheduled to begin around 9:40am EST, and last about an hour. Please see the description of the EVA on NASA's science website for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250107. This release includes a new clock correction file, v196. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20250107. This release includes a new clock correction file, v196. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.11.6 is now installed in and available from the HEASARC CALDB. Chandra 4.11.6 was released by the CXC on December 17, 2024.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241216. This release includes a new clock correction file, v195. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241216. This release includes a new clock correction file, v195. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest version of the table of accepted XMM-Newton targets, updated to include AO-24 results, is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-24 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241126. This release includes a new clock correction file, v194. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241126. This release includes a new clock correction file, v194. Please see the release notes for more details.
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 11 proposal submission is Jan 29, 2025. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the NuSTAR Proposal Page.
An update to the XRISM Caldb for the Resolve, XTEND and gen instruments is now available. Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20241101 to update the clock correction file ...
An update to the XRISM Caldb for the Resolve, XTEND and gen instruments is now available. Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241104. This release includes a new clock correction file, v193. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.11.3 is now installed in and available from the HEASARC CALDB. Chandra 4.11.3 was released by the CXC on August 21, 2024.
IXPE made the cover of the October 2024 edition of Galaxies with a paper on probing magnetic fields in young supernova remnants with IXPE by Pat Slane et al. The work explore how X-ray polarimetry using IXPE provides insights into magnetic field structures and particle acceleration mechanisms in young supernova remnants. This article belongs to a special issue of the journal titled "X-Ray Polarimetry: A New Era Begins with the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer"
This workshop is to discuss data analysis techniques and prepare the astronomical community for the upcoming Cycle 2 General Observer Call for Proposals for XRISM. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required. Deadline for in-person participation is Dec 12, 2024.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241015. This release includes a new clock correction file, v192. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20241015. This release includes a new clock correction file, v192. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240930. This release includes a new clock correction file, v191. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240930. This release includes a new clock correction file, v191. Please see the release notes for more details.
First eROSITA sky-survey data release data (eRASS1) is now available at HEASARC!
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20240912 to update the clock correction file ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240916. This release includes a new clock correction file, v190. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240916. This release includes a new clock correction file, v190. Please see the release notes for more details.
Version 4.14 contains updated calibration for IXPE and new Athena calibration files.
BurstCube science operations were terminated on September 14. The mission was much shorter than originally planned and the science data collected will be archived.
These patches address issues with parameter limits in the sssed model and memory issues in the ismabs model.
The Chandra Peer-Review recommended targets and proposals for Chandra Cycle 26, including GTO and GO proposals, joint proposals with other ground-based and/or satellite facilities, large and very large multicycle proposals, have now been publically released. Note: archive and theory proposals are no longer supported.
HEASoft 6.34 has been released and contains updates to the IXPE software tools. This release also includes a new tool for flagging background events. Please see the release notes for more details. Downloads are available from the HEASoft page. IXPE users are recommended to use the latest version of HEASoft for their analysis.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240826. This release includes a new clock correction file, v189. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240826. This release includes a new clock correction file, v189. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.11.3 is now installed in and available from the HEASARC CALDB. Chandra 4.11.3 was released by the CXC on August 21, 2024.
The first release of the XRISM Caldb for the Resolve, XTEND and gen instruments is now available. Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
The first release of the XRISM Caldb for the Resolve, XTEND and gen instruments is now available. Tar files can be downloaded from the XRISM Calibration page.
HEASoft 6.34 has been released. HEASoft 6.34 contains the first release of the XRISM analysis software. Please see the 6.34 release notes for details.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20240726). Please see the release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20240726). Please see the release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the 24th Announcement of Opportunity.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240812. This release includes a new clock correction file, v188. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240812. This release includes a new clock correction file, v188. Please see the release notes for more details.
The list of AO1 approved targets (in response to the XRISM Cycle 1 call for Type-1 proposals) is now publicly available on the XRISM Proposals webpage. A detailed email with panel evaluation will be sent separately to each proposer at a later stage.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240729. This release includes a new clock correction file, v187. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240729. This release includes a new clock correction file, v187. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240715. This release includes a new clock correction file, v186. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240715. This release includes a new clock correction file, v186. Please see the release notes for more details.
The XL-Calibur mission concluded a 6-day long flight, terminating close to Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada. During the flight, XL-Calibur successfully gathered 4 days of observational data.
A new version of the xTime mission date/time conversion tool was released that fixes issues with converting from either NuSTAR or INTEGRAL times to XRISM times.
The XL-Calibur balloon from NASA was successfully launched at 05:04 local time on the 9th of July from Esrange Space Center (Sweden). The flight is expected to last 4-5 days and it is possible to follow its journey across the Atlantic before landing in northern Canada.
The stacked catalog (XMMSTACK) and associated observation data ( XMMSTACKOB) offer new versions of the stacked catalog built from 10,336 4XMM-DR13 overlapping observations. XMMSTACK contains 1,751 stacks (or groups). The catalog contains 427,524 unique sources, with each observation also provided in the associated XMMSTACKOB table. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The most recent, updated version of this catalog (from Webb et al.,2020) containing 1,035,832 X-ray source detections (an increase of 621 more observations and 51,884 more detections since the previous version 4XMM-DR13) drawn from a total of 13,864 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 3 and 2023 December 31 is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
14th release of the 4XMM Serendipitous Source Catalogue
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240701. This release includes a new clock correction file, v185. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240701. This release includes a new clock correction file, v185. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC has been updated to version 20240701 to update the clock correction file ...
The XL-Calibur balloon from NASA was successfully launched at 05:04 local time on the 9th of July from Esrange Space Center (Sweden). The flight is expected to last 4-5 days and it is possible to follow its journey across the Atlantic before landing in northern Canada.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240618. This release includes a new clock correction file, v184. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.11.2 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.11.2 was released by the CXC on June 6, 2024.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20240522 to update the XRT gains...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240520. This release includes a new clock correction file, v183. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240520. This release includes a new clock correction file, v183. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20240506, and the Swift SC has been updated to version 20240506 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240506. This release includes a new clock correction file, v182. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240506. This release includes a new clock correction file, v182. Please see the release notes for more details.
The 2024 Joint NICER/IXPE Workshop will be held at The George Washington University in Washington D.C from Monday, 29th of July, 2024 to Thursday, 1st of August, 2024. Registration is free for both in-person and remote attendees
The CALET CGBM caldb was updated to version 20240419.
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20240327 ...
HEASoft 6.33.2 has been released. HEASoft 6.33.2 contains updates required for building the source code with GCC 14.x as distributed with for example, the Fedora 40 operating system. Additionally, it includes fixes for a couple of NICER mission tasks and updates Xspec to patch level 12.14.00h. Please see the 6.33.2 release notes for details.
The list of NuSTAR targets recommended by the Cycle 10 peer review is now available. Cycle 10 observations will start to be routinely performed on June 1, 2024. Evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 10 proposal PIs in the coming weeks.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240422. This release includes a new clock correction file, v181. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240422. This release includes a new clock correction file, v181. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.11.1 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.11.1 was released by the CXC on April 18, 2023.
BurstCube was deployed successfully from the ISS Thursday, April 18 at 7.26 am EST. The deployment operations included two 6U cubesat SnoOPI and BurstCube. A snapshot of the recorded video shows the two cubesats in space. BurstCube is the one of the left.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240405. This release includes a new clock correction file, v180. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240405. This release includes a new clock correction file, v180. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240325. This release includes a new clock correction file, v179. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240325. This release includes a new clock correction file, v179. Please see the release notes for more details.
NASA's SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida on Thursday, March 21 at 4:55 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft, carrying BurstCube and other scientific payloads as well as supplies, had docked to the International Space Station early morning on Saturday, March 23.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240311a. This release corrects 13 invalid files which existed in the NuSTAR FPM caldb from Feb. 29, 2024 to Mar. 20, 2024. Please see the release notes for details.
HEASoft 6.33.1 has been released. HEASoft 6.33.1 contains updates required for building the source code on Macs using the Apple XCode Command Line Tools (CLT) version 15.3. Please see the 6.33.1 release notes for details.
12.14.0c addresses a seg fault when using the plot polangle command.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240311a. This release corrects 13 invalid files which existed in the NuSTAR FPM caldb from Feb. 29, 2024 to Mar. 20, 2024. Please see the release notes for details.
BurstCube is scheduled to be launched on the SpaceX 30th Commercial Resupply Services mission. The anticipated launch date is March 21, 2004. BurstCube will be carried in the Cargo Dragon C209 and flown to the International Space Station for deployment at a later date.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20240308, and the Swift BAT caldb has been updated to version 20230607 ...
The IXPE Quick Start guide has been updated to include the use of the ixpecalcarf tool to generate observation specific response files.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240311. This release includes a new clock correction file, v178. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240311. This release includes a new clock correction file, v178. Please see the release notes for more details.
Xamin has a new, easier-to-use interface. Please give it a try. Feedback welcome. The "classic" interface is still available.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240229. This release includes a new clock correction file, v177, and a new gain and arf. Please see the release notes for more details.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20231201) and the GPD (version 20240125). Please see the release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20231201) and the GPD (version 20240125). Please see the release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The Sun angle constraint has been updated in the Viewing tool for the IXPE mission.
The Sun angle constraint has been updated in the Viewing tool for the IXPE mission.
HEASoft 6.33 has been released. HEASoft 6.33 includes new and updated mission-specific data analysis software (IXPE and NICER). Please see the 6.33 release notes for details.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20240206.
The XRISM Proposer's Observatory Guide, response files and tools for GO proposal feasibility are now available. In addition, because the Resolve aperture door ("gate valve") has not yet opened, the exposure time limit for GO proposals has been increased to 300 ks per pointing. However, the overall limit per proposal is still 600 ks.
The NICER enhanced visibility calculator, which provides detailed target visibility information taking into account blockages by ISS structures and other constraints, has been updated. This update allows calculation of target visibilities using orbit day target/sun angles greater than 90 degrees, appropriate for targets observed during ISS orbit day in the presence of the XTI light leak. The update also allows the user to calculate visibilities for observations restricted to orbit night or orbit day.
The DR1 version of the eROSITA CALDB has been installed at the HEASARC, and the HEASARC caldb.config file has been updated to include the eROSITA CALDB data.
The Swift UVOTA caldb has been updated to version 20240201 ...
Today, the German eROSITA consortium released the data for its share of the first all-sky survey by the soft X-ray imaging telescope flying aboard the Spectrum-RG (SRG) satellite. With about 900,000 distinct sources, the first eROSITA All-Sky Survey (eRASS1) has yielded the largest X-ray catalogue ever published. Along with the data, the consortium released today a series of scientific papers. See press release here.
The German eROSITA consortium released the data for its share of the first all-sky survey by the eROSITA telescope on the Spectrum-RG (SRG) satellite. With about 900,000 distinct sources, the first eROSITA All-Sky Survey (eRASS1) has yielded the largest X-ray catalogue ever published. Along with the data, the consortium released a series of scientific papers. See the press release for more information.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240130. This release includes a new clock correction file, v176. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240130. This release includes a new clock correction file, v176. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift pole constraints have been updated in the Viewing tool. The revised coefficients extrapolate the trend for the next two years.
After 17 years of productive operations, the AGILE satellite ceased scientific observations on January 18, 2024.
On January 9, 2024, the NICER team received approval from the ISS program to proceed with a light-leak repair effort via either the ISS robotic system (EVR) or ISS astronauts during a spacewalk (EVA). The choice of EVR vs. EVA is expected to be made by the end of February. See the NICER Light-leak Update for more information.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240118. This release includes a new clock correction file, v175. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240118. This release includes a new clock correction file, v175. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20240118 ...
The INTEGRAL AO-21 General Programme, as recommended by the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) and approved by ESA's Director of Science (Prof. Carole Mundell), has been released and the observers have been informed.
Support for XRISM mission elapsed time has been added to xTime.
This new tool can determine the range of possible roll angles for a XRISM observation of a target or the time constraints for a roll-constrained XRISM observation of a target.
XRISM's first light has been released! The two instruments are performing exceptionally: Resolve reaching a spectral resolution of 5 eV (exceeding the 7 eV requirement) and Xtend performing as expected.
The XRISM Cycle 1 call for GO proposals has been announced and is now open. See the Proposals and Tools webpage for more information.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240104. This release includes a new clock correction file, v174. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20240104. This release includes a new clock correction file, v174. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest version of the table of accepted XMM-Newton targets, updated to include AO-23 results, is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231218. This release includes a new clock correction file, v173. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231218. This release includes a new clock correction file, v173. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.11.0 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.11.0 was released by the CXC on December 12, 2023.
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-23 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
The Swift UVOTA caldb has been updated to version 20231208 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231205. This release includes a new clock correction file, v172. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231205. This release includes a new clock correction file, v172. Please see the release notes for more details.
The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center is interested in hearing from YOU! This brief survey will capture how users access and utilize HEASARC data, software, and services. The outcome(s) of this survey will be used to guide, prioritize, and plan our activities and development in the coming years. It contains 20 questions, generally takes just a few minutes to complete, and your answers will remain totally anonymous. The survey is open until Dec 18, 2023. We thank you in advance for your valuable feedback.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The result of the recent NICER Cycle 6 review is now available for accepted proposals and approved targets. Cycle 6 begins March 1, 2024. The deadline for Cycle 6 Phase 2 proposals for accepted programs is January 24, 2024.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231121. This release includes a new clock correction file, v171. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231121. This release includes a new clock correction file, v171. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra X-ray Center announces a Chandra Legacy Program (CLP). The goal of the program is to provide the community with crucial results that only Chandra can produce and that will break new scientific ground and/or complement new and far-reaching observations in other wavelength regimes. Development of the CLP will be a multi-stage process that begins with this Announcement/Call for White Papers to select the topics for the CLP. A subsequent, fully open, Call for Proposals will be used to select the actual targets for implementing the CLP. White Paper deadline is January 22, 2024. For more information on the opportunity, please read the full program details at the CLP website.
The ACTSOUTH catalog is a multi-frequency, multi-epoch catalog of extragalactic sources, based on 150, 220 and 280 GHz observations carried out in 2008, 2009 and 2010 using the Millimeter Bolometric Array Camera on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The catalog contains 695 sources, found in a sky area of ~600 square degrees, and is available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20231115 ...
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 10 proposal submission is Jan 25, 2024. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the NuSTAR Proposal Page.
This workshop is to prepare the astronomical community for the upcoming Cycle 1 General Observer Call for Proposals for XRISM. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required. Deadline for in-person participation is Dec 22, 2023.
The recently updated XMMOMSUSS v6.1 Catalog of optical/UV sources detected by the Optical Monitor (OM) on-board the European Space Agency's (ESA's) XMM-Newton observatory, spans the period of observations from 2000 to November 2022. The total number of entries in this release is 9,920,390, including 6,659,554 unique sources. 1,225,117 sources have multiple entries in the source table, corresponding to different observations. For each entry, positional and photometric data (count rate, magnitude and flux) and quality flags for each measurement are provided. An associated catalog, XMMOMSUOB, contains the list of the corresponding observations and their characteristics. The source and observation catalogs are now available in Browse and Xamin.
6th release of the XMM OM Serendipitous Source Catalogue
The Catalog of High-Mass X-Ray Binaries in the Galaxy (HMXBCAT2) provides the most complete set of observables on Galactic HMXBs. Using previous catalogs of HMXBs supplemented by listings of hard X-ray sources detected in the past 20 years, this catalog includes the best known coordinates, companion star spectral type, systemic radial velocities, component masses, orbital period, eccentricity and spin period when available. In addition, this catalog includes the coordinates and identifiers for each counterpart found from hard X-rays to near-infrared, including counterparts from the recent Gaia DR3 catalog. HMXBCAT2 is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231017. This release includes a new clock correction file, v170. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231003. This release includes a new clock correction file, v169. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20231003. This release includes a new clock correction file, v169. Please see the release notes for more details.
The new XL-Calibur launch window from Kiruna, Sweden, is set from May 7 to July 15 2024.
The PCA systematic error file pca_resp_syserr.fits has now been added to the RXTE PCA CALDB(update version 20230501)
Dr. Andrew Ptak has been appointed as acting HEASARC Director, taking over from Dr. Alan Smale, who served as HEASARC Director from 2008 until his retirement in August, 2023.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20230918 ...
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website. The application submission page will be open from September 5 until November 2, 2023.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230918. This release includes a new clock correction file, v168. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230918. This release includes a new clock correction file, v168. Please see the release notes for more details.
JAXA announced the end of the critical operation period, which is the period after the separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle until the satellite can maintain a stable and safe condition. XRISM has entered the commissioning period, which will last about three months to verify the functions of the satellite's onboard equipment.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230906. This release includes a new clock correction file, v167. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230906. This release includes a new clock correction file, v167. Please see the release notes for more details.
JAXA announced that completion of the sun acquisition control and deployment of the solar arrays for XRISM
XRISM was launched successfully from the Tanegashima Space Center at 8:42 a.m on September 7, 2023 JST (7:42 p.m on September 6, 2023 EDT).
Users of Amazon Web Services can now access the HEASARC data holdings from their S3 object store thanks to the AWS Open Data project. In the "nasa-heasarc" bucket is a copy of almost the entirety of the HEASARC holdings, where now each compressed FITS file is an object available through AWS tools. We show how to access these data, including a Python tutorial, on our new Cloud page.
This announcement solicits proposals for observations to be carried out from January 1, 2024 for a period of 12 months. Proposers from all over the world are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to an independent peer review by the INTEGRAL Time Allocation Committee (TAC). The deadline for proposal submission is Friday September 29, 2023, 14:00 CEST.
There's a significant bug in the version of nifpmsel released in HEASoft 6.32/NICERDAS 11, which can cause an incorrect normalization of lightcurves and spectra in some cases. NICERDAS users should update to HEASoft 6.32.1 and afterwards use nicerl2 to reprocess any NICER data processed with HEASoft 6.32/NICERDAS 11. A patch installer script is available to update existing HEASoft 6.32 installations to HEASoft 6.32.1.
XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the 23rd Announcement of Opportunity.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230816. This release includes a new clock correction file, v166. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230816. This release includes a new clock correction file, v166. Please see the release notes for more details.
The EROSMASTER database table contains the list of observations made by the SRG/eROSITA mission. Currently, this includes the observations obtained during the Calibration and Performance Verification (Cal-PV) program. Over one hundred individual pointing and field scans were performed with eROSITA as a prime instrument between mid-September and mid-December 2019 form part of the Cal-PV program. The catalog and data products are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Million Optical/Radio/X-Ray (MORX) Associations Catalog is a compendium of optical objects which are calculated as being associated with Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift, or ROSAT X-ray sources, or with NVSS, FIRST, VLASS, LoTSS, RACS, or SUMSS radio sources or double radio lobes. The latest version (v2, 30 Jul 2023) of the Million Optical/Radio/X-Ray (MORX) Associations Catalog (Eric Flesch 2016 - 2023) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over 3 million (3,115,575 to be exact) optical objects with probable radio/X-ray associations.
The latest version (v8, 2 Aug 2023) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2023) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,021,800 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230802. This release includes a new clock correction file, v165. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230802. This release includes a new clock correction file, v165. Please see the release notes for more details.
The scheduled maintenance for the ARK database has completed, and ARK/RPS is fully operational. If you encounter any issues, please contact the ARK Help Desk.
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20230725 ...
ARK/RPS will be down for maintenance starting on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at ~3:00pm EDT (19:00 UTC). It should be back up within an hour or so. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20230721 ...
HEASoft 6.32 was released on July 20, 2023. This release includes NICERDAS 11, a moderately significant feature release for NICER which contains a number of improvements, especially to deal with the optical light leak which developed on May 22, 2023. Please see the HEASoft 6.32 release notes for details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230718. This release includes a new clock correction file, v164. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230718. This release includes a new clock correction file, v164. Please see the release notes for more details.
The CALET CGBM caldb was updated to version 20230630.
The latest version (v7.11, 30 June 2023) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2023) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,023,326 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
JAXA officially announced the launch date and time for XRISM and corresponding launch window.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230705. This release includes a new clock correction file, v163. Please see the release notes for more details.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20230526) and the GPD (version 20230526). Please see the 20230526 release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20230526) and the GPD (version 20230526). Please see the 20230526 release notes for details. Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230613. This release includes a new clock correction file, v162. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230613. This release includes a new clock correction file, v162. Please see the release notes for more details.
The stacked catalog (XMMSTACK) and associated observation data ( XMMSTACKOB) offer new versions of the stacked catalog built from 9,796 4XMM-DR13 overlapping observations. XMMSTACK contains 1,688 stacks (or groups). The catalog contains 401,596 unique sources, with each observation also provided in the associated XMMSTACKOB table. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The most recent, updated version of this catalog (from Webb et al.,2020) containing 983,948 X-ray source detections (an increase of 531 more observations and 44,678 more detections since the previous version 4XMM-DR12) drawn from a total of 13,243 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 3 and 2022 December 22 is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
13th release of the 4XMM Serendipitous Source Catalogue
On May 22, 2023, between 13:00 and 14:00 UTC, NICER appears to have developed an increase in optical contamination during daytime observations. The cause of this increase, and mitigation strategies are being evaluated. Observations during orbit night seem mostly unaffected. For details, please see the NICER "Tips and Caveats" page.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230530. This release includes a new clock correction file, v161. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230530. This release includes a new clock correction file, v161. Please see the release notes for more details.
IXPE made the cover of the May 2023 edition of Nature Astronomy with a polarized view of the Crab. The work by Bucciantini et al. provides insight into the magnetic field morphology and the generation of turbulence in this young supernova remnant system.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20230517 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230516. This release includes a new clock correction file, v160. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230516. This release includes a new clock correction file, v160. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Million Optical/Radio/X-Ray (MORX) Associations Catalog is a compendium of optical objects which are calculated as being associated with Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift, or ROSAT X-ray sources, or with NVSS, FIRST, VLASS, LoTSS, RACS, or SUMSS radio sources or double radio lobes. The latest version (v2, 15 May 2023) of the Million Optical/Radio/X-Ray (MORX) Associations Catalog (Eric Flesch 2016 - 2023) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over 3 million (3,101,306 to be exact) optical objects with probable radio/X-ray associations.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230504. This release includes a new clock correction file, v159. Please see the release notes for more details.
The FERMILBLAZ table catalog of classifications for blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCU) detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope gamma-ray instrument. These classifications have been determined by an Artificial Neural Network machine learning method. The complete list of 567 classified BCUs is presented in this table, with only 15 remaining as unclassified. The FERMILBLAZ table is found in Browse and Xamin.
All Halosat data collected during the science operations from Oct 15, 2018 and Sep 29, 2020 were reprocessed (version hsuf_20221026) and are now available from the HEASARC archive. More details are available in the reprocessing page.
The calibration database for the HaloSat SDD has been updated version 20230324.
The latest version (v7.10, 15 April 2023) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2023) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,447,613 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230420. This release includes a new clock correction file, v158. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230420. This release includes a new clock correction file, v158. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest release of the XMM-Newton Science Analysis Software is now available.
The list of NuSTAR targets recommended by the Cycle 9 peer review is now available. Cycle 9 observations will start to be routinely performed on June 1, 2023. Evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 9 proposal PIs in the coming weeks.
The CHANGALXRB table presents the catalog from Lehmer+2019 and contains 4442 X-ray point sources from 38 nearby galaxies. In this work, the authors utilized 5.8 Ms of Chandra ACIS data, combined with UV-to-IR observations, for 38 nearby (D < ~30 Mpc) Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) galaxies to revisit scaling relations of the HMXB and LMXB X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) with SFR and stellar mass, respectively. The CHANGALXRB table is found in Browse and Xamin.
The Chandra CalDB 4.10.4 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.10.4 was released by the CXC on March 22, 2023.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230404. This release includes a new clock correction file, v157. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230404. This release includes a new clock correction file, v157. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230321. This release includes a new clock correction file, v156. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20230321 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230321. This release includes a new clock correction file, v156. Please see the release notes for more details.
ESA's Science Programme Committee (SPC) has confirmed the continued operations of INTEGRAL until 31 Dec 2024, enabling support of the 4th campaign of joint observations of gravitational waves by LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA. This will be followed by two years of post-operations and monitoring of the spacecraft until re-entry in February 2029.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230307. This release includes a new clock correction file, v155. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230307. This release includes a new clock correction file, v155. Please see the release notes for more details.
The M83XRBCXO table presents a fully classified catalog of X-ray sources in M 83 published by Hunt+2021, that builds upon deep Chandra ACIS imaging data. This catalog utilized multi-band Hubble Space Telescope imaging data to classify each Chandra-detected compact X-ray source as a low-mass, high-mass, or intermediate-mass XRB based on either the location of its candidate counterpart on optical color-magnitude diagrams or the age of its host star cluster. The M83XRBCXO table is found in Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230223. This release includes a new clock correction file, v154. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb was updated to version 20230223. This release includes a new clock correction file, v154. Please see the release notes for more details.
Since (at least) the start of 2023, low-sun angle data sets show non-science-related (spurious) power in a narrow band at 55 Hz, and a broad feature in the 18-30 Hz range. This timing feature is seen only on MPUs 1 & 3 (zero indexed), approximately identical for both MPUs and independent of energy. The NICER team is currently investigating the cause of this signal, and any remedies. Users should exercise caution in interpreting signals near these frequencies.
Support for James Webb Space Telescope's Sun angle range has been added the Viewing tool.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20230208. This release includes a new clock correction file, v153. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20230208. This release includes a new clock correction file, v153. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest version (v7.9, 5 February 2023) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2023) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,461,834 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
SkyView has been updated to v3.5.7. This release includes security improvements and fixes to issues with accessing survey data from remote servers, particularly SDSS, SDSSdr7, and UKIDSS.
The NuSTAR FAQ entry "What do I do if I have a bright source?" has been updated to include additional guidance on the usage of the statusexpr keyword in NuSTARDAS.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20230124. This release includes a new clock correction file, v152. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20230124. This release includes a new clock correction file, v152. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20230109 ...
The Swift pole constraints have been updated in the Viewing tool. The revised coefficients extrapolate the trend for the next two years.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221229. This release includes a new clock correction file, v151. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221229. This release includes a new clock correction file, v151. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NICER mission is pleased to announce that the proposal selection process for Cycle 5 of the Guest Observer program is complete, with observations scheduled to begin no later than March 1, 2023. Documents listing selected proposals and approved targets have been posted to the HEASARC's NICER Proposals Page.
HEASoft 6.31.1 has been released. HEASoft 6.31.1 is a patch-level release driven by bug fixes in the spectral tools (HEASPTOOLS), the Python interface to HEASoft (HEASoftPy), and in NICER mission data analysis software. Please see the 6.31.1 release notes for details.
The INTEGRAL AO-20 General Programme, as recommended by the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) and approved by ESA's Director of Science (Prof. Günther Hasinger), has been released and the observers have been informed.
The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) is a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory operating in Arizona, USA. The VERITAS collaboration has published over 100 journal articles since 2008 reporting on gamma-ray observations of a large variety of objects. The VERIMASTER catalog lists the sources observed by VERITAS as of April 2022, including cross-matches with other gamma-ray observations and spectral fits, and has associated high-level data products containing data from VERITAS publications. This catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The latest version (v7.8, 4 December 2022) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2022) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,427,250 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 9 proposal submission is Jan 26, 2023. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the NuSTAR Proposal Page.
12.13.0a fixes delchi fitstat/chisq plotting issues, while 12.13.0b fixes issues with mdefine models.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221130. This release includes a new clock correction file, v150. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest version of the table of accepted XMM-Newton targets, updated to include the AO-22 results, is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-22 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
The Chandra CalDB 4.10.2 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.10.2 was released by the CXC on November 15, 2022.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20221021) and the GPD (version 20221020). Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC caldb remotely.
The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the XRT (version 20221021) and the GPD (version 20221020). Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the IXPE caldb at the HEASARC remotely.
IXPE image of magnetic fields in Cas A hits the HEASARC Picture of the Week
HEASoft 6.31 has been released. HEASoft 6.31 includes updates to NICERDAS, the IXPE analysis tools, and other improvements and bug fixes. This release also supports building on Silicon arm64 architecture on Macs. Please see the 6.31 release notes for details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221115. This release includes a new clock correction file, v149. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221115. This release includes a new clock correction file, v149. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20221102 ...
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20221001. This version updates the detector gain, response and includes new background files.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20221001. This version updates the detector gain, response and includes new background files.
This workshop is to prepare the astronomical community for the upcoming Cycle 1 General Observer Call for Proposals for XRISM. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required. Deadline for in-person participation is Dec 6, 2022.
The "OHMAN" (Orbiting High-energy Monitor Alert Network) X-ray follow-up observation program began operation on August 10, 2022. OHMAN uses JAXA's MAXI all-sky monitor to detect sudden X-ray bursts and to automatically notify NASA's NICER sensitive X-ray telescope for immediate followup. The first coordinated observation was successfully completed on September 13, 2022.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221019. This release includes a new clock correction file, v148. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20221019. This release includes a new clock correction file, v148. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest version (v7.7, 15 October 2022) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2022) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,630,662 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
The 6-day long flight had to contend with an accidental drop of the entire flight ballast at one side of the gondola, leading to 3.5 days of recovery operations without science observations. Furthermore, a mirror alignment error prevented the observations of the X-ray targets in the remaining time.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220926. This release includes a new clock correction file, v147. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220926. This release includes a new clock correction file, v147. Please see the release notes for more details.
NGC 2000.0 is a modern compilation of the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (NGC), the Index Catalogue (IC), and the Second Index Catalogue compiled by J. L. E. Dreyer (1888, 1895, 1908). This catalog is available in both Browse and Xamin.
The latest version of this catalog of 58,202 confirmed variable stars (from Samus et al. 2017, ARep, 61, 80) is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The latest version (v7.6, 15 September 2022) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2022) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,613,389 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220912. This release includes a new clock correction file, v146. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220912. This release includes a new clock correction file, v146. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website. The application submission page will be open from September 6 until November 3, 2022.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20220907 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220829. This release includes a new clock correction file, v145. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220829. This release includes a new clock correction file, v145. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220815. This release includes a new clock correction file, v144. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220815. This release includes a new clock correction file, v144. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20220803 ...
SRG/eROSITA performed scanning observations of the ~140 square degrees eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS) field as part of its performance verification phase. The eROSITA main X-ray source catalog (EFEDSMAIN) presents the primary catalog of 27,910 X-ray sources, including 542 with significant spatial extent, detected in the 0.2-2.3 keV energy range. The associated eROSITA Hard X-ray source catalog (EFEDSHARD) table presents the hard band sample of 246 sources detected in the energy range 2.3-5.0 keV. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The nearby young open cluster eta Chamaeleontis was observed by eROSITA/SRG during its performance verification phase for 150 ks. This table contains the "main" (0.2-2.3 keV) catalog of the X-ray sources in the eta Chamaeleontis field (ETACHAMAIN), which is released along with the associated "hard" (2.3-5.0 keV) catalog (ETACHAHARD). Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220802. This release includes a new clock correction file, v143. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220802. This release includes a new clock correction file, v143. Please see the release notes for more details.
In anticipation of the Cycle 5 proposal deadline (Sep 14, 2022). the NICER project will hold a Proposal and Science workshop highlighting the technical and scientific capabilities and strength of the NICER mission. The workshop will be held virtually on August 31st and September 1st, 09:00-11:00 and 14:00-16:00 EDT. Registration is free.
The stacked catalog (XMMSTACK) and associated observation data ( XMMSTACKOB) offer new versions of the stacked catalog built from 9,355 4XMM-DR12 overlapping observations. XMMSTACK contains 1,620 stacks (or groups). The catalog contains 386,043 sources, with each observation also provided in the associated XMMSTACKOB table. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The most recent, updated version of this catalog (from Webb et al.,2020) containing 939,270 X-ray source detections (an increase of 502 more observations and 43,855 more detections since the previous version 4XMM-DR11) drawn from a total of 12,712 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 3 and 2021 December 21 is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
12th release of the 4XMM stacked catalogue
We announce a new transient alert service called the General Coordinates Network. This network is an update to the familiar Gamma-Ray Coordinates Network, using modern, open-source, reliable, established and secure astronomical alert distribution technologies. The original Gamma-ray Coordinate Network is still available.
The balloon-borne XL-Calibur experiment was successfully launched early morning on July 12 (CEST) from the Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden. XL-Calibur consists of an X-ray Telescope with a detector set to measure polarization in the hard X-ray band (~15-80 keV) for a selection of bright sources. The flight will last 5-7 days and its trajectory is posted and updated from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility website. The launch video has be posted on youtube. The XL-Calibur data will be hosted at the HEASARC.
XL-CALIBUR was launched in the early morning hours of 12 July 2022 (local time) from Esrange under excellent launch conditions. The balloon carried the payload to 130,000 feet altitude until the mission was terminated over northern Canada on July 18, 2022.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220706. This release includes a new clock correction file, v142. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220706. This release includes a new clock correction file, v142. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20220705 ...
The deadline for NuSTAR Cycle 8 Phase 2 (budget) proposals has been moved back by one week to July 6, 2022.
The latest version of the Fermi analysis software, Fermitools, was released on June 21, 2022
The fully assembled XL-Calibur telescope was rolled out for its prelaunch compatability test, which confirms fit and balance with the final balloon rigging. The planned launch after this test was scrubbed due to weather.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.8 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.8 was released by the CXC on June 16, 2022.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220608. This release includes a new clock correction file, v141. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220608. This release includes a new clock correction file, v141. Please see the release notes for more details.
The conference Two Decades of High-Energy Astronomy with INTEGRAL will take place this autumn at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany during the week of October 17-21, 2022. Registration and abstract submission are open.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220525. This release includes a new clock correction file, v140. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220525. This release includes a new clock correction file, v140. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220510. This release includes a new clock correction file, v139 and a new FPMA gain file, v.010. Please see the release notes for more details. Downloads are available from the Caldb page.
Team members begin assembling and testing of the components after successful shipment to Sweden. Read more on the XL-Calibur blog page.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20220504 ...
The latest version (v7.5, 30 April 2022) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2022) is now available in both Browse and Xamin. This version contains over a million (1,122,492 to be exact) objects which are either certainly quasars or very likely to be quasars.
SkyView has been updated to v3.5.6 today. This release mostly addresses various security vulnerabilities. It also features an updated header and footer, a fix to the 400 Bad Request Error (users should no longer receive this error or have to ... Continue reading
CALET Calorimeter spectra data are available at the HEASARC for electron, proton, and several selected elements.
NICERDAS version 9, distributed in HEASoft 6.30, includes some NICER-related changes to nicerl2, niprefilter2, nicerarf. Please see the NICERDAS 9 page for details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220426. This release includes a new clock correction file, v138. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220426. This release includes a new clock correction file, v138. Please see the release notes for more details.
The list of NuSTAR targets recommended by the Cycle 8 peer review is now available. Cycle 8 observations will start to be routinely performed on June 1, 2022. Evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 8 proposal PIs in the coming weeks.
The ACT Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS) candidate catalog presents 2839 significant galaxy overdensities at redshifts z=0.7-1.5, which included extensive follow-up imaging from the Spitzer Space Telescope to determine cluster richnesses. Concurrently, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) has produced large area millimeter-wave maps in three frequency bands along with a large catalog of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ)-selected clusters as part of its Data Release 5 (DR5). The catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
Through the XGS program, scientists who are not XRISM Science Team members may apply to participate in the observation planning and data analysis of individual PV phase targets.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220413. This release includes a new clock correction file, v137. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220413. This release includes a new clock correction file, v137. Please see the release notes for more details.
The INTEGRAL Science Data Centre (ISDC) has released Offline Software Analysis (OSA) version 11.2. This software is also available from the INTEGRAL U.S. Guest Observer Facility .
The Phase 2 budget proposal deadline for accepted NICER Cycle 4 proposals with recommended observations of Category A or B targets is May 4, 2022 at 4:30pm EDT.
The CALDB file caldb.config has been updated for the first release of the CALET caldb. Caldb access for CALET via HEASoft requires this version of the caldb.config file. Please see the caldb installation instructions for details.
The first release of the CALET calibration data has been incorporated into the HEASARC caldb.config. To analyze CALET data with HEASOFT tools, please use this version of the caldb.config file.
The first version of the CALET CGBM calibration database, version 20220331, has been released.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.7 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.7 was released by the CXC on March 24, 2022.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220328. This release includes a new clock correction file, v136. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220328. This release includes a new clock correction file, v136. Please see the release notes for more details.
HEASoft 6.30 has been released. HEASoft 6.30 includes the first release of the analysis tools for IXPE, along with other improvements. Please see the 6.30 release notes for details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220316. This release includes a new clock correction file, v135. Please see the release notes for more details.
The CALDB file caldb.config has been updated for the first release of the IXPE caldb. Caldb access for IXPE requires this version of the caldb.config file. Please see the caldb installation instructions for details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220316. This release includes a new clock correction file, v135. Please see the release notes for more details.
The 2022 Bruno Rossi Prize has been awarded to Keith Gendreau, Zaven Arzoumanian and the NICER team "for development of the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and the revolutionary insights it is providing about the extreme environments of neutron stars and black holes, including the first precise and reliable measurement of a pulsar's mass and radius from detailed modeling of its pulsed waveform."
The HEASARC has opened the IXPE data archive. Currently, Cas A and Cen X-3 datasets are available.
This catalog has been updated to add start and end times for the 157 sequence IDs which did not already have start and end times. The updated catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220301. This release includes a new clock correction file, v134. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220301. This release includes a new clock correction file, v134. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated to version 20220302 ...
eROSITA suspended operations and placed in safe mode.
The Swift UVOTA caldb has been updated to version 20211108 ...
This announcement solicits proposals for observations to be carried out beginning 1 January 2023. Proposers from all over the world are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to an independent peer review by the INTEGRAL Time Allocation Committee (TAC). The deadline for proposal submission is Friday 1 April 2022, 14:00 CEST.
The result of the recent NICER Cycle 4 review is now available for accepted proposals and accepted targets. Cycle 4 begins March 1, 2022. Note that observations after Sept. 30, 2022 are contingent on Senior Review mission continuation. Also note that the deadline for Cycle 5 proposals (September 7, 2022) is earlier than for previous cycles.
Version 4.12a contains updates support for IXPE.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220215. This release includes a new clock correction file, v133. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220215. This release includes a new clock correction file, v133. Please see the release notes for more details.
IXPE has released its first light image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A using data taken in January.
The solicitation for observations in the NICER cycle 5 observing interval (Mar 2023 - Feb 2024) has been released.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220131. This release includes a new clock correction file, v132. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220131. This release includes a new clock correction file, v132. Please see the release notes for more details.
This catalog is an incremental version (Data Release 3) of the fourth catalog of gamma-ray sources detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Based on the first twelve years of science data in the energy range from 50 MeV to 1 TeV, it contains 6658 sources. The updated catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
Since early January this year the NuSTAR target constraint tool did not correctly report possible stray light contamination. The problem was discovered and fixed on January 26, 2022. Proposers may wish to rerun the tool.
Phase-1 science proposals are due by 4:30 p.m. EST, January 28, 2022. Please see the Guide for Proposers and the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220118. This release includes a new clock correction file, v131. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220118. This release includes a new clock correction file, v131. Please see the release notes for more details.
IXPE begins science operations with an observation of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20220111) to update the clock correction file to v146 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220105. This release includes a new clock correction file, v130. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20220105. This release includes a new clock correction file, v130. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211221. This release includes a new clock correction file, v129. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211221. This release includes a new clock correction file, v129. Please see the release notes for more details.
The IXPE spacecraft successfully deployed, positioning the mirrors 13 feet (4 meters) away from the instruments and is now ready for commissioning.
The latest version (v7.4, 12 December 2021) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2017) containing a lot more than one million (1,115,590 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) Collaboration is pleased to announce a new database of multi-cadence light curves for over 1500 variable gamma-ray sources in the 10-year Fermi LAT point source catalog (4FGL-DR2, Ballet et al. 2020). The new Light Curve Repository (LCR) contains flux calibrated light curves on 3 day, 1 week, and 1 month timescales covering the entire Fermi mission duration, consisting of over 3.7 million individual time bins. The LCR will be continually updated as new data becomes available
The IXPE observatory is NASA's first mission dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from the most extreme and mysterious objects in the universe - supernova remnants, supermassive black holes, and dozens of other high-energy objects. IXPE launched successfully at 1AM on Dec 9, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The HEASARC will archive IXPE products and catalogs.
The latest version of the table of accepted XMM-Newton targets, updated to include AO-21 results, is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-21 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
The IXPE spacecraft successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 8 proposal submission is Jan 28, 2022. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the NuSTAR Proposal Page.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211202. This release includes a new clock correction file, v128. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211202. This release includes a new clock correction file, v128. Please see the release notes for more details.
This conference will be held June 20-22, 2022, in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Registration and abstract submission are now open.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211115. This release includes a new clock correction file, v127. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211115. This release includes a new clock correction file, v127. Please see the release notes for more details.
This table contains the 2SXPS catalog of detections by the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) used in Photon Counting (PC) mode in the 0.3-10 keV energy range. It contains 1,091,058 detections of 206,335 unique sources. This catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
This table contains the 1SWXRT catalog of point sources detected by X-ray Telescope (XRT) on board of the Swift satellite during the first seven years of operation (Jan 2005 - Dec 2011). It contains 84,979 detections of an estimated 36,000 unique sources. This catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
This table contains the SwiftFT catalog of 9,387 point sources detected by Swift's X-ray Telescope (XRT) in observations centered on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) during the first four years of operation (Jan 2005 - Dec 2008). This catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20211105) to update the clock correction file to v145 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211103. This release includes a new clock correction file, v126. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211103. This release includes a new clock correction file, v126. Please see the release notes for more details.
The latest version (v7.3, 31 Oct 2021) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2021) containing more than a million (1,556,881 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
This is a spotlight on the work of one of our SkyView users: this user developed an open source function in Wolfram Mathematica to obtain SkyView images. Check it out here.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211020. This is a major update in the calibration of the NuSTAR observatory based on detailed analysis of more than nine years of observations of the Crab, utilizing both focused and stray light measurements. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211020. This is a major update in the calibration of the NuSTAR observatory based on detailed analysis of more than nine years of observations of the Crab, utilizing both focused and stray light measurements. Please see the release notes for more details.
This is a spotlight on the work of one of our SkyView users: this user developed an open source function in Wolfram Mathematica to obtain SkyView images. Check it out here!
HEASoft 6.29c, along with ciao 4.13, XMM SAS v19, and Fermitools 2.0.8 is now available on the SciServer virtual science platform. SciServer provides a powerful data analysis environment with access to the entire HEASARC archive mounted locally, allowing users to analyze HEASARC data without having to install software.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20211004. This release includes a new clock correction file, v125. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NICER Enhanced Visibility Calculator calculates NICER visibilities for targets over roughly the next 2-week period taking into account ISS orientation and target occultation by ISS structures, and other relevant constraints. These visibility intervals are more accurate than visibilities based solely on Sun and Moon avoidance
The First Catalog of Long-Term Transient Sources detected by Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) comprises of 142 unique, transient sources that were detected on monthly time intervals during Fermi-LAT operations. The monthly time scale allows to identify transient and variable sources that were not yet reported in other Fermi-LAT catalogs. This catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website. The application submission page will be open from September 2 until November 4, 2021.
Fix to issue with smaug model, minor fixes to the kerrconv and refsch models, several modifications to the XSPEC model.dat model definitions file
CIAO 4.13 was released on September 23, 2021. This release is primarily a bug fix release. It provides updates to Off The Shelf (OTS) packages like SAOImage DS9, and includes support for python 3.7. It also includes sherpa 4.9.1 changes.
XSPEC patches 12.12.0a & b have been released. These patches fix an issue running nested scripts and an issue with the calculation of the C-statistic in certain limited circumstances.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.6 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.6 was released by the CXC on September 24, 2021.
The Swift XRT caldb has been updated (update version 20210915) to update the XRT gain, teldef and psf files ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210921. This release includes a new clock correction file, v124. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210921. This release includes a new clock correction file, v124. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210908. This release includes a new clock correction file, v123. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210908. This release includes a new clock correction file, v123. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20210907) to updated the clock correction file to v144 ...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210824. This release includes a new clock correction file, v122. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210824. This release includes a new clock correction file, v122. Please see the release notes for more details.
The stacked catalog (XMMSTACK) and associated observation data ( XMMSTACKOB) offer new versions of the stacked catalog built from 8,292 4XMM-DR11 overlapping observations. XMMSTACK contains 1,475 stacks (or groups). The catalog contains 358,809 sources, with each observation also provided in the associated XMMSTACKOB table. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The most recent, updated version of this catalog (from Webb et al.,2020) containing 895,415 X-ray source detections (an increase of 563 more observations and 45,424 more detections since the previous version 4XMM-DR10) drawn from a total of 12,210 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 3 and 2020 December 17 is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the Twenty-first Announcement of Opportunity.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210728. This release includes a new clock correction file, v121. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210728. This release includes a new clock correction file, v121. Please see the release notes for more details.
V2.1.1 of the NuSTAR Data Analysis Software (NuSTARDAS), featuring minor updates, was released with HEASoft 6.29 and V1.9.7 of the NuSTAR Data Analysis Software Guide is available on the NuSTAR Analysis page.
IceCube has performed several searches for point-like sources of neutrinos. IceCube's 10-year neutrino point source event sample contains data beginning in 2008 (IC40) until the spring of 2018 (IC86-VII). ICECUBEPSC is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Released July 20, 2021. This release includes updates to NICER, NuSTAR, Swift analysis tools, updates to the Caltools, and other improvements and bug fixes.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20210707. This version updates the detector gain, response and effective area of the XTI and other files.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20210707. This version updates the detector gain, response and effective area of the XTI and other files.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20210707) to updated the clock correction file to v143 ...
This conference will be a combined face-to-face and online meeting that will focus on the contributions of INTEGRAL to our knowledge of the high-energy sky. It will be held 11-16 October 2021 in Santa Margherita di Pula, Sardinia, Italy.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210701. This release includes a new clock correction file, v120. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210701. This release includes a new clock correction file, v120. Please see the release notes for more details.
The INTEGRAL AO-19 General Programme, as recommended by the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) and approved by ESA's Director of Science (Prof. Günther Hasinger), has been released and the observers have been informed.
eROSITA Early Release Data is made public
Applications are now being accepted for a scientist with significant experience and interest in the technical aspects of astrophysics research, to work in the HEASARC at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD. Refer to the AAS Job register for full details.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210524. This release includes a new clock correction file, v119. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210524. This release includes a new clock correction file, v119. Please see the release notes for more details.
New NICER observations of the X-ray transient MAXI J1803-298 shows recurrent absorption dips in the lightcurve similar to dips seen in other high-inclination X-ray binaries, and suggest a possible orbital period of 7-8 hours.
Continuing NICER observations of the new X-ray transient MAXI J1803-298 show temporal and spectral properties suggestive of a hard state accreting stellar-mass black hole than a neutron star, though confirmation is still needed.
The latest version (v7.2, 2 May 2021) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2021) containing more than a million (1,573,824 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20210504) to updated the clock correction file to v142 ...
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.5 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.5 was released by the CXC on April 29, 2021.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210427. This release includes a new clock correction file, v118. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210427. This release includes a new clock correction file, v118. Please see the release notes for more details.
The list of NuSTAR targets recommended by the Cycle 7 peer review is now available. Cycle 7 observations will start to be routinely performed on June 1, 2021. Evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 7 proposal PIs in the coming weeks.
NICER observation of the newly-discovered X-ray transient MAXI J0901-531 found periodic X-ray variations with a period of P = 14.055 seconds, consistent with the gamma-ray period seen by Fermi.
This catalog of 221 low galactic latitude X-ray sources and 686 high galactic latitude X-ray sources detected by the MAXI Gas Slit Camera (GSC) in its first 7 years of operations (combining Hori et al. 2018, ApJS, 207, 36 and Kawamuro et al. 2018, ApJS, 238, 33) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
A global science collaboration using data from NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope has discovered X-ray surges accompanying radio bursts from the pulsar in the Crab Nebula. The finding shows that these giant radio pulses release far more energy than previously suspected.
NICER followup observations of a possible new X-ray transient discovered by the SRG observatory detected a source showing a peak in soft X-rays and a hard non-thermal tail at higher energies. No evidence for temporal variability was seen.
The Swift pole constraints have been updated in the Viewing tool. The revised coefficients extrapolate the trend for the next two years.
Registration is now open for a virtual data analysis workshop, which will be held the week of May 10, 2021, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9 am to 1 pm. You can register using the workshop registration form.
NICER and Swift observations of the black hole X-ray transient MAXI J1820+070 near the start of its outburst found an X-ray luminosity of only 1e33 ergs/s. This is one of the lowest luminosities at which the start of a black hole-X-ray transient outburst has been caught in X-rays.
NICER observations of the black hole binary system GX 339-4 during its recent outburst shows the presence of an evolving QPO in the power spectrum indicating that the source entered a hard-to-soft state transition.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20210317) to updated the clock correction file to v141 ...
Version 4.11a contains updated effective area curves for Chandra.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210315. This release includes a new clock correction file, v117. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210315. This release includes a new clock correction file, v117, along with new alignment files and a new beryllium window file. Please see the release notes for more details.
PSR J0537-6910 is fastest-rotating young pulsar known, monitored by NICER since 2017. It is losing energy faster than any other known young pulsar, which could be due to the emission of gravitational radiation. However, LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA gravitational wave detectors failed to detect the source. This shows that some other process is responsible for slowing the pulsar down, and that the neutron star must be spherical to better than 1 part in 30,000.
NICER observations of the recent X-ray outburst from the Be X-ray binary Swift J1626.6-5156 showed strongly pulsed emission with a 15.34 second period with the possible detection of a cyclotron absorption line similar to a feature seen previously.
NICER observations of the new transient IGR J17533-2928 about a week after it was first detected by INTEGRAL showed that the spectrum was consistent with modified blackbody emission and did not detect any pulsed emission. The nature of the transient remains to be revealed.
XSPEC patches 12.11.1a-d have been released. These patches improve the nsx model, fixes a crash in spectra in which all channels are ignored, fixes a bug in file checking, and fixes an error in the normalization of the gadem family of models.
NICER observations of this new transient show complex iron line emission and a luminosity much less than the typical Eddington luminosity for a neutron star.
NICER observations of the eclipsing, accreting millisecond pulsar Swift J1749.4-2807 finds a 1-10 keV X-ray luminosity of 2E36 ergs/s and recovers the the 518 Hz pulsation period.
This announcement solicits proposals for observations to be carried out from January 2022 for a period of 12 months. Proposers from all over the world are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to an independent peer review by the INTEGRAL Time Allocation Committee (TAC). The deadline for proposal submission is Friday 9 April 2021, 14:00 CEST.
The scheduled maintenance for the ARK database has completed, and ARK/RPS is fully operational. If you encounter any issues, please contact the ARK Help Desk.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210210. This release includes a new clock correction file, v116, along with new alignment files and a new beryllium window file. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210210. This release includes a new clock correction file, v116, along with new alignment files and a new beryllium window file. Please see the release notes for more details.
ARK/RPS will be down for maintenance starting on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, at ~2:30pm EST (19:30 UTC). It should be back up within an hour. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Owing to the severe weather situation and power outages in Texas and other areas, NASA has decided to postpone the Fermi Cycle-14 proposal deadline until 16:30 PM EST March 1, 2021. Please refer to the Fermi website for more information.
NICER has resumed observation of the magnetar SGR 1830-064 since it emerged from sun constraint on February 10. NICER shows that the source flux decay has flattened compared to values early in the outburst.
The latest version (v7.1, 14 Feb 2021) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2021) containing more than a million (1,548,897 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The science targets for the Performance Verification (PV) phase of the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) have been selected, and can be viewed here. The PV phase of the XRISM mission will commence immediately following the post-launch checkout and initial calibration phases, and will last approximately six months. PV phase data will remain proprietary to the XRISM Science Team for a period of one year.
The targets for the Performance Verification (PV) phase of the XRISM mission have been selected. The PV phase will commence after checkout and calibration and will last for approximately six months.
The ACTSZCLUST catalog presents 4195 optically confirmed Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) selected galaxy clusters that were detected with signal-to-noise > 4 in 13,211 square deg of sky surveyed by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). Cluster candidates were selected by applying a multi-frequency matched filter to 98 and 150 GHz maps constructed from ACT observations obtained from 2008-2018, and confirmed using deep, wide-area optical surveys. The clusters span the redshift range z=0.04-1.91. The catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NICER mission is pleased to announce that the proposal selection process for GO Cycle 3 is complete, and observations will begin March 1, 2020.
NICER observations of GX 339-4 during its current outburst, indicates that this low-mass X-ray binary is entering a canonical hard state, and is already twice as bright as it was in the previous two hard-only outbursts.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210202. This release includes a new clock correction file, v115. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210202. This release includes a new clock correction file, v115. Please see the release notes for more details.
Hera and WebSpec will stop working at around 2:00pm EST (19:00 UTC) on Wednesday, January 27th, in order for the HEASARC to update some infrastructure. The downtime could last up to a half hour.
The FermiTools were updated to version 2.0.8 on January 20, 2021. This release updates the pyLikelihood spectral models and help resolve some dependency issues.
The Royal Astronomical Society has awarded its highest honor, the Gold Medal, to Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell of the University of Oxford, the discoverer of radio pulsars, for her many contributions to astronomy.
The Swift SC caldb has been updated (update version 20210113) to updated the clock correction file to v140 ...
Observations with NICER and Swift, along with ground-based observations, suggest that the Cen X-4 has returned to quiescence
Hera and WebSpec will stop working at around 2:00pm EST (19:00 UTC) on Wednesday, January 13th, in order for the HEASARC to update some infrastructure. The downtime could last up to an hour.
Following indications from ground-based observations, X-ray observations by Swift and NICER show a sudden X-ray brightening of the nearby low-mass X-ray binary Cen X-4, suggesting the onset of a rare X-ray outburst
Phase-1 science proposals are due by 4:30 p.m. EST, January 29, 2021. Please see the Guide for Proposers and the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210104. This release includes a new clock correction file, v114. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20210104. This release includes a new clock correction file, v114. Please see the release notes for more details.
NICER science operations, interrupted because of power issues on the ISS, resumed on Dec 23, 2020
We have just released the latest update to SkyView that now includes an additional optical dataset from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). This survey has covered roughly 90% of the sky in its first two years, aiming for 50 ... Continue reading
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20201217. This release includes a new clock correction file, v113. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20201217. This release includes a new clock correction file, v113. Please see the release notes for more details.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.4 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.4 was released by the CXC on October 16, 2020. Note that CALDB 4.9.4 is compatible with CIAO 4.12 and later versions only.
An unforeseen power condition onboard the International Space Station has required that NICER cease science operations and remain safely stowed for a few days. Look for further updates on the NICER home page
The Swift Caldb has been updated for the UVOTA (update version 20201215)...
The latest version of the table of accepted XMM-Newton targets, updated to include AO-20 results, is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The stacked catalog (XMMSTACK) and associated observation data ( XMMSTACKOB) offer new versions of the stacked catalog built from 7,803 4XMM-DR10 overlapping observations. XMMSTACK contains 1,396 stacks (or groups). The catalog contains 335,812 sources, with each observation also provided in the associated XMMSTACKOB table. Both are now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The most recent, updated version of this catalog (from Webb et al.,2020) containing 849,991 X-ray source detections (an increase of 343 more observations and 39,196 more detections since the previous version 4XMM-DR9) drawn from a total of 11,647 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 1 and 2019 December 14 is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Swift Caldb has been updated for the UVOTA (update version 20201207)...
Please note that the SkyView blog comments are currently disabled for the foreseeable future, until we can find a better method for handling spam comments and the like. If you have posted or want to post a comment on the ... Continue reading
A new transient source discovered by Gaia on 21 April 2020 has been attributed to a star in the process of being swallowed by a supermasive black hole at the center of a galaxy. NICER observations of the source indicates that the X-ray emission from the source increased by a factor of about 26 in about 8 months.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-20 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
The CALET archive has been hosted at the DARTS/ISAS and a copy is now also available from the HEASARC. The HEASARC has added the CALET Gamma Ray Burst Monitory (CGBM) version 3 data to the archive, which contains spectral data from the two Hard X-ray Monitor and Soft Gamma Ray Monitor instruments, plus associated auxillary data and trend files. The archive is populated with the outputs of the data processing that occurs in Japan.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20201139. This release includes a new clock correction file, v112. Please see the release notes for more details.
A update to the NICER bkg_estimator software, v0p6, has been released. This version fixes a bug in estimation of background counts in the lightcurve generator method mk_bkg_lc_evt
NICER observed the Fermi gamma-ray source 4FGL J0658.6+0636, which may be the source of a high-energy neutrino detected by IceCube. The NICER unabsorbed flux was consistent with the enhanced flux detected in an earlier observation by the Swift XRT obtained 16 hours after the neutrino detection.
SkyView has been updated to v3.5.4 today. This version contains changes to exception handling when submitting a query, i.e. more detailed error messages when requests to remote servers fail and when the requested image size is too large. Sometimes a ... Continue reading
NICER and NuSTAR observations of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar 1A 0535+262 during its recent giant outburst reveal complex pulsations with a pulse period of 103.57s, while its spectrum shows fluorescence iron emission along with cyclotron features.
XMM-SAS version 19.0.0 was released on October 28, 2020.
The Swift Caldb has been updated for the UVOTA (update version 20201026) and the SC (update version 20201106)...
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20201101. This release includes a new clock correction file, v111. Please see the release notes for more details.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20201101. This release includes a new clock correction file, v111.
NGC6231 is a young cluster with ~100 O and B stars. NGC6231CX2, based on Kuhn et al, 2017, AJ, 154, 87K, presents the X-ray properties for 2411 X-ray sources, of which 2148 are probable cluster members. This is now available in Browse and Xamin.
NICER observations of the newly-active source IGR J17494-3030 have detected a 376-Hz X-ray pulsation modulated but a 4509s period, showing that this source is an ultracompact binary with an accreting neutron star and a companion with a minimum mass of 0.015 solar masses.
Update: The SkyView hardware upgrade has been successfully completed. Thank you for your patience, and please let us know if you encounter any issues or lags with the service through our feedback form.
NICER observations clearly show that the recently discovered source SGR 1830-0645 is a magnetar with a magnetic field strength of about 3x1014 gauss.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.3 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.3 was released by the CXC on October 16, 2020. Note that CALDB 4.9.3 is compatible with CIAO 4.12 and later versions only.
ESA's Science Programme Committee (SPC) has confirmed the continued operation of INTEGRAL from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022. The decision was taken during the SPC meeting held October 1, 2020 following a comprehensive review.
NICER and NuSTAR obtained director's discretionary observations of the blazar BL Lac after its historical optical-to-gamma ray maximum. The NICER & NuSTAR spectrum can be fit with a broken power law, and these observations confirm the active state of the source.
NASA XRISM web site is now open.
The Swift Caldb has been updated for the UVOTA (update version 20201008). This update fixes a problem with caldb.indx20200925...
Update: The SkyView hardware upgrade has been postponed to Wednesday, October 21, at 1pm ET. At that time SkyView will be unavailable for approximately one hour and 15 minutes. We encountered some technical difficulties in transitioning to a new storage system - ... Continue reading
heasoftpy is a set of python wrappers to the HEASoft tools. heasoftpy allows users to more easily integrate HEASoft tools into a python workflow. This is the first (beta) release.
Update: The SkyView hardware upgrade has been postponed again until some time next week (exact time will be updated soon). At that time SkyView will be unavailable for approximately one hour and 15 minutes. Thank you for your patience!
The latest version (v7.0, 30 Sep 2020) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2020) containing more than a million (1,445,913 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The INTEGRAL Science Data Centre (ISDC) has released Offline Software Analysis (OSA) version 11.1 . It is important to note that OSA 11.1 for IBIS/ISGRI is currently limited to data starting from revolution 1626. For earlier data, the user should use OSA 10.2 with the limitations described in the user manual.
New NICER observations of the re-activated accreting pulsar IGR J17379-3747 recovered the 468 Hz spin period of the pulsar and made a new measurement of the change in the orbital period.
The Swift Caldb has been updated for the UVOTA (update version 20200925)...
Update: The SkyView hardware upgrade has been postponed until Monday, October 5, 2020 at 10:30am ET. At that time SkyView will be unavailable for approximately one hour and 15 minutes.
Swift and NICER observations of the galactic nuclear transient discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility shows that the source X-ray brightness increased 1000-fold over the last 5 years and show unusual X-ray properties.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 2.0.0 on September 21, 2020. This release includes support for python 3 (python 2 is deprecated an no longer actively supported), and includes new instrument response functions along with an update to ROOT6.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20200908).
The GC47TUCCX2 catalog presents the Chandra properties of 370 (81 new, compared to previous GC47TUCCXO, v. 2005, table from Heinke et al, 2005) sources detected in combined Chandra observations from 2000, 2002 and 2014-2015 (total exposure time of 540ks) of globular cluster 47 Tucanae (from Bhattacharya, et al., 2017, MNRAS, 472, 3706B). This is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website. The application submission page will be open from September 8 until November 5, 2020.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200912. This release includes a new clock correction file, v110.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200912. This release includes a new clock correction file, v110.
This tool has been enhanced to accept multiple object names and/or coordinates (separated by semicolons) as input.
The NuSTAR Mission is seeking letters of self-nomination, due Friday, October 2nd, 2020, for people to rotate onto the NuSTAR Users' Committee (NUC).
The first version of the IRAM NOEMA - the successor to the Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) - observing log (Dan et al. 1991-2017, IRAM Newsletters) containing 2781 observations from May 31 through March 31, 2019 is now available in Browse and Xamin, as well as updated versions of the IRAM PDBI and 30-m Single-Dish Telescope observing logs.
The latest version of the IRAM 30-m telescope observing log (Dan et al. 1991-2020, IRAM Newsletters) containing 653,681 observations starting in January 2009 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The latest version (v6.6, 31 Aug 2020) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2020) containing more than two million (2,019,858 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
Version 4.11a contains updated effective area curves for INTEGRAL ISGRI, NICER, and XMM-Newton EPIC instruments.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200826. This release includes a new clock correction file, v109.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200826. This release includes a new clock correction file, v109.
Version 3.49 of CFITSIO was released August, 2020. Some bug fixes and other improvements
The CMA and CMASCREEN tables have been released. These tables contain the results of the sources detected from the two EXOSAT LE telescopes. The CMASCREEN table has been screened for quality, while the CMA table contains the complete, unscreened list of detections. CMASCREEN supersedes SC_CMA_VIEW which has been in Browse since approximately 1995. These tables are available in Browse or Xamin.
Goddard Media Studios features completed components of the flight mirror assemblies developed for XRISM.
XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the Twentieth Announcement of Opportunity.
Released August 14, 2020. This release includes updates to Swift and NuSTARDAS analysis software and other improvements and bug fixes. NuSTARDAS users with local installations of the NuSTAR CALDB should update to the latest NuSTAR CALDB (CALDB version 20200813).
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200813. This release includes a new clock correction file, v108 as well as temperature dependent ARFs for FPMA.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200813. This release includes a new clock correction file, v108 as well as temperature dependent ARFs for FPMA.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200811. This release includes a new clock correction file, v107.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200811. This release includes a new clock correction file, v107.
NICER and Swift have obtained X-ray observations of AT2019wey, a new transient discovered by Spektr-RG. Both NICER and Swift show continued increasing emission through August 9 from this putative accreting binary.
SSkyView was updated to v3.5.3 on July 27, 2020. This version has changes to the following surveys: GLEAM now includes the Galactic plane data as well as the Magellanic Clouds; and the UKIDSS survey is now using DR11 (previously DR8) and including the hydrogen H_2 line ("1-0S1") where available.
The Swift XRT and UVOTA calibration data have been updated (XRT CALDB update version 20200724; UVOTA CALDB update version 20190101).
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200726. This release includes a new clock correction file, v106, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200726. This release includes a new clock correction file, v106, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20200722. This version updates the detector gain, response and effective area of the XTI.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20200722. This version updates the detector gain, response and effective area of the XTI.
The Viewing tool also has been enhanced to accept multiple object names and/or coordinates (separated by semicolons) as input.
The nH tool has been enhanced to accept multiple object names and/or coordinates (separated by semicolons) as input.
The SPTSZSPSC table presents 4845 sources detected by the south Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Survey, covering 2530 sq. deg and compiling data from 19 fields observed between 2008-2011 in three bands centered at 95, 150, and 220 GHz. These data are available in Browse or Xamin.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.2.1 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.2.1 was released by the CXC on July 9, 2020. Note that CALDB 4.9.2.1 is compatible with CIAO 4.12 and later versions only.
NICER has been monitoring the X-ray evolution of the likely TDE event, AT2020ocn.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20200708).
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200712. This release includes a new clock correction file, v105, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200712. This release includes a new clock correction file, v104, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The INTEGRAL AO-18 General Programme, as recommended by the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) and approved by ESA's Director of Science (Prof. Günther Hasinger), has been released and the observers have been informed.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200626. This release includes a new clock correction file, v104, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200626. This release includes a new clock correction file, v104, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
Added a new leap seconds file, leapsec_20200625.fits, which fixes an error in the SECONDS column for the last 2 entries of the previous version.
After the SRG/eROSITA discovery of a strong outburst from the LMC Be/X-ray binary RX J0529.8-6556, NICER followup observations discovered a period of 68s, indicating that the pulsar has been spinning up over the last 20 years.
Version v0p5 of the nicer_bkg_estimator software has been released. This version fixes an issue with the calculation of the deadtime correction and also updates the EXPOSURE time keyword in the primary and GTI extension headers
XSPEC 12.11.0m fixes a bug in the handling of Bayesian priors.
The latest version (v6.5, 14 Jun 2020) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2020) containing a lot more than one million (1,980,903 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
On 12 June 2020 INTEGRAL resumed science operations following an anomaly that caused the spacecraft to enter Emergency Safe Attitude Mode (ESAM) on 16 May 2020. Investigations are ongoing to understand and characterize the cause of the anomaly.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200612. This release includes a new clock correction file, v103, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200612). This release includes a new clock correction file, v103, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
SRG completes first all-sky X-ray survey, which lasted from December 8, 2019 to June 10, 2020
The deadline for NuSTAR Cycle 6 Phase 2 (budget) proposals has been moved back by one week to June 19, 2020.
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XSPEC 12.11.0l patch was released on May 28. This patch fixes a bug in the calculation of effective area when using the multi-response code.
These catalogs provide detailed description of the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Sources (SPIDERS) survey, an SDSS-IV program aimed at obtaining spectroscopic classification and redshift measurements for complete samples of sufficiently bright X-ray sources. The SPIDERSXMM catalog presents 3,196 sources drawn from the XMM Slew Suvey source catalog, version 2, and the accompanying SPIDERSROS table, presents the subsample of 21,288 sources which were drawn from the Second ROSAT All-Sky Survey (2RXS). These data are available in Browse or Xamin.
Support for XMM-Newton has been updated to work with the latest version of the ESA XMM-Newton Target Visibility Checker.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on May 26, 2020 (CALDB version 20200526).
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated to version 20200526. This release includes a new clock correction file, v102, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
NICER observations in the region including the intermittent accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar MAXI J0911-655 show a decrease in temperature consistent with the cooling tail of a thermonuclear X-ray burst from the neutron star.
NICER has observed X-ray emission from the Be/X-ray binary system GRO J1008-57 during its current outburst. NICER finds a pulsation period of 93.205 with a spin period consistent with that measured at higher energies by the Fermi/GBM instrument. The spectrum is consistent with comptonized emission from an accretion disk with plus a blackbody, along with partial-covering absorption.
On 16 May 2020 INTEGRAL entered Emergency Safe Attitude Mode following a Reaction Wheel Bias (RWB) maneuver. No science operations can be performed at this time. A more detailed accounting of this anomaly and updates can be found at the above link.
ESA has released preliminary statistics for proposals submitted to INTEGRAL AO-18. A total of 52 proposals were received asking for approximately 70 Msec of observing time. A breakdown of proposals by source category can be found at the above link.
XSPEC 12.11.0k has been released. This patch fixes an occasional issue with SVD decomposition convergence.
An update to the RXTE PCA background model was released to the HEASARC Caldb (update version 20200515)
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated (update version 20200510). This release includes a new clock correction file, v101, using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on May 14, 2020 (CALDB version 20200510).
NuSTAR, Swift and NICER are monitoring the current X-ray outburst of the soft gamma-ray repeater, SGR 1935+2154
The NuSTAR FPM caldb has been updated (update version 20200429). This release includes a new clock correction file using a more accurate estimate of the NuSTAR clock drift. The update also includes new ARF files to correct the low energy effective area due to thermal blanket tear in the optics associated with focal plane module FPMA.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on May 6, 2020 (CALDB version 20200429).
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20200504).
The latest version of the table of accepted XMM-Newton targets, updated to include AO-19 results, is now available in Browse and Xamin.
NICER observed the bursting magnetar SGR 1935+2154 in a series of observations. The NICER lightcurve shows over 100 bursts within a 1 kilosec observation.
The CALDB file caldb.config has been updated for HaloSat.
Released April 23, 2020. This release includes a patch to NICERDAS.
XSPEC 12.11 has been released, along with various patches which address some user issues.
The list of NuSTAR targets recommended by the Cycle 6 peer review is now available. Cycle 6 observations will start to be routinely performed on June 1, 2020. Evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 6 proposal PIs in the next few weeks.
The M31PHATCXO table presents data that combines deep Chandra ACIS-I observations with extensive Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) of the M 31 disk. The table contains 373 X-ray sources down to 0.35-8.0keV flux of 10-15erg/cm-2/s over 0.4deg2, 170 of which are reported for the first time. The authors identify optical counterpart candidates for 188 of the 373 sources, after using the HST data to correct the absolute astrometry of our Chandra imaging to 0.1". The associated table, M31PHATSFH, presents the star formation histories of the regions surrounding potential high mass XRBs. The data are available in Browse or Xamin.
The calibration database for the HaloSat SDD has been released to the HEASARC CALDB.
HaloSat, a Cubesat mission led by the University of Iowa (PI P. Kaaret), was designed to survey the distribution of hot gas in the Milky Way and constrain the mass and geometry of the Galactic halo. The first year of observations are now part of the HEASARC public archive.
NICER observations of the last X-ray minimum of Eta Car show that it began on Feb 13, 2020, and ended on March 15, 2020. This X-ray minimum is now the shortest on record.
Support for HaloSat has been added to the Timeline tool.
Updated April 13, 2020. New dual user data directory explorers, new multi output terminal windows.
Updated April 2018; bug fixes, other enhancements.
Released April 13, 2020. This release includes a patch to NuSTARDAS.
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface has been updated to version 6.8b. Fixed the order of DESCRIPTION and VALUES in VOTABLE FIELDs..
V1.9.2 of the NuSTAR Data Analysis Software (NuSTARDAS) was released in the HEASoft v6.27.1 patch release. It is required to analyze any observation performed after 3/16/2020. This is due to an adjustment of the onboard laser metrology system undertaken to improve the longevity of the flight hardware. There is no change to the quality of the science data.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.1 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.1 was released by the CXC on April 3, 2020. Note that CALDB 4.9.1 is compatible with CIAO 4.12 and later versions only.
Support for INTEGRAL Julian Dates has been added. Also, xTime will now calculate time intervals (in days/hours/minutes/seconds, fractional days, and total seconds) between successive date/time conversions.
Released March 31, 2020. This release includes updates to NICER and NuSTARanalysis software only and other fixes/improvements. In particular CFITSIO now interprets parentheses in path names correctly which improves compatibility with files stored on cloud services.
NASA has selected 24 new Fellows for its prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP). The program enables outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research across NASA Astrophysics, using theory, observation, experimentation, or instrument development. Each fellowship provides the awardee up to three years of support. Full biographies and other information about this year's Fellows, including each Fellow's research plans, are available at this link.
The INTEGRAL AO-18 proposal submission deadline has been postponed from Friday, 3 April to Monday, 4 May 14:00 CEST as result of the COVID-19 crisis. ESA will continue to follow developments closely and may provide additional updates in the next weeks, at the latest by Monday, 20 April.
The SWBAT105M table includes hard X-ray sources detected in the first 105-months of observations with the BAT coded-mask imager on board the Swift observatory and provides 1632 (422 new detections) hard X-ray sources in the 14-195 keV band above the 4.8 sigma significance level. This catalog is now available in Browse and Xamin.
NICER followup observations of the magnetar candidate Swift J1818.0-1607 imply a spin down age of 310 years based on the period derivative. This makes Swift J1818.0-1607 one of the youngest magnetars known.
The Swift pole constraints have been updated in the Viewing tool. The revised coefficients extrapolate the trend for the next year.
Observations of the low-mass X-ray binary Swift J1858.6-0814 by NuSTAR and NICER detected three thermonuclear "Type I" X-ray bursts, which strongly suggest that the compact object in Swift J1858.6-0814 is a neutron star. NICER observations also show deep, prolonged dips with a period of roughly 78640 s which may be due to the eclipse of the compact object by the companion star.
NICER observations of a new soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) candidate, Swift J1818.0-1607, revealed the presence of a 1.36 second period in the X-ray emission. This period suggests that Swift J1818.0-1607 is a new magnetar. If so, this source would have the shortest period of any known magnetar.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20200305).
XSPEC 12.10.1q patch fixes an issue with the statistic command with the whittle option. XSPEC 12.10.1r fixes a crash issue when calculating chi-square using some compilers. XSPEC 12.10.s addresses an issuerunning chains of type Goodman-Weare
Version 4.11 contains an updated X-ray absorption model (an approximation of tbabs) which is now the default, and an updated instrument specific outputs for XMM-Newton EPIC pn instrument.
A new Nature article describes how researchers are getting closer to solving the enigmatic nature of neutron stars, in part thanks to the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER)
The NICER mission has released the list of accepted Cycle 2 proposals, along with a list of accepted targets with approved coordinated NuSTAR time. Cycle 2 observations began on March 1, 2020.
New NICER observations of this black hole binary candidate confirmed the re-brightening of the system seen by MAXI in November and show the source to be in a hard state, possibly indicating the presence of a jet.
This announcement solicits proposals for observations to be carried out from January 2021 for a period of 12 months. Proposers from all over the world are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to an independent peer review by the INTEGRAL Time Allocation Committee (TAC). The deadline for proposal submission is Friday 3 April 2020, 14:00 CEST.
Recent NICER observations of the low-mass X-ray binary Swift J1858.6-0814 show that the system is in an unusual state, in which the soft X-ray flux has increase by about a factor of 30 over the previous quiescent level, with little variability in the NICER observations.
NICER has observed the 2020 X-ray minimum of eta Carinae, a long-period eccentric binary system which produces X-ray emission from the collision of the powerful stellar winds from the two stars. X-ray monitoring observations with NICER showed that the X-ray minimum began on 2020-02-13, at which time the observed X-ray flux dropped by about two orders of magnitude from the peak flux seem about 1 month earlier. The NICER observations help establish variations in the stellar wind mass loss and provide a probe of the dense inner wind of the Luminous Blue Variable primary star.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20200202. This version updates both the detector response file and the effective area of the XTI.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.2.23 on February 11, 2020. This release includes the NewMinuit package for statistical fitting, adds the PLSuperExpCutoff3 model and provides support for RadialDisk model to ModelEditor, along with bug fixes.
NICER observations of a new black hole candidate MAXI J1348-630 from Feb. 7 to 10 showed the source declining in X-ray flux by about a factor of 2 during this interval. NICER spectra show that the source is currently in the hard state. NICER will continue monitoring the source about once per day until the outburst fades.
The source Swift J0840.7-3516 was originally reported as a Gamma-ray burst sourcce by the Swift BAT on February 5. Followup observations by the Swift XRT showed X-ray emission that was inconsistent with a GRB, along with the possible detection of an 8.96 seconds. Followup X-ray observations with NICER showed X-ray flaring during which the X-ray flux increasd by a factor of 4, but did not confirm the X-ray period.
The latest version (v6.4c, 31 Dec 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2019) containing a lot more than one million (1,979,676 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
V4641 Sgr is a binary system that contains a 6.4 solar mass black hole which went into X-ray outburst in early January. Observations by NICER on January 31 provided the best measure of the 2-10 keV spectrum and showed an inner disk radius temperature of about 1.5 keV, with no visible features in the power spectrum in the short NICER observation.
The stacked catalog (XMMSTACK) and associated observation data ( XMMSTACKOB) offer new versions of the stacked catalog built from 6,604 4XMM-DR9 overlapping observations. XMMSTACK contains 1,329 stacks (or groups). The catalog contains 288,191 sources, with each observation also provided in the associated XMMSTACKOB table. Both are now available in Browse and Xamin.
Goddard Media Studios spotlights testing the XRISM instrument elements.
Goddard Media Studios presents the XRISM X-ray Mirror Assemblies.
NICER observations of the newly-discovered X-ray transient MAXI J0637-430 indicate that the source is a black hole X-ray binary system. Recent observations detail the decline of the soft, thermal X-ray emission from the source which entered a hard state on January 14, 2020, indicating a signficant change in the accretion disk around the black hole.
ISAS/JAXA XRISM web site is now open.
The most recent, updated version of this catalog (from Webb et al.,submitted) containing 810,795 X-ray source detections (an increase of 962 more observations and 35,642 more detections since the previous version 3XMM-DR8) drawn from a total of 11,204 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 1 and 2019 February 26 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Phase-1 science proposals are due by 4:30 p.m. EST, January 24, 2020. Please see the Guide for Proposers and the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for more details.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20200106).
The CALET archive has been hosted at the DARTS/ISAS and a copy is now also available from the HEASARC. The HEASARC currently holds the calorimeter space weather data. The two archives are synchronized weekly. The archive is populated with the outputs of the data processing that occurs in Japan.<
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on December 19, 2019 (CALDB version 20191219). This is a patch release for update 20191213.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on December 19, 2019 (CALDB version 20191219). This is a patch release for update 20191213.
The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is the definitive catalog of X-ray sources detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. By combining Chandra's sub-arcsecond on-axis spatial resolution and low instrumental background with consistent data processing, the CSC delivers a wide variety of uniformly calibrated properties and science ready data products for detected sources over four decades of flux. The second major release of the catalog, CSC 2.0, includes measured properties for 317,167 unique compact and extended X-ray sources in the sky, allowing statistical analysis of large samples, as well as individual source studies in the "Master Sources" table, available in Browse and Xamin.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The scheduled maintenance for the ARK database has completed, and ARK/RPS is fully operational. If you encounter any issues, please contact the ARK Help Desk.
XSPEC 12.10.1.o patch fixes an error when 2 or more named models are in use; 12.10.1p extends the precision of floats to double precision for certain local variables in the Poisson randomization algorithm.
The Chandra CalDB 4.9.0 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.9.0 was released by the CXC on December 17, 2019...
ARK/RPS will be down for maintenance starting on Wednesday, December 18, 2019, at ~2:00pm. It should be back up within a few hours. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on December 16, 2019 (CALDB version 20191213). This updates the NuSTAR bad pixel and gain files.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on December 16, 2019 (CALDB version 20191213). This updates the NuSTAR bad pixel and gain files for FPMA and FPMB.
eROSITA completes the Calibration and Performance Verification (Cal-PV) program
Astrophysicists have redrawn the textbook image of pulsars thanks to new detailed monitoring by NICER of the X-ray pulsar J0030+0451. NICER's detailed measurement of the X-ray pulse shape allowed the distribution of X-ray hot spots over the surface of the pulsar to be mapped out, and determined precise values for the size and mass of the pulsar. A series of papers analyzing NICER's observations of J0030 appears in a focus issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The latest version (v6.4, 11 Dec 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2019) containing a lot more than one million (1,968,377 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
Two decades ago today the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) launched into orbit. A pioneering satellite for studying the universe with different kinds of light, XMM-Newton has studied over half a million X-ray sources, including supernovae, star-shredding black holes and superdense neutron stars. In honor of XMM's 20th anniversary here is a video.
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-19 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
NICER monitoring of the massive colliding wind binary eta Carinae as the stars approach periastron passage has detected a sudden X-ray brightening. This X-ray flare is similar to the X-ray flaring seen at a similar orbital phase in previous binary orbital cycles. X-ray flaring should continue until the star reaches it X-ray maximum before the decline to the X-ray minimum on 2020 February 13.
Support for the IXPE mission has been added to Viewing.
The third version of the IRAM NOEMA - the successor to the Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) - observing log (Dan et al. 1991-2017, IRAM Newsletters) containing 2,180 observations from May 31, 2015 through November 12, 2019 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
NICER observations of the hard X-ray transient MAXI J0206-749 = HMXB RX J0209.6-7427 revealed a strong 9.29 s X-ray periodicity, making this system only the second confirmed pulsar in the Magellanic Cloud bridge.
NICER detected a strong flare from the black hole binary system GRS 1915+105 during the source's current low flux state. The NICER flare was the largest yet seen from this system. This X-ray flare may have been the precursor to a strong radio flare seen from the source a short time after the NICER observation.
The Chandra CalDB 4.8.5 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.5 was released by the CXC on November 7, 2019...
NICER detected an intense burst of X-rays at about 10:04 p.m. EDT on Aug. 20 from a massive thermonuclear flash on the surface of the pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. This is the brightest burst seen by NICER so far. The burst shows a remarkable two-stage evolution in flux, along with and burst oscillations at the known pulsar spin frequency.
Software tools to estimate background in NICER observations are under development, based on analysis of deep NICER exposures of "blank-sky" fields. "Alpha-release" versions of these tools are now available to help NICER observers better estimate backgound in observations and proposals. Understanding of the NICER background is still evolving so the estimates provided by these new tools should be used with caution.
NICER has detected two thermonuclear X-ray bursts from the new MAXI X-ray transient MAXI J1807+132, discovered in March 2019. The detection of these bursts show that the system is an LMXB with a neutron star primary.
The NuSTAR General Observer (GO) Program is soliciting proposals for observations during observing Cycle 6. Phase-1 science proposals are due by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time January 24, 2020. For more information see the NuSTAR Proposal page.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20191017), and the Swift XRT caldb has been updated to version 20190910.
NICER observations reveal that the tidal disruption candidate source AT2019azh showed a late-time brightening which perhaps indicates the formation of a transient accretion debris disk around the supermassive black hole.
On 22 October 2019, the beautiful first X-ray images of the eROSITA telescope were presented to the public at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching. After an extended commissioning phase, since October 13 all seven X-ray telescope modules with their custom-designed CCD cameras have been observing the sky simultaneously. The first combined X-ray images of our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and a pair of interacting clusters of galaxies at a distance of about 800 Million lightyears, show remarkable details and demonstrate the promise of the ambitious science programme planned with the space-borne telescope.
NICER is operating normally after stowing for last week's ISS operations.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on October 16, 2019 (CALDB version 20191008). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 96, valid through 2019-10-08.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on October 16, 2019 (CALDB version 20191008). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 96, valid through 2019-10-08.
In support of ISS operations, NICER has been stowed since Sunday, October 13. As a result, NICER is not currently taking requests for Target of Opportunity observations. We anticipate that NICER observations will resume as soon as the ISS operations are completed.
NICER has been monitoring the X-ray transient MAXI J1807+132 regularly since September 16. During this time, NICER detected brief, sudden episodes of X-ray brightening which may be analogous to similar flaring behavior seen near the end of the 2017 outburst of the source.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.2.1 on October 4, 2019. This release contains a major update to the implementation of the energy dispersion correction method in the Fermitools. It also includes new tool called gtdrm that estimates the energy dispersion matrix for the energy binning, and fixes a bug which was preventing updated parameter files from installing.
The M 33 Supernova Remnant (SNR) catalog comprises of deep observations of eight fields in M 33. This catalog includes 105 SNRs, detected at the 3-sigma level, of which 54 SNRs are newly detected in X-rays, and three are newly discovered SNRs. This catalog also includes optical emission line ratio data and results from X-ray spectral fitting, based on deep Chandra survey data. This table is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface has been updated to version 6.4. This release is a major update to installation utilities, along with other improvements.
This patch fixes an issue with the Pearson chi-square (pchi) test statistic calculatoin when a spectrum has mulitple models assigned to it.
Version 4.10a contains an updated set of effective area curves for XMM-Newton EPIC instruments, suitable for AO-19 proposals
From September 27 to September 30, NICER observed this newly active Galactic Center high-energy transient. The NICER observations show that the X-ray flux in the 0.1-10 keV band more than doubled over a timespan of about 3 days, with a coincident increase in black body temperature.
NICER observations of the new X-ray transient MAXI J1807+132, discovered on September 10. The NICER observations show large variations from 200 NICER counts per second to 14 counts per second within a week. The nature of this source, based on this initial analysis (and on obsevations in other wavebands), is uncertain, and additional observations are planned.
NICER observation of this unusual source on 2019 September 25 found a 0.3-2 keV X-ray flux that is nearly 10 times brighter than the X-ray flux measured by Swift/XRT just one day earlier and about 100 times brighter than the archival ROSAT detection.
The MAXI CALDB has been updated for both the SSC and GSC. The SSC CALDB has been updated to version 20190916. The GSC CALDB has been updated to version 20190916.
The Chandra CalDB 4.8.4.1 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.4 was released by the CXC on September 13, 2019...
Following the detection of super-soft source (SSS) emission from the recurrent nova V3890 Sgr by the Swift-XRT (Page et al., ATel#13084), NICER observations reveal a clear oscillation on a timescale of 83 s. The origin of this short-period modulation is possibly related to the spin of the white dwarf, or nonradial pulsations driven by an instability in the nuclear burning rate of the hot white dwarf.
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website. The application submission page will be open from September 3 until November 4, 2019.
NICER monitoring of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 showed an unusually bright, abrupt and soft reflare from SAX J1808.4-3658 on 2019 Sep 3, during which, over the span of 5.7 hours, the observed count-rate increased fivefold. A 401 Hz QPO was also detected during this reflare. This suggests that the accretion disk has suddenly become smaller in radius.
The Chandra CalDB 4.8.4 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.4 was released by the CXC on September 3, 2019...
XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the Nineteenth Announcement of Opportunity.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20190813).
Version 4.10 contains updates for NICER, suitable for Cycle 2 proposals. Note that the broadband background rate reported by version 4.9/4.9a included background counts below 0.2 keV, where the rate is very high. Version 4.10 restricts brodadband count rates for both source and background to the 0.2-12 keV range. This version also contains the current effective area curves for Athena X-IFU
This patch updates rdblur, kdblur, kdblur2, kerrconv for considerable speed improvements over previous patches, and removes the outdated relline, relline_lp, relline_lp_ext, relconv, relconv_lp, and relconv_lp_ext models.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on August 8, 2019 (CALDB version 20190827). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 95, valid through 2019-08-12.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on August 8, 2019 (CALDB version 20190827). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 95, valid through 2019-08-12.
The HDUVERS1 keyword has been updated from '1.1.0' to '1.2.1' since CHANNEL and COUNTS columns can be written in 'J' format in output files generated by the fakeit command.
NICER monitoring of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 successfully recovered a 401 Hz pulsation after correcting for delays due to the known binary orbit. The time of ascending node derived from the timing solution is 27 seconds earlier than predicted, which indicates that the orbital expansion is proceeding more slowly than expected.
Following reports of renewed activity from the X-ray transient EXO 1846-031, NICER executed rapid follow-up observations. These observations detected a sharp QPO at 0.26 Hz. The timing and X-ray spectrum suggest that this source is a black hole X-ray binary in the hard state.
In honor of Chandra's 20th launch anniversary, the Chandra X-ray Center has produced the following exciting anniversary items: a newsletter featuring articles on 20 years of operation, instrument, updates, and more; a photo gallery; and a video titled "First Light: Celebrating 20 years of Chandra Observatory"
The Miniaturized High-Speed Modulated X-ray Source (MXS) has been chosen as NASA's 2019 Government Invention of the Year. MXS was developed by Keith Gendreau (the NICER Project Scientist) and Zaven Arzoumanian (the NICER Deputy Project Scientist) and was used in the ground calibration of NICER. It also can help generate medical images similar to a CT scan for patients on earth and for astronauts in space.
The latest version of the IRAM PdBI observing log (Dan et al. 1991-2017, IRAM Newsletters) containing 21,396 observations completed through March 31, 2017 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.0.10 on July 15, 2019. This release Added PLSuperExpCutoff2 model to modeleditor.
The INTEGRAL AO-17 General Programme, as recommended by the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) and approved by ESA's Director of Science (Prof. Günther Hasinger), has been released and the observers have been informed.
At 14:31 on 13 July 2019, the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) space mission successfully lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome, carrying aloft the eROSITA and ART-XC telescopes.
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface has been updated to version 6.3a. This release adds Chandra to HiPS in the Aladin Lite image display, and other improvements.
Fix for corner case usage of the slimbh mode.
The Swift pole constraints have been updated in the Viewing tool. The revised coefficients extrapolate the trend for the next year.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on July 1, 2019 (CALDB version 20190627). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 94, valid through 2019-06-27.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on July 1, 2019 (CALDB version 20190627). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 94, valid through 2019-06-27.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.0.9 on July 1, 2019. This release fixes a critical interface issue with Fermitools version reporting in pyLikelihood.
Released June 26, 2019. This release includes updates to NICER and Swift data analysis software only. (Though it also includes a patch to rbnrmf applied previously to the 6.26 downloads.)
Fix to show pha and plot delchi commands.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.0.7 on Junr 19, 2019. This release fixes a compilation error in the SolarSystemTools, and fixes the ST_Version method to work correctly with Fermipy in pyLikelihood.
Updates the libraries that are included when a local model Xspec is built.
The latest version (v6.3, 22 June 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2019) containing a lot more than one million (1,986,800 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The list of NuSTAR targets recommended by the Cycle 5 peer review is now available. Cycle 5 observations will start to be routinely performed on July 1, 2019. Evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 5 proposal PIs in the next few weeks.
XMM-SAS version 18.0.0 was released on June 10, 2019.
This patch fixes a crash that can occur with the relconv convolution models.
The Swift SC clock correction file has been updated (CALDB update version 20190607).
The Omega Centauri Globular Cluster Chandra Deep Survey X-Ray Point Source Catalog (OMEGCENCX2) presents 233 X-ray sources using a deep (222-ks) survey of the omega Centauri Globular Cluster region. This table is now available in Browse and Xamin.
This patch fixes a general-case calculation bug in the kerrconv model that was introduced in patch 12.10.1d.
The latest version (v6.2, 22 May 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2019) containing a lot more than one million (1,981,261 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Chandra CalDB 4.8.3 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.3 was released by the CXC on May 23, 2019...
NASA's NICER image shows 22 months of X-ray data recorded by the Space Station payload during its nighttime moves between targets.
NASA's NICER image shows 22 months of X-ray data recorded by the Space Station payload during its nighttime moves between targets.
X-ray navigation is a technology that NASA has already demonstrated on the International Space Station. X-ray navigation uses the ultra-regular oscillations of distant pulsars, a type of neutron star, for timing and location data.
Released May 21, 2019. This release is primarily driven by updates to the NICER data analysis software, but also includes support for ftps, and other enhancements.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.0.5 on May 20, 2019.
This newsletter is available now for your reading pleasure at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20190516.
The nH tool has been updated with support for the HI4PI survey map. This new map is now the default. The X-Ray Background Tool has also been updated to use the HI4PI map.
The X-ray Observations of Compact Group Galaxies (HCGXRBS) catalog presents the total galaxy X-ray luminosities and other measured X-ray properties, based on Chandra observations, for 47 galaxies within a sample of 15 compact groups, as well as their multiwavelength properties such as star formation rates and stellar masses. This table is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The latest version (v6.1, 12 May 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2019) containing a lot more than one million (1,981,004 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on May 13, 2019 (CALDB version 20190513). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 93, valid through 2019-05-13.
This patch fixes some parsing issues with the "statistic test" command.
The FermiTools (formerly the SAE) were updated to version 1.0.2 on April 22, 2019.
The Swift XRT CALDB has been updated (CALDB update version 20190412).
Update (c) adds an optional argument to the PyXspec Fit.error() function to allow for error estimates on response parameters; (d) fixes a bug the rdblur, kdblur, kdblur2, and kerrconv convolution models; and (e) fixes a bug in the mdefine command.
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface has been updated to version 6.0a. This release has many changes associated with use of DataLink to extract data products. It has also been updated to minimize the chance of OutOfMemory errors.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on April 11, 2019 (CALDB version 20190410). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 92, valid through 2019-04-10.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20190405).
NASA has announced the selection of the 2019 NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP), which supports postdoctoral fellows performing research across all of NASA astrophysics. NHFP postdocs are named as Hubble, Einstein, and Sagan fellows, depending on their research topics. Awards support each Fellow through a U.S. Host Institution for up to three years. Full biographies and other information about this year's Fellows, including each Fellow's research plans, are available at this link.:
The Planck Catalog of Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCC) is an all-sky catalog of 13188 Galactic cold clump candidates detected by Planck. This table is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The Milky Way molecular cloud catalog presents 8107 molecular clouds that were detected in 12CO, covering the entire Galactic plane. This table is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The Timeline Tool has been enhanced to be more user-friendly. If no date is entered, it will now respond with the most recent date for which timeline data exists for the specified mission. Also, if only one date is queried, quick links to go to the previous and next days in the mission timeline are presented.
The latest version of the IRAM 30-m telescope observing log (Dan et al. 1991-2017, IRAM Newsletters) containing 558,950 observations completed through December 31, 2017 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The latest version of the IRAM PdBI observing log (Dan et al. 1991-2017, IRAM Newsletters) containing 21,061 observations completed through March 31, 2017 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The latest version (v6, 15 March 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2019) containing a lot more than one million (1,983,729 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on March 15, 2019 (CALDB version 20190314). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 91, valid through 2019-03-14.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on March 15, 2019 (CALDB version 20190314). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 91, valid through 2019-03-14.
The (4FGL) catalog is based on the first eight years of LAT science data and is the largest and deepest ever in this energy range. It contains 5098 sources of gamma-rays from 50 MeV to 1 TeV. The source catalog is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on March 5, 2019 (CALDB version 20190228). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 90, valid through 2019-02-28.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on March 5, 2019 (CALDB version 20190228). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 90, valid through 2019-02-28.
The start of Cycle 5 (11 month duration) observations has been changed from June 1 to July 1, 2019 (no change in available total time). Cycle 5 proposers, please take this into account for visibility windows. Cycle 4 observations will extend into June. Please see the Guide for Proposers for more details.
This announcement solicits proposals for observations to be carried out from January 2020 for a period of 12 months. Proposers from all over the world are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to an independent peer review by the INTEGRAL Time Allocation Committee (TAC). The deadline for proposal submission is Friday 5 April 2019, 14:00 CEST.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20190129).
Several NASA ROSES deadlines have been updated and the full list can be found in the ROSES 2018 Table 2. HEASARC lists the major upcoming deadlines for the submission of high-energy and general astrophysics and/or other missions which may be of interest to HEASARC users here.
The ISOC is preparing the next call for proposals requesting INTEGRAL observing time. The AO-17 release will be on 25 Feb 2019 with proposals due on 5 April 2019 (14:00 CEST).
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 5 proposal submission is now TBD. See the amendment recently posted at NSPIRES. A new date will be set when the government reopens, with some additional time provided since some proposers have been unable to work. Please note that the proposal submission website (ARK/RPS) will remain open as long as possible to accept proposals.
NICER made the cover of Nature with an analysis by Kara et al. of the temporal behavior of the X-ray spectrum of the black hole transient system MAXI J1820+070. Their analysis of the time-resolved NICER spectra of this system showed that the inner edge of the accretion disk is near the accreting black hole and that variations in the X-ray spectral lags indicated that the corona shrank over a time interval of a few weeks.
The latest version (v5.7, 7 January 2019) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2018) containing a lot more than one million (1,983,749 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
In case the HEASARC CALDB is unavailable, users can still access CALDB data from the CALDB mirror site hosted at the CfA. The mirror CALDB is available at ftp://cda.cfa.harvard.edu/pub/arcftp/heasarc/caldb/. Remote access users should set their CALDB environment variable to % setenv CALDB ftp://cda.cfa.harvard.edu/pub/arcftp/heasarc/caldb/ (for c-shell users) and make sure your local CALDBCONFIG and CALDBALIAS files are up to date.
The latest version (v5.6, 17 December 2018) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2018) containing a lot more than one million (1,984,120 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Chandra CalDB 4.8.2 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.2 was released by the CXC on December 13, 2018...
The due date for NuSTAR Cycle 5 proposal submission is Jan 25, 2019. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). New in Cycle 5 are the opportunity to propose for large programs and and the opportunity for joint observations with NICER. For more information about this cycle, please visit the NuSTAR Proposal page.
The updated version 4.1 of the XMM OM-SUSS Catalog listing the optical and UV properties of 8,176,156 source detections made by the XMM-Newton OM (v1.0 is described in Page et al. 2012, MNRAS, 426, 903) is now available in Browse and Xamin, as is the associated list of 9,749 XMM-Newton observations from 2000 to July 2017 in which these sources were found.
The X-ray Science Interest Group and the PCOS office created web links off the XRSIG page to act as a centralized data base for all X-ray astronomy-related white papers. Anyone writing an XRSIG-related white paper is invited to submit the title of their white paper, the co-authors, the email address of the point of contact, and an optional abstract or outline through the web interface.
This issue is full of information on your favorite HEA missions, news from the executive, information on upcoming meetings, and lots of other items of interest. Available now at your electronic HEAD newsstand !
The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-18 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available.
The latest version (v5.5, 19 November 2018) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Flesch, 2009 - 2018) containing a lot more than one million (1,982,872 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20181114).
The Fermi LAT CALDB has been updated (update version 1.0.0). This is the first version of the LAT caldb which is released through GitHub and available via the Fermi Science tools using the new conda installation. See the FermiTools wiki for details.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20181105.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on October 31, 2018 (CALDB version 20181030). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 87, valid through 2018-10-30.
This catalog provides the XMM properties for 387 detected sources along with ages and masses for matched NIR counterpart candidates in the associated table, as published in Santos-Silva et al., 2018. Both tables are now available in Browse and Xamin.
The FSSC is pleased to announce the availability of a new version of the Fermi Science Tools, 1.0.0, released on October 15, 2018. This version corresponds to v11r06p03, but is now distributed via the Conda package management system. Please see the FermiTools Installation instructions for detailed information.
Fixes an possible crash when calling the FNINIT initialization function, other fixes
The Chandra CalDB 4.8.1 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.1 was released by the CXC on October 25, 2018...
The MAXI archive, which is hosted at DARTS/ISAS, is now also available from the HEASARC. The two archives are synchronized weekly, and the archive is populated with the results of the data processing that occurs in Japan. Together with the archive opening, the MAXI software package has been released with HEASoft 6.25, and the calibration data are now also available within CALDB.
A new version of xisrmfgen, which includes a different model of the Si K edge region of Suzaku XIS, has been released with HEASoft 6.25 together with a new set of quantum efficiency CALDB files.
The INTEGRAL Science Data Centre (ISDC), the INTEGRAL instrument teams, and the INTEGRAL Science Operations Centre (ISOC) have announced the release of the Offline Software Analysis (OSA) version 11.0 . Several major improvements have been made in this new release. It is important to note that OSA 11.0 for IBIS is currently limited to data starting from 2015-12-26 (start of revolution 1626). For earlier data, the user should use OSA 10.2 with the limitations described in the user manual.
The NICER data reduction software Version 5 was released on Oct 23 2018 with the release of HEASoft 6.25 . NICERDAS 5.0 includes updates to most tasks and includes new task, nicertimeconv, to do basic time conversions.
The Suzaku CALDB has been updated for the XIS (update version 20181010). Note that the new version of xisrmfgen distributed with HEASOFT 6.25 requires version 20181010 of the XIS caldb.
Released October 23, 2018. This release is primarily driven by updates to the NICER data analysis software, but also includes other enhancements and fixes
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on October 22, 2018 (CALDB version 20181022). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 86, valid through 2018-10-22.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on October 22, 2018 (CALDB version 20181022). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 86, valid through 2018-10-22.
The latest version (v5.4, 17 October 2018) of the Million Quasars (MILLIQUAS) Catalog (Eric Flesch 2009 - 2018) containing a lot more than one million (1,982,686 to be exact) likely quasars is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
Call for White Papers for Chandra Cool Attitude Targets (CATs): deadline has been extended to 6 PM EDT Monday 22 October, 2018.
The ROSES Amendment for Cycle 1 of the NICER Guest Observer program has been released. Principal Investigators (PIs) for phase 1 proposals may submit their requested observations and corresponding scientific justification via the ARK/RPS portal. Deadline is 4:30 EST on December 20, 2018..
AstroSat data was opened to public on September 26, 2018. Around 25% of the AstroSat (around 1TB) data from the four payloads, UVIT, SXT, LAXPC and CZT is available for download from the Indian Space Science Data Centre . This data provide an exciting opportunity in understanding the cosmos from UV to X-rays through out the world.
The 20180912 version of the MAXI CALDB is now installed and available at the HEASARC. This is the first official release of the MAXI Calibration Database. MAXI CALDB Users will need to update their $CALDBCONFIG to the latest version (caldb.config.20180925)
NICER observations of the second re-brightening of the accreting millisecond pulsar IGR J17591-2342 show it reaching its highest flux yet seen, with strong pulsations remaining after almost 60 days post-outburst.
The 12th INTEGRAL Conference will be organized together with the 1st AHEAD Gamma-Ray Workshop on 11-15 February 2019: "INTEGRAL looks AHEAD to Multi-Messenger Astrophysics". It will be hosted by the Campus Biotech, in Geneva (Switzerland). This conference will discuss recent developments in high-energy astronomy, with particular emphasis on its role in multi-messenger astronomy. Further information including deadlines can be found at the above link.
The Swift pole constraints have been updated in the Viewing tool. The revised coefficients extrapolate the trend for the next year. The Viewing tool now also can report a "preferred" visibility window for NICER observations, which has a Sun angle constraint of 60-180 degrees. (The nominal visibility window for NICER observations is unchanged.)
Version 4.9 contains updates for NICER rate simulations and updated calibrations for XMM....
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface has been updated to version 5.3.1. This release includes improvements to VOTable output and other performance improvements
CalDB 4.8.0 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.8.0 was released by the CXC on June 28, 2018.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20180911).
The Million Quasars Catalog (MILLIQUAS) has been updated to version 5.3 (12 September 2018). It contains 618,097 type-I QSOs and AGN, including sources from SDSS-DR14Q and LAMOST DR4, and ~1,320,000 high-confidence (80%+ likelihood) quasar candidates. This table is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The HEAD is accepting nominations for the Rossi Prize, the Mid-Career Prize, the Dissertation Prize and the Schramm Award. Deadline for the Rossi Prize is October 15, and Oct 31 for the Mid-Career and Dissertation Prizes; deadline for Schramm Award nominations is November 2. See https://head.aas.org/awards) for more information
Support for NICER has been added to Argus.
The NHFP supports promising postdoctoral scientists performing independent research that contributes to NASA Astrophysics. The research may be theoretical, observational, and/or instrumental. If your application is successful you will become an Einstein, Hubble or Sagan fellow depending on the area of your research. The Announcement of Opportunity, which includes detailed program policies and application instructions, is available at the website: http://nhfp.stsci.edu). Applications are due Thursday, November 1, 2018 (7 PM EDT, 4 PM PDT, 23:00 UTC)
NASA has approved a Guest Observer program for NICER. We expect that the Announcement of Opportunity will be released this fall, with proposals due by the end of the calendar year. More information will be posted on the NICER home page when available.
JAXA has established the project team for XRISM, which will recover the high resolution spectroscopic capabilities of Astro-H (Hitomi).
XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the Eighteenth Announcement of Opportunity.
Observations by NICER and NuSTAR of the X-ray transient IGR J17591-2342 discovered by INTEGRAL on August 12 show that the new transient is an accreting millisecond pulsar in outburst. The pulsar has a spin frequency of approximately 527 Hz and an orbital period of 0.37 days.
Observations by NICER and NuSTAR of the X-ray transient IGR J17591-2342 discovered by INTEGRAL on August 12 show that the new transient is an accreting millisecond pulsar in outburst. The pulsar has a spin frequency of approximately 527 Hz and an orbital period of 0.37 days.
The X-Ray Background Tool has been enhanced with support for counts statistics and the generation of counts-based spectra.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on August 15, 2018 (CALDB version 20180814). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 84, valid through 2018-08-14.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on August 15, 2018 (CALDB version 20180814). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 84, valid through 2018-08-14.
First release of the 3XMM-DR7s stacked catalogue
NICER provides a detailed look at a rapidly-spinning black hole feeding off its companion star.
The Swift XRT Caldb has been updated (CALDB update version 20180710).
XMM-Newton Users Handbook v2.16 for AO-18
The generic caldb was updated to version 20180713. This was an update of the caldb.indx file to include the solar_geophys_data_v1.fits file and older leapsecond files which were missing from the previous version of the caldb.indx (20160713)
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180711. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data, and that your CALDB environment variable is set to https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/caldb to remotely access the HEASARC NICER CALDB.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20180709).
CalDB 4.7.9 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.7.9 was released by the CXC on June 28, 2018...
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface was updated to version 5.2 on June 27. This release includes updates to DataLink and TAP functionality which include DataLink VOSI elements and corrections to DataLink format per validation outputs
This press release details the awards to be bestowed by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) at its forthcoming Scientific Assembly in Pasadena, California, USA, 14 - 22 July 2018.
CXC plans to only support Python 3.5 in the next release of CIAO, which is currently planned for December 2018, as Python 2.7 is being phased out. The CIAO 4.10 version - which was released April 2018 - will be the last release to provide a version compatible with Python 2.7. For additional help, check out The Python 3 for Scientists website or contact the CXC Helpdesk.
The INTEGRAL AO-16 General Program, as recommended by the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) and approved by ESA's Director of Science (Prof. Gunther Hasinger), has been released and the observers have been informed.
XMM-SAS version 17.0.0 was released on June 22, 2018
Check out the latest HEAD newsletter, including status updates and interesting results.
This catalog listing the properties of 58 low-mass X-ray binaries that were detected in a Chandra ACIS-S3 observation of the X-ray-faint lenticular galaxy NGC 4382 (from Sivakoff et al. 2003, ApJ, 599, 218S) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
This catalog listing the properties of 99 low-mass X-ray binaries that were detected in a Chandra ACIS-S3 observation of the X-ray-faint elliptical galaxy NGC 4365 (from Sivakoff et al. 2003, ApJ, 599, 218S) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Added support for MAXI and Hitomi and restored support for Suzaku.
Fixes an issue with the zxipcf multiplicative model.
This catalog, which lists the sources observed by the Ginga All-Sky Monitor from 1987 to 1991 and provides access to FITS lightcurves generated by ISAS/JAXA and quicklook GIF plots generated by the HEASARC, is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The "X-Ray Skies with High-Res Eyes" workshop will be held August 6 and 7 at the Carnegie Institution for Science in downtown Washington, DC. The purpose of this meeting is to explore the cutting edge astrophysics enabled by a high angular resolution X-ray observatory in the next decade, present the AXIS science case to the community, and solicit feedback.
On June 11, 2018, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope celebrates a decade of using gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light in the cosmos, to study black holes, neutron stars, and other extreme cosmic objects and events.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180605. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data, and that your CALDB environment variable is set to https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/caldb to remotely access the HEASARC NICER CALDB.
This catalog listing the properties of 71 discrete X-ray sources that were detected in a Chandra ACIS-S observation of the X-ray-bright elliptical galaxy NGC 1600 and nearby members of the NGC 1600 Group (from Sivakoff et al. 2004, ApJ, 617, 262) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
This catalog listing the properties of 72 X-ray point sources and 1 somewhat extended X-ray source that were detected in a Chandra ACIS-S observation of the nearby S0 galaxy NGC 1332 (from Humphrey & Buote 2004, ApJ, 612, 848) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
This catalog listing the properties of 71 X-ray point sources detected in a Chandra ACIS-S observation of the nearby edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 5866 (from Li et al. 2009, ApJ, 706, 696) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180517. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data.
Version 3.45 of CFITSIO was released May, 2018. Provides new support for reading and writing unsigned long long datatypes; increased the hardcoded NMAXFILES setting for maximum number of open files from 1000 to 10000, other improvements
The XSA was updated on May 16, 2018 to version 10.0.
Released on May 14, 2018.
CIAO Scripts 4.10.2 was released on May 15, 2018. This release updates the find_chandra_obsid script to conform to changes to the Chandra Footprint Server.
The 12 May 2018 Version of ACIS_Extract was released on May 12.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20180411).
The most reccent, updated version of this catalog (from Rosen, Webb, Watson et al. 2016, A&A, 590, A1) containing 775,153 X-ray source detections (an increase of 47,363 compared to DR7) drawn from a total of 10,242 XMM-Newton EPIC observations made between 2000 Feb 3 and 2017 November 30 is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Support for NICER has been added to the Timeline tool.
The "X-Ray Skies with High-Res Eyes" workshop will be held August 6 and 7 at the Carnegie Institution for Science in downtown Washington, DC. The purpose of this meeting is to explore the cutting edge astrophysics enabled by a high angular resolution X-ray observatory in the next decade, present the AXIS science case to the community, and solicit feedback.
The CALET archive opens at the DARTS/ISAS with initial processing of the data.
The Gruber Foundation is pleased to present the 2018 Cosmology Prize to the Planck Team, and to Jean-Loup Puget and Nazzareno Mandolesi, the leaders of the HFI and LFI instrument consortia, for mapping the temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation with the ESA Planck spacecraft.
Scientists analyzing the first data from the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission have found two stars that revolve around each other every 38 minutes. The discovery bestows the stellar pair with the record for the shortest-known orbital period for a certain class of pulsar binary system.
Updated May 2018; bug fixes, other enhancements.
SkyView V3.3.4 was released on May 2. It now includes the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA Survey (GLEAM) which covers most of the sky south of 25 degrees north, about 25,000 square degrees.
NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), launched on December 30, 1995, operated for more than 16 years observing the fast-moving, high-energy worlds of black holes, neutron stars and X-ray pulsars before it was decommissioned on January 5, 2012. Yesterday (April 30) at 10:45 am EDT, RXTE re-entered the earth's atmosphere (probably in the ocean north of Venezuela) and was destroyed, bringing to an end a remarkably productive career.
This catalog listing the optical and X-ray properties of 2,302 periodic variables detected in the ASAS-South Survey that are positionally coincident with ROSAT All-Sky Survey sources (from Kiraga et al. 2012, AcA, 62, 67) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
A LIVESCIENCE article about how NICER will determine the state of matter inside neutron stars.
Released April 24, 2018. This release includes important bug fixes in the CFITSIO library, improvements to the NICER analysis software, improved support for Ubuntu and Debian Linux, and other enhancements and fixes
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface was updated to version 5.1 (1450/3907) on April 23. This version re-instates the "save to hera" functionality for on-line analysis of archived data using the Web Hera interface.
CIAO 4.10 was released on April 16, 2018. This release includes various bug fixes, support for newer compilers, and updated off-the-shelf packages. It also includes sherpa 4.9.1 changes.
DS9 Version 7.6 was released on April 17. This version includes a new Windows 32/64 bit port, a new MacOS High Sierra port, support for HTTPS, and other improvements
NICER was featured in an on-line publication by LiveScience on the ability to study photospheric radius expansion bursts, or "mushroom clouds" occurring on neutron stars.
Version 3.44 released April, 2018 to enhance security. CFITSIO users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to version 3.44...
The list of NuSTAR targets accepted by the Cycle 4 peer review is now available. Cycle 4 observations will start to be routinely performed on June 1, 2018. Written evaluations will be sent to all NuSTAR Cycle 4 PIs in the next few weeks.
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launched on the first-of-its-kind mission to find worlds beyond our solar system, including some that could support life. TESS, which is expected to find thousands of new exoplanets orbiting nearby stars, lifted off at 6:51 p.m. EDT Wednesday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. In its 2-year survey mission, TESS will survey the nearest and brightest stars in most (85%) of the sky in its search for exoplanets.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on April 19, 2018 (CALDB version 20180419). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 80, valid through 2018-04-19.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on April 19, 2018 (CALDB version 20180419). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 80, valid through 2018-04-19.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180417. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180417. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data.
A special session featuring NICER first results was held at the April 2018 meeting of the American Physical Society. Two results, "Scientists Spot the Shadow of a Strange Wind Blowing Past a Black Hole" and "NASA's Got a Plan for a 'Galactic Positioning System' to Save Astronauts Lost in Space", were featured stories on LIVESCIENCE.
We are organizing a Memorial Meeting to celebrate the life and work of our friend and colleague Neil Gehrels, whom we lost on 2017, February 6th. The meeting will take place in Washington DC on 2018, May 21st to 22nd. We kindly request that you register no later than April 22 to facilitate planning.
Support for NICER has been added to xTime. Also, the RXTE mission day number time formats, which were really only used in mission planning, have been removed.
Both instruments on Fermi have been returned to operational status and are actively collecting science data. For the LAT, this data will be used to monitor performance as the instrument returns to normal operating temperatures. GBM has returned to full functionality.
This catalog listing the low-frequency (126-173 MHz) properties of 15,532 sources detected at or above 5 sigma by the Low-Frequency Array in the Herschel-ATLAS North Galactic Pole (NGP) survey area (from Hardcastle et al. 2016, MNRAS, 462, 1910) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
This catalog listing the soft and hard X-ray properties of 77 point sources detected by NuSTAR in the Galactic Center and Sgr B2 fields (from Hong et al. 2016, ApJ, 825, 132) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Fixes an issue when a mix model is used with multiple data groups and there is more than 1 spectrum per group.
Fermi was commanded out of sun-point mode earlier today (March 27). It is now oriented at a 50-degree rock(ing) angle (towards the northern hemisphere) with respect to the zenith. Operations at a fixed rock(ing) angle will continue while spacecraft performance is monitored. The Fermi team plans to start bringing the instruments back online over the next week or so - GBM first and then the LAT. They will post updates on the status of the observatory as the recovery proceeds.
Patches an issue with the mdefine command. Released March 19, 2018.
CalDB 4.7.8 is now installed and available at the HEASARC. Chandra 4.7.8 was released by the CXC on March 19, 2018...
At 5:11 UT on March 16, Fermi encountered an issue with the solar array drive that caused the observatory to go into safe hold. In this mode, the instruments are powered off, and thus science data taking has stopped. Initial investigation suggests that one of the solar panels is stuck. Investigation into the cause of the anomaly is ongoing and will continue for some time. We are exploring options to resume some science operations with a fixed solar panel which would run while the anomaly investigations are ongoing. The team is planning to start a return to science ops next week, to run in parallel with the ongoing engineering investigation.
NICER observed the new X-ray transient MAXI J1820+070. The light curve shows large amplitude flaring on a time-scale of minutes. The X-ray spectrum shows a hard power-law spectrum and a low temperature disk blackbody component, while timing analysis shows a large amplitude broadband power spectrum. These characteristics strongly suggest that the source is a black hole X-ray binary that is rapidly increasing in flux through the canonical hard state.
Stephen Hawking, one of the leading cosmologists and popularizers of astronomy in the last century, died earlier today. Hawking's achievements were made all the more remarkable by the fact that he developed ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in his early twenties. His research on black holes and on the interaction between quantum mechanics and general relativity was a seminal contribution to the field.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on March 13, 2018 (CALDB version 20180312). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 79, valid through 2018-03-12.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on January 26, 2018 (CALDB version 20180312). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 79, valid through 2018-03-12.
The US National Weather Service has issued a major winter storm warning for the Northeast of the USA for Tuesday, March 13. This storm will make commuting hazardous and may cause widespread power outages in the Boston area. Given the high risk of significant power outages which could affect proposal submission, Helpdesk responses, and the ability of CXC staff to support proposers, as well as the ability of Chandra proposers in the Northeast to prepare and submit their proposals, the deadline has been postponed by 24 hours. Helpdesk response may be delayed if CXC staff experience power outages. The new deadline is FRIDAY MARCH 16, 2018 at 6pm EDT (note that daylight savings time has started in the United States).
The purpose of the NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop to be held in Athens, GA on April 11-15 2018 is focused on identifying and prioritizing critical laboratory astrophysics data needs, defined broadly, to meet the demands of NASA's current and near-term astrophysics missions. The meeting will also provide a forum within which the community can present and review the current state of knowledge in laboratory astrophysics and identify challenges and opportunities for the field in the near future. The registration deadline is March 16, and the abstract deadline is March 22.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20180305).
NICER was launched to the International Space Station on June 3, 2017, and began regular observations of celestial sources on July 17, upon completion of its commissioning activities. While observations to fulfill the mission's baseline science are ongoing, most data acquired to date -- during an initial validation period lasting nearly 8 months -- are now available in the public archive at the HEASARC. The archive includes over 3000 observations that have been processed with the latest instrument calibration products and software, also now released, and are accessible through the HEASARC's archive interfaces. Excluded are datasets for a few targets, to be released at a later date after evaluation of long-term calibration stability. Following this initial release, new observations will be delivered to the archive regularly after a two-week processing and validation period.
Released March 7, 2018. This release updates the NICER data analysis software and provides bug fixes in the FV (FitsViewer) GUI, among other changes. This release also fixes a security vulnerability identified in cfitsio; if you have code running cfitsio on a server we strongly recommend updating as soon as possible.
The NuSTAR project is making available up to 100 ks of NuSTAR observing time to joint science proposals for INTEGRAL's AO-16. The due date for INTEGRAL AO-16 proposals is Friday, April 13, 2018, at 14:00 CEST.
The NuSTAR project is making available up to 1 Ms of NuSTAR observing time to joint science proposals for Chandra LP or VLP Cycle 20 programs. The due date for Chandra Cycle 20 proposals is Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 6 p.m. EDT.
ESA invites you to submit proposals to the International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) 16th "Announcement of Opportunity" (AO-16) call for proposals, for observations to be performed during 2019. As previously, ESA also provides the opportunity to propose for coordinated observations with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and/or Swift with a total of 300 ks, 100 ks, and 150 ks, respectively, of their available time. Documentation, proposal submission and support software for this Announcement are being made available via the ESA INTEGRAL website. The deadline for proposal submission is Friday, April 13, 2018, 14:00 CEST.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180226. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data.
The NICER XTI caldb has been updated to version 20180226. Please make sure you're using the most recent version of the caldb.config file in order to access the NICER XTI CALDB data.
The DRS was a NASA-funded package included in the LISA Pathfinder mission to explore technologies for achieving the LISA mission's requirements. An overview is available at Our LISA Pathfinder page, and more details can be found at the LISA Pathfinder mission site. (The full mission data holdings are at the ESA mission archive). The data at the HEASARC are available through FTP, Xamin and Browse (as the LPFFILES table) and via a custom interface which selects data by interval and instrument mode.
The FSSC is pleased to announce the availability of a new version of the Fermi Science Tools, v11r5p3, released on February 15, 2018. This version improves support for pass 7 and pass 8 processed data, and removes support for pass 6 data, and other changes. Details and software download can be found here.
The HEASARC XAMIN archive interface has been updated to version 5.0b (1440/3845). This version provides a fix to compound data products.
Astropy 3.0 has been released. In addition to functional improvements, this is the first Python 3 only version of Astropy. Python 2 users can still use earlier versions of Astropy; Python 2 compatible versions of Astropy will be maintained, but new features will be added to Astropy version 3 and later.
The XSA was updated on February 15, 2018 to version 9.8. This version provides a new design of the main (Search) panel, links to ESASky, and an upgrade to the Table Access Protocol (TAP)
This catalog listing the radio properties for 204 sources detected by the JVLA at 4.5 and/or 7.5 GHz in deep (rms noise of ~16-29 microJy) radio continuum observations of the Perseus star-forming complex, particularly the NGC 1333 and IC 348 clouds (from Pech et al. 2015, ApJ, 818, 116) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
NASA's Science Mission Directorate announced the release of its annual ROSES omnibus solicitation for 2018 (NNH18ZDA001N) on February 14, 2018. Table 2 listing the individual program deadlines in order of their due dates can be found here.
The Hitomi CALDB has been updated for the SXS (update version 20180212), the SXI (update version 20180212) and the General Mission (GEN) data (update version 20180212).
This catalog (from Salvato et al. 2018, MNRAS, 473, 4937) containing the 19,141 AllWISE counterparts and/or Gaia matches to 17,665 X-ray sources that were detected in the XMM-Newton Slew Survey (version 2) above Galactic latitude |b| > 15 degrees is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Version 2.0.4 of the Astropy package, and a new version of the ACIS Extract software for analysis of Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS data, were released on February 6, 2018...
This catalog (from Salvato et al. 2018, MNRAS, 473, 4937) containing the 132,254 AllWISE counterparts and/or Gaia matches to 106,573 X-ray sources that were detected in the ROSAT 2RXS survey above Galactic latitude |b| > 15 degrees is now available in Browse and Xamin.
The lists of Swift Cycle 14 Guest Investigator Program recommended targets and proposals have been posted on the Swift website.
The abstract deadline for the "High Energy Astrophysics in the 2020's & Beyond" meeting to be held in Rosemont (near Chicago), Illinois from the 18th to the 21st March has been extended to February 7 at 9 pm ET. In addition, the deadline for early registration has also been extended to February 7.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on January 26, 2018 (CALDB version 20180126). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 78, valid through 2018-01-26.
The NuSTAR CALibration DataBase was updated on January 26, 2018 (CALDB version 20180126). This updates the NuSTAR clock correction file to version 78, valid through 2018-01-26.
The CALDB is mirrored at ftp://cda.cfa.harvard.edu/pub/arcftp/heasarc/caldb. You can access the CALDB remotely by setting your CALDB environment variable to ftp://cda.cfa.harvard.edu/pub/arcftp/heasarc/caldb
The Gehrels Swift Observatory has captured an unprecedented change in the rotation of a comet. Images taken in May 2017 reveal that comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak was spinning three times more slowly than it was in March, when it was observed by the Discovery Channel Telescope at Lowell Observatory, according to Bodewits et al. (2018, Nature, 553, 186.
In honor of Neil Gehrels (October 3, 1952 - February 6, 2017), who helped develop the mission and served as its principal investigator until his death last year, the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer has officially been renamed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
The Swift SC clock correction has been updated (CALDB update version 20180103).
"NASA test proves pulsars can function as a celestial GPS", published in Nature, discusses how NICER/SEXTANT for the first time demonstrated in-space navigation using X-ray pulsars as a form of a Galactic Positioning System. This method will help spacecraft autonomously steer themselves through deep space. These results were featured in a press conference at the 231st Meeting of the AAS, in Washington DC.
A preliminary Fermi LAT 8-year Point Source List (FL8Y), based on the first eight years of science data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission and the 100 MeV-1 TeV range has been released by the Fermi project. The FL8Y source list has twice as much exposure as the 3FGL, and includes a number of analysis improvements, but does not use an updated model for Galactic diffuse gamma-ray emission. The FL8Y source list includes 5524 sources above 4-sigma significance, and includes source location regions and spectral properties.
The latest version of this catalog of 52,011 confirmed variable stars (from Samus et al. 2017, ARep, 61, 80) is now available in Browse and in Xamin.
Adds proper handling of gain fit parameters when stored and read back in with Xset.save and Xset.restore in PyXspec. Released Dec 27, 2017.
This catalog (from Ajello et al. 2017, ApJS, 232, 18) contains 1,558 objects that have been characterized in the 10 GeV to 2 TeV energy range by Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) in the first 7 years of observations using the Pass 8 event-level analysis. The sensitivity and angular resolution are improved by factors of 3 and 2 relative to the previous LAT catalog at the same energies (1FHL). 3FHL is now available in both Browse and Xamin.
This catalog contains 468 radio sources and 36 radio source components that were detected at 1.4 GHz with the Very Long Baseline Array in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field, and includes the radio fluxes of these sources, which are likely to be AGN, and their multiwavelength counterparts. This catalog (from Herrera Ruiz et al. 2017, A&A, 607, A132) is now available in Browse and Xamin.
Xamin version 5.0 introduces the tabbed layout for grid formatted query results. This new output format replaces the current multi-window grid output. All new queries will be added to one main panel and each can be displayed by clicking its associated tab (figure 1). Tabs are labeled with the query number and mousing over the [...]
The deadline to submit in response to this call for proposals (CfP) is January 24, 6:00pm EST. The purpose of this special CfP is to propose for new Chandra observations that can demonstrate the feasibility for key CSM goals or otherwise enhance CSM science prospects. Proposals from all areas of astrophysics will be considered. Up to 1 Msec of Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) may be devoted to CSM programs.
Fixed an issue in which changing solar abundance table from the default (angr) does not work correctly for the raymond, meka, or mekal models. Released Dec 13.