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GSFC XMM-Newton GOF Status Report #079: XMM-NEWTON NEWS #35
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_/ XMM-NEWTON NEWS #35 --- 28-Jul-2003 _/
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ESA, XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre at
Villafranca del Castillo, Satellite Tracking Station
P.O. Box - Apdo. 50727, 28080 Madrid, Spain
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SOC Home Page:
http://xmm.vilspa.esa.es/
Helpdesk web interface:
http://xmm.vilspa.esa.es/external/xmm_user_support/helpdesk.shtml
Helpdesk email address:
xmmhelp@xmm.vilspa.esa.es
News Mailing List:
http://xmm.vilspa.esa.es/external/xmm_user_support/xmm_news/
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Contents:
- XMM-Newton AO-3
- XMM-Newton Remote Proposal Submission System (XRPS)
- Supported platforms for futures SAS releases
- Reminder: a planning tool for OM observations
XMM-Newton AO-3
===============
The XMM-Newton proposal submission process ended on the 30th of April
2003. In total 692 proposals were received. (This number is slightly
lower than the number quoted in XMM-Newton News #33, because of two
additional double submissions). Thirty nine of the received proposals
fell into the category of the "Large Programs", which was offered for
the first time.
The distribution with respect to the scientific categories was as
follows:
Scientific Standard Large Total
Category(#) Proposals Programs Number
------------------------------------------
A 95 2 97
B 107 6 113
C 114 5 119
D 68 0 68
E 157 15 172
F 112 11 123
------------------------------------------
Total 653 39 692
==========================================
(#: A: Stars, White Dwarfs and Solar System, B: White Dwarf Binaries,
Neutron Stars, Cataclysmic Variables and Black Holes, C: Supernovae,
Supernova Remnants, Diffuse (galactic Emission and Isolated Neutron
Stars, D: Galaxies and Galactic Surveys, E: Active Galactic Nuclei,
Quasars, BL-Lac Objects and X-ray Background, F: Groups of Galaxies,
Cluster of Galaxies and Superclusters)
The evaluation of the proposals was organized around 14 panels,
consisting of five scientists each. In total 70 scientists from 16
countries reviewed proposals for XMM-Newton's AO-3.
In a first step every proposal was reviewed individually by each of the
five scientists of the corresponding panel. After their individual
review, the scientists of each panel met, discussed their views and
agreed on a priority order for the proposed observations. The panel
meetings took place between the 4th and the 13th of June 2003.
During the chairpersons meeting, which took place on June 23rd and 24th
2003 in the XMM-Newton SOC (located at VILSPA, near Madrid) the results
of the different panels were merged, cases of duplication were resolved
and the overall scientific balance within each scientific category was
evaluated. A special session was devoted to the discussion and final
selection of the "Large Programs", based on the recommendations of the
individual panels
In total, 948 observation were selected for AO-3. The distribution with
respect to the scientific categories is as follows:
Scientific Observations(#) Rank of Observations Observations
Category A or B C last C Large Pro. (total)
---------------------------------------------------------------
A: 51 50 101 19 120
B: 57 43 100 1 101
C: 72 57 129 0 129
D: 54 45 99 0 99
E: 132 165 297 15 312
F: 90 65 155 32 187
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 456 425 67 948
===============================================================
(#: Repetitions, and "candidates" from a list of triggered
observations, are not counted).
After approval by the Director of Science the SOC sent the results of
the review to every proposer on June 2nd 2003. The whole evaluation
process was finished within two months.
Please, note that the rank of the last C priority target was wrongly
given in some of the e-mails which were sent out. The SOC apologizes
for this.
The list of accepted observations is provided at:
http://xmm.vilspa.esa.es/external/xmm_obs_info/ao3_otac_results.shtml
This page also gives access to the abstracts of the accepted proposals.
The XMM-Newton SOC wishes every successful PI interesting and exciting
results from their observations. It should be stressed that
observations will only be finally accepted after the full observing
details are specified during the second phase of the proposal
submission. The details of the scheduling of the second phase
submission process are specified in the e-mails which were sent to each
PI of a successful proposal.
XMM-Newton Remote Proposal Submission System (XRPS)
===================================================
Following some problems encountered with XRPS performance during the
heaviest-load period of the XMM-Newton AO-2 proposal submission
exercise in October 2001, the XMM-Newton Remote Proposal Submission
System and strategy have both been dramatically revised. Network and
firewall approaches have been adapted, hardware performance has been
enhanced, and extensive efficiencies have been achieved in software
implementation. The adoption of a two-phase proposal submission
strategy ensures that during the AO-3 Phase II Proposal Data Entry
cycle, the full capabilities of the revised XRPS system will be
focussed on those users whose successful proposals have been awarded
AO-3 observing time by OTAC.
For these reasons we are confident that problems such as those
encountered at the single deadline of the AO-2 Proposal Submission
exercise will play no part in the staggered AO-3 Phase II Proposal
Data Entry cycle.
That said, it is only common sense and friendly advice to allow that
our users will enjoy the benefits of a more responsive system and data
entry environment if they avoid leaving the job until the last
moment! So we encourage PIs to benefit from the full extent of the
time windows that have been made available for proposal data entry.
Supported platforms for futures SAS releases
============================================
The number of binary distributions of each SAS release provided to
XMM-Newton observers is always a trade-off. On the one hand it is our
intention to cover the needs of the astronomical community, on the
other the workload required to produce, support, maintain, test and
document the various distributions must reflect available resources and
be reconciled with other demands on limited manpower. It is not
possible to support all platforms.
We have been asked by the XMM-Newton Users Group to announce well in
advance the platforms we are able to support officially with binary
distributions for each SAS release. We foresee the next SAS release
(SAS 6.0) towards the end of this year. The platforms we intend to
support officially are:
Solaris 2.6
Solaris 2.8
Linux Red Hat 9.0
Linux SuSE 7.3
Mac OS Darwin 6.6
Tru64 OSF5.1 (provided by the X-ray group of the MPE, Garching)
The SciSim & SAS Maintenance Team @ the XMM-Newton SOC
Reminder: a planning tool for OM observations
=============================================
As it was announced in the XMM-Newton News #31, the Optical Monitor
Team at MSSL has set up a web page where useful hints on proposal
preparation, including an OM planning tool, are available.
The URL is:
http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/www_astro/xmm/om/om.html
A pointer to this page can be found in the XMM-Newton SOC main page,
under Project Related Links.
Yours sincerely,
XMM-Newton SOC
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