Rosat Status Report #97

[REQUEST@rosat.gsfc.nasa.gov]

		ROSAT Status Report #97
		     July 5 1994





=========================================================================
=                                                                       =
=              ROSAT NEWS No. 29   ---      1-Jul-1994                  =
=                                                                       =
=-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
=                 ROSAT Scientific Data Center at the                   =
=       Max-Planck Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE)        =
=               Postfach 1603, D-85740 Garching, Germany                =
=-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
=  e-mail addresses (Uli Zimmermann):                                   =
=   rosat_svc@mpe-garching.mpg.de (Internet) or  MPE::ROSAT_SVC (SPAN)  =
=  ROSAT Service Area (including ROSAT Data Archive):                   =
=   ftp rosat_svc.mpe-garching.mpg.de      user: anonymous              =
=   www address:  http://rosat_svc.mpe-garching.mpg.de/                 =
=-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
=  XUV Center: 29382::GXUVDC or  GXUVDC@AIT.PHYSIK.UNI-TUEBINGEN.DE     =
=   WFC Archive access via telnet/ftp ait.physik.uni-tuebingen.de       =
=                                user: xuv  (password: xuv_archive)     =
=========================================================================

SATELLITE STATUS
================
No major problems were encountered during the last month.


MISSION PLANNING
================
Mid June the ROSAT IUC (International User Committee) made the final
selection on the AO-5 proposals. The list of accepted proposals can
be found in the ROSAT Service Area in directory 'timeline' (file 
ao5.accepted).

(In the USA the accepted AO-5 targets list is now available 
on legacy under /rosat/timelines/ao5.targets).

Official end of the PSPC observing program and future PSPC observations
=======================================================================
As part of the current timeline which foresees a PSPC observing period once
per month, the PSPC will be moved into focus for a last seven-day period 
lasting from June 30th to July 6th, 1994. After this period the regular
ROSAT PSPC guest observer program will be officially ended. During 4 years
of operation the two PSPCs onboard ROSAT have performed not only the most 
comprehensive X-ray all-sky survey ever, but also 80 % of ROSAT's pointed
observations amounting to some 3600 PSPC fields in total.

At this point the PSPC gas tanks are almost empty. The residual gas pressure 
is approximately 10 bars which can be compared with 600 bars at launch in 
June 1990. The remaining gas will be saved for observations of very special 
importance. Such observations can be proposed on a TOO basis ("Super-TOO").
Corresponding proposals should be sent to 

   J. Tr"umper, MPE Garching, 
   Fax: 0049-89-3299 3569, 
   e-mail: jtrumper@mpe-garching.mpg.de.


(For USA proposers, GSFC request that a CC: of any TOO request also be sent
to Rob Petre at LHEAVX::PETRE, for our information). 

If a Super-TOO observation is approved, the PSPC will need to be activated 
for several contiguous days in order to make the most efficient use of the 
gas supply (each activation requires flushing the detector). This implies that 
in addition to the TOO program a limited amount of PSPC observing time will 
become available again. This observing time will be used to complete priority 
A and B observations of AO's 1-4. In order to be selected, a priority A or B 
target must have previously gained less than 70 % of the requested observing 
time, and it must be accessible at the chosen observing time. While some guest 
observers will benefit from this philosophy and obtain additional data, we 
emphasize that the target selection will be totally dependent on the chosen 
TOO and only a small fraction of the uncompleted A and B observations will be 
rescheduled.

PROPERTY RIGHTS for REPROCESSED DATASETS
========================================
All principal investigators (PI) of ROSAT observations, that have 
originally been processed before January 1993, have already or will 
receive their data once more, reprocessed (REV 2 processing) and in the 
new FITS format (RDF). These reprocessed data belong for a period of half 
a year (starting from delivery) exclusively to the PI. Thereafter they
will enter the ROSAT Data Archive (RDA) and replace the data processed 
by REV 0 software. In addition, results from these observations will be
entered (after screening at the Data Centers) into the ROSAT Result 
Archive (RRA). The RRA will open towards the end of the year.

Data processed after January 1993 are not affected by the main problem
in REV 0 processing - occasional jumps of about 1 sec in the event time -
and therefore reprocessed sets of these data will not be sent out but 
directly go to the archives.


ROSAT WORKSHOP III at MPE on OCTOBER 26 and 27 
==============================================
The success of the previous 2 ROSAT Workshops has convinced us to organize
also a 1994 meeting. Please mark the date, October 26 and 27 (Wed./Thu.), 
in your planning for the autumn. Details will be announced in the next 
ROSAT NEWS. 


NEW EXSAS/MIDAS RELEASE
=======================
Around mid July all EXSAS sites will receive new EXSAS 
software, fully compatible with the MAY94 version of MIDAS. This MIDAS
version now supports also the OSF operating system on DEC Alpha
machines, in addition to many UNIX flavors and VMS.

Beginning with that release the most recent EXSAS software will be also 
placed in the ROSAT Service Area, from where it can be retrieved. 
It is planned that future releases of the software will be distributed 
on tape only on special request.


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