skip to content
 
XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility

XMM-NEWTON XSA Facility

A Simple Example


In this example we will use the SOC based XSA facility to create and download the calibrated event list files that are the input for further detailed analysis. Full XSA documentation can be found here.

  • 1) Launch the XSA applet, to start the XSA session. This will open General User Access to XSA window, which you can NOT close without terminating the XSA session, and an XMM-Newton Science Archive window, which is the general user interface.
  • 2) Click the Login/Register tab at the top of the window, (just below the window menubar).
  • 3) Log into the XSA by filling in your user name and password followed by pushing Login & proceed, or register for a new account. Return to the query window.
  • 4) Your user name should be displayed in the upper left corner of the query window. Fill in the query parameters, for example the Observation ID text box, or the source name in the text box following the for SIMBAD drop down menu. Then push the Execute Query button near the center about a quarter of the way down from the top of the window.
  • 5) This will generate a query results window, by default a list of XMM observations. At this point you can directly download the Observation Data Files (ODF), or the pipeline products (PPS) for any one element of the query result just by selecting the appropriate request from the dropdown menu marked Retrieve on the left hand side of the result description. These will have not been reprocessed since SAS 7.1 or the original delivery of the dataset.
  • 6) To request reprocessing, first select the check box to the far left of the observation(s) you wish to analyze. Then select the Move Selected to Basket button from the second row of buttons at the top of the window (below the Science Archive banner).
  • 7) This will empty the query results list. Select the Shopping Basket from the top row of buttons.
  • 8) In the Shopping Basket again make sure that you selected the check box to the left of each of the observations you want.
  • 9) In the Observations Products select Data Processing from drop down menu.
  • 10) A drop down menu will appear next to the check box, which defaults to EPN, equivalent to the epproc SAS ODF meta-task. If you wish to select multiple products, then select Multiple from the drop down. This will pop up a selection window allowing you to shift-click to select any desired products (MOS for emproc, OM Image for omichain, RGS for rgsproc). When you have selected all the desired products, dismiss the pop-up by hitting the Done button.
  • 11) Click the Submit Request button to the right of the Observations Products selection.
  • 12) On the Summary Rest Page click the Confirm button.
  • 13) Note the Product Request ID, and click Dismiss. You will receive an e-mail conformation when the data are available, and directions on how to download them. You can also view the status of the request by hitting the Request Monitor button from the top row of buttons. Be sure to Logout from the XSA when you are done.


If you have any questions concerning XMM-Newton send e-mail to xmmhelp@lists.nasa.gov