ASCA weekly

[nagase@astro.isas.ac.jp]

Dear ASCA users,

In ASCA AO8, we have accepted a total 29 targets (12.96 Ms) as the 
priority-A targets for the first year of ASCA life from 2000, February.
These include 21 targets with 7.48 Ms (58%) proposed from Japan and
8 targets with 5.48 Ms (42%) proposed from US. After the failure of
Astro-E launch, US committee and ASCA team kindly offerred to reduce
by about 2 Ms the observations proposed by US side (see Table attached)
to incudse some additional targets from Japanese ASCA team. Based on this 
change of exposure time and priority of US targets, we have revised the 
released observation schedule as follow for the interval between February and 
August. We are now under consideration for  the additiona observation 
program.

Even at this phase lost Astro-E observatory, we will keep the agreed policy 
for  AO8: (1) we keep the idea of long observation in AO-8, because it provides
unique property of ASCA observations in the era of Chandra/Neuton, (2) we 
also hold the rule that all the data for AO-8 observations release immediately
for public.

Recently, we experienced twice the transfer of the ASCA attitude control 
system to the Safe-Hold mode, on March 22 and April 8. Both were possible 
but logically very rare events from the properties of the ASCA attitude 
control system. Hence, the attitude control system and all the instruments 
aboard ASCA have no damage. The loss of observation times due to the SH-mode 
events are not supplemented.

F. Nagase

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A S C A     WEEKLY  OBSERVATION   PLAN
	(AO-8 Long Observation Program)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#8-1,  February 13 - August 8 , 2000			ver-2  (00/04/21)
(ISAS contact scientist: 	K. ASAI	(asai@astro.isas.ac.jp)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date	MNV	Target 		Tag. 	Exp.	Observation	PI or 
	start	name 		Cat.	(ks)	Cat.  	Pri./TC 	( PPI/Co-PI)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2/13	08:00	4U1608-52	Bin.	500 	LO8	A/n	T. Dotani

2/24	00:00	IC 342, SC 1	Gal.	300	LO8	A/n	K. Makishima

3/01	12:00	Mkn 501		AGN	400	LO8	A/n	T. Takahashi

3/11	00:00	Sgr A		Bin.	400	LO8	A/n	H. Murakami

3/22	00:00	SS 433		Bin.	560	LO8	A/n	N. Kawai

4/ 4	00:00	SMC SW		Bin.	500	LO8	A/n	K. Imanishi

4/17	12:00	GRS 1915+105	Bin.	300	LO8	A/n	K. Yamaoka

4/25	12:00	SMC survey	Gal.	200	LO8	A/n	J. Yokogawa

5/01	00:00	RE 1034+30	AGN	20	US	1/Y	K. Leighly
					(AO7 carried over target)
5/01	13:00	PKS 2155-304	AGN	400	LO8	A/n	T. Takahashi

5/11	12:00	NGC 4151	AGN	600	LO8	A/n	H. Inoue

5/25	00:00	NGC 4395	AGN	300	LO8	A/n	K. Iwasawa

6/01	12:00	Akn 564		AGN	1400	LO8	A/n	T.J. Turner	

7/06	00:00	IRAS 13224-3809	AGN	750	LO8	A/n	K. Leighly

7/27	00:00	LMC survey	Gal.	440	LO8	A/n	J. Yokogawa

8/08	 0:00	MNV to next target

TBD	TBD	Cas A N2	SNR	250	MOT	Cal.	Asca-team

TBD	TBD	Rho Oph Core	Star	300	LO8	A/n	K. Imanishi

TBD	TBD	V773 Tau	Star	300	LO8	A/n	S. Yamauchi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Note) Obs. Cat. JPN: Japan time, US: US time, JUS: Japan-US Collaboration, 
USJ: US-Japan Collaboration,  MJU: Merged Japan-US (PPI=Japan), 
MUJ: Merged US-Japan (PPI=US),  ESJ: ESA-Japan Program, 
MOT: Observatory Time (Calibration), TOO: Target of Opportunity,
and LO8: AO-8 Long Observation Program.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table: Modification of Exposure time for US Priority A Targets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Target   	Approved Time 		PI Name 	Changed time
       name    		(ksec)				(ksec)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ARAKELIAN 564  	1560    	Turner 		1400

 AR LAC         	 500    	Drake		 400

 IRAS 13224-3809	 750     	Leighly 	 750

 NGC 1313       	 400    	Petre  		 300

 PG 0804+761    	 750     	Nandra 		 --> Pri-B

 N23            	 200     	Hwang  		 --> Pri-B

 DEM 71         	 200     	Hwang 		 --> Pri-B

 BY CAM        	 	1120     	Mukai  	 	 500    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total          		5480   				3350
 Balance   						2130