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ROSAT Status #142: MPE News #47
=========================================================================
= =
= ROSAT NEWS No. 47 --- 20-June-1996 =
= =
=-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
= 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/ =
= interactive account (including ROSAT Result Archive): =
= telnet xray.mpe-garching.mpg.de user: xray no password =
=-----------------------------------------------------------------------=
= 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) =
= WWW address: http://astro.uni-tuebingen.de/rosat.html =
=========================================================================
Contents: HAPPY BIRTHDAY - ROSAT 6 YEARS IN ORBIT
AO-7 PROPOSAL INPUT
BRIGHT SOURCE CATALOG OF THE ROSAT ALL SKY SURVEY AVAILABLE
ROSAT ALL-SKY SURVEY DIFFUSE BACKGROUND MAPS AVAILABLE
ROSAT WORKSHOP AT MPE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - ROSAT 6 YEARS IN ORBIT
=======================================
On June 1, 1996, the ROSAT observatory with its X-ray and XUV telescope
completed the 6-th year in orbit. Despite some initial satellite hardware
problems it operated well-behaved and effective during most of the time.
Until 1994, when the gas resources of the PSPC detector were eventually
exhausted (appreciably later than originally anticipated), the PSPC was
the main detector used with the X-ray telescope. Since then the ROSAT
telescope with the HRI detector continues to be an extremely successful
and highly overbooked observatory facility.
Besides the All-Sky-Survey, where the satellite was operated in a
scanning mode, during the 6 past years more than 6000 individual
pointings were performed, 55 % using the PSPC detector. The overall
observing efficiency (good data time) in the pointing mode was 45 %. Two
thirds of the data are already publicly available through the ROSAT Data
Archives. In addition ROSAT source catalogs from the pointed observations
and from the All-Sky-Survey of both the X-ray and the XUV telescope form
an easy-to-use interface to the large ROSAT database. A recent
bibliographic scan resulted in a total of 1987 scientific ROSAT articles,
of which 59 % appeared in refereed journals.
Present observation planning (AO-7) runs up to the end of 1997 and we
hope all the best for the health of the observatory.
AO-7 PROPOSAL INPUT
===================
The run for ROSAT observation time is unbroken. The German data center
received 163 proposals requesting 18 Msec scheduling time, which is
about a factor of 4 more than time available. The overbooking looks
similar with the other data centers. The US data center received 134
proposals requesting a total of 25 Msec, while the UK data center
counted 53 proposals asking for 4.4 Msec.
The proposal reviewing will take place in the July timeframe.
BRIGHT SOURCE CATALOG OF THE ROSAT ALL SKY SURVEY AVAILABLE
===========================================================
The ROSAT All-Sky Survey Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC, revision
1RXS) has been released and is available through the World Wide Web
(URL http://www.rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de/survey/rass-bsc/)
and via anonymous ftp (host ftp.rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de, directory
archive/survey/rass-bsc) (cf. IAU Circular No. 6420, June 19, 1996).
This catalogue is derived from the all-sky survey performed during the
first half year of the ROSAT mission in 1990-1991; 18,811 sources are
catalogued, with a limiting ROSAT PSPC countrate of 0.05 cts/s in the
energy band 0.1- 2.4 keV. The sources have a detection likelihood of at
least 15 and contain at least 15 source photons. At a brightness limit
of 0.1 cts/s (8547 sources) the catalogue represents a sky coverage of
92 percent.
For each source are provided the ROSAT name, the position in equatorial
coordinates, the positional error, the source countrate and error, the
background countrate, exposure time, hardness-ratios HR1 and HR2 and
errors, extent and likelihood of extent, and likelihood of detection.
For 94 percent of the sources, visual inspection confirmed the results
of the standard processing with respect to existence and position; the
remaining 6 percent were reanalyzed and appropriately flagged.
Broadband images are available for a subset of the flagged sources.
A list containing correlations with other catalogues and identifications
will follow soon.
Questions or comments may be directed to
survey@rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de.
FIRST MAPS OF THE SOFT X-RAY DIFFUSE BACKGROUND (SXRB) FROM THE
ROSAT XRT/PSPC ALL-SKY SURVEY AVAILABLE
===============================================================
The first maps of the soft x-ray diffuse background (SXRB) from the
ROSAT XRT/PSPC All-Sky Survey have been released and are available
through the World Wide Web (URL http://www.rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de/survey/sxrb/) and via anonymous ftp (host
ftp.rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de, directory archive/survey/sxrb)
(cf. IAU Circular No. 6419, June 17, 1996).
A detailed description of the data and maps has appeared in: Snowden
et al., Ap.J. 454, 643 (1995). The maps cover about 98 percent
of the sky in the bands 0.25, 0.75, and 1.5 keV, with about 2-degree
angular resolution and high sensitivity for low-surface-brightness,
extended features. The effects of non-x-ray contamination and x-
rays of solar-system origin have been eliminated to the greatest
possible extent, but discrete x-ray sources have not been removed.
The much-improved angular resolution, statistical precision, and
completeness of coverage of these maps reveal considerable
structure over the entire energy range 0.1-2.0 keV that was not
observed previously. The data compare well with previous all-sky
surveys in terms of absolute normalization and zero point. For
each energy band, an intensity map, as well as an exposure map, is
available in FITS format. All maps were constructed using a
Hammer-Aitoff equal-area projection in zero-centered galactic
coordinates with longitude increasing to the left. Questions or
comments may be directed to sxrb@rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de.
ROSAT WORKSHOP AT MPE
=====================
As in former years we intend to organize a 2-day ROSAT workshop at MPE
on October 22 and 23 (tuesday and wednesday) to discuss recent
results gained through the observatory. Organizational details for the
meeting will be announced with the next ROSAT NEWS.
====================== end of ROSAT NEWS ================================