NUMASTER - NuSTAR Master Catalog

Overview

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, launched on 2012 June 13, is the first focusing high-energy X-ray telescope in orbit. NuSTAR operates in the band from 3 to 79 keV, extending the sensitivity of focusing instruments far beyond the ~10 keV high-energy cutoff achieved by all previous X-ray satellites. The inherently low background associated with concentrating the X-ray light enables NuSTAR to probe the hard X-ray sky with a more than 100-fold improvement in sensitivity over the collimated or coded mask instruments that have operated in this bandpass. The observatory was placed into a 600-km altitude, 6 degree inclination circular orbit, and consists of two co-aligned grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes pointed at celestial targets by a three-axis stabilized spacecraft. NuSTAR has completed its two-year primary science mission, and, with an expected orbit lifetime of more than 10 years, the opportunity for proposing observations as part of the General Observer (GO) program is now available, with observations beginning in 2015.

Using its unprecedented combination of sensitivity and spatial and spectral resolution, NuSTAR offers opportunities for a broad range of science investigations, ranging from probing cosmic ray origins to studying the extreme physics around compact objects to mapping micro-flares on the surface of the Sun. NuSTAR also responds to targets of opportunity including supernovae and gamma-ray bursts.

This table contains a list of (a) unobserved targets that are planned or have been accepted for observation by NuSTAR in the future and (b) NuSTAR observations which have been processed and successfully validated by the NuSTAR Science Operation Center. The data from these observations may or may not be public and the user should check the value of the public_date parameter to determine the status of a specified data set. Only those ObsIDs which have a public_date in the past will have data publicly available. Observations with a public_date parameter value which is either blank or a date in the future have been ingested into the HEASARC archive but will remain encrypted until their public date. Entries with the status field set to 'accepted' are targets approved for scheduling, and the planned exposure time given in the exposure_a (and exposure_b) parameter will have a negative value for those targets.

Bulletin

The NUMASTER database table was last updated on 15 April 2024.

References

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) High-Energy X-Ray Mission
     Harrison F.A., Craig W.W., Christensen F.E., Hailey C.J., Zhang, W.W.,
     76 more co-authors.
     <Astrophys. J., 770, article id. 103,  19pp). (2013)>
     =2013ApJ...770..103H

Provenance

This database table is based on information supplied by the NuSTAR Project at Caltech. It is automatically updated on a regular basis.

Data Products

For complete information about the NuSTAR data product types, the user should refer to the NuSTAR Data Analysis Software (NuSTARDAS) Users Guide.

For the ease of its users, the HEASARC has defined several distinct categories of NuSTAR data products to enable selective data downloads, if so desired. Most of these category names are self-explanatory: 'NuSTAR Quicklook Products', 'NuSTAR Processing Logs and Metadata', 'NuSTAR Auxiliary Data', 'NuSTAR Housekeeping Data' and 'All NuSTAR Data Products'. The NuSTAR quicklook products are the GIFs of the FOV images, source spectra and light curves generated by the standard NuSTAR pipeline processing software, and are useful as indications of the quality of the data for the particular ObsID selected. Similarly, to obtain all files associated with a given observation, the user should select 'All NuSTAR Data Products': with these files the user can re-run the NuSTAR pipeline processing if they so choose.

The data products category of 'NuSTAR Complete Pipeline Products' comprises the entire contents of the 'event_cl' subdirectory for the selected ObsID which contains inter alia the cleaned science-quality (obs_mode = 01) events files, e.g., nu10012001002A01_cl.evt and nu10012001002B01_cl.evt (the obs_mode is indicated by the 2 digits before the underscore in the file names) for FPMA and FPMB data, respectively, for ObsID = 10012001002 and the corresponding good time interval files nu10012001002A01_cl.gti and nu10012001002B01_cl.gti.

The data products category of 'NuSTAR Science-Quality Pipeline Products' are the subset of files from this same 'event_cl' subdirectory for the selected ObsID which includes only science-quality (obs_mode = 01) files, i.e., data affected by earth occultation (obs_mode = 02), taken during a spacecraft slew (obs_mode = 03), taken during SAA (obs_mode = 04), taken when the calibration source is in the FOV (obs_mode = 05), or when the attitude reconstruction is from the spacecraft bus trackers (obs_mode = 06) are excluded.

Parameters

Name
The designation of the target at which NuSTAR was pointing, for ObsIDs with observation_mode = 'SCIENCE', or towards which NuSTAR is slewing, for ObsIDs with observation_mode = 'SLEW'. Notice that these names are not necessarily recognizable by the CDS's SIMBAD name resolver, and to find specific sources of interest, it is recommended that the user searches on the position of the source rather than on the name. Generally the names used in this table have no embedded blanks or dashes ('-'), these either being removed altogether, e.g., 'NGC1365' for NGC 1365, or replaced by the underscore character ('_'), e.g. 'LMC_X4' for LMC X-4. For names based on positional coordinates, the '+', '-' and '.' symbols have been replaced by 'p', 'm' and 'd', respectively, e.g., '1E1740d7m2942' for the source 1E 1740.7-2942.

RA
The Right Ascension of the NuSTAR pointing position in the selected equinox. This was provided in J2000.0 decimal degrees to a precision of 10^-4 degrees (0.36 arcseconds) in the original source table. The position given in this table is that of the nominal observatory pointing as calculated by the star tracker on the NuSTAR optical bench. The NuSTAR field of view (FOV) can shift by up to a few arcminutes during an exposure, hence it was decided that it would be more accurate for this table to contain the weighted average coordinate of the center of the FOV. The target is rarely (almost never) in the center of the field of view because the optical axis is offset onto DET0 by an ~1 arcminute to avoid gaps between the CZT detector crystals. See the NuSTAR Observatory Guide for more details. The first ObservationID of an observation set usually contains only the time period when the observatory is slewing across the sky and when is star tracker is occulted by the Earth. No nominal observing mode (science quality) data is contained within files associated with these ObservationIDs, and the RA and Dec values are blank in such cases.

Dec
The Declination of the NuSTAR pointing position in the selected equinox. This was provided in J2000.0 decimal degrees to a precision of 10^-4 degrees (0.36 arcseconds) in the original source table. The position given in this table is that of the nominal observatory pointing as calculated by the star tracker on the NuSTAR optical bench. The NuSTAR field of view (FOV) can shift by up to a few arcminutes during an exposure, hence it was decided that it would be more accurate for this table to contain the weighted average coordinate of the center of the FOV. The target is rarely (almost never) in the center of the field of view because the optical axis is offset onto DET0 by an ~1 arcminute to avoid gaps between the CZT detector crystals. See the NuSTAR Observatory Guide for more details. The first ObservationID of an observation set usually contains only the time period when the observatory is slewing across the sky and when is star tracker is occulted by the Earth. No nominal observing mode (science quality) data is contained within files associated with these ObservationIDs and so the RA and Dec values are blank in such cases.

LII
The Galactic Longitude corresponding to the NuSTAR pointing position, as given in the RA and Dec fields.

BII
The Galactic Latitude corresponding to the NuSTAR pointing position, as given in the RA and Dec fields.

Roll_Angle
The roll angle, in degrees. This is the average position angle of the detector field of view on the sky, defined as the angle east of north of the direction of the +DET1Y focal plane axis. At PA = 0 degrees, the +DET1X axis points east and the optical axis is approximately 1 arcminute NE of the center of the focal plane field of view. Please refer to the NuSTAR Observatory Guide for more details.

Time
The start time of the observation. The time period covered by an Obs(ervation)ID will begin at the time the command to slew to the target was executed and will end at the time the next slew command was executed.

End_Time
The end time of the observation. The time period covered by an Obs(ervation)ID will begin at the time the command to slew to the target was executed and will end at the time the next slew command was executed.

ObsID
A unique identification number specifying the NuSTAR observation. Every NuSTAR observation is assigned a unique 11-digit number of the form 'CPPttxxxvvv' that is a combination of an 8-digit target identification number and a 3-digit visit number, where:

'C' is the "source" category, defined as follows:

         0:  Non-Pointing Data (e.g. IOC) or Safe Hold
         1:  Calibration Observations (e.g. Crab nebula)
         2:  Solar System Objects (e.g. the Sun)
         3:  Galactic Compact Sources (stars, CVs, X-ray binaries, isolated neutron stars)
         4:  Non-ToO Supernovae, Supernova Remnants, and Galactic Diffuse Emission
         5:  Normal Galaxies
         6:  Active Galaxies and Quasars
         7:  Galaxy Clusters and Extragalactic Diffuse Objects and Surveys
         8:  Proposed Targets of Opportunity (ToOs) Observations
         9:  Non-proposal ToOs and Director's Discretionary Time

'PP' is two digits used to identify the program type, as follows:

        00:  Assigned to the first 2-year primary mission (2012 to 2014)
        01, 02, etc.: Increments for each additional year of operation
             (synchronized with possible GO cycles)

'tt' is the program type within that 'PP'. The value is reset at each 'PP'. The 'tt' values have the following meanings:

        01: Single observation of an object.
        02: Multiple observations (e.g., monitoring) of the same object.
        10-59: Reserved for tiling/mosaic/raster scan programs. These programs
               include several different targets (pointings) not at the same
               sky position but are very close.
        60-99: Reserved for survey programs. These programs comprise observations
               of several objects identified to carry out a specific science
               investigation.

'xxx' is the target number unique for a given 'C' and 'PP'.

'vvv' is the observation visit number for a given target. Multiple observations may be planned by the observer or due to operational scheduling requirements. The starting value is 001.

The time period covered by an Obs(ervation)ID will begin at the time the command to slew to the target was executed and will end at the time the next slew command was executed.

A standard NuSTAR observation of a celestial source requires two slews and so results in two ObsIDs.

The first ObsID starts with the slew from the previous target to the new target. This slew is performed in STELLAR ACS mode and can take up to an hour for the observatory to reach the new target. However, this mode is unsuitable for science observations as it will include a roll maneuver of about 1 deg/day to maintain the solar array oriented to the Sun. So a second, usually short, slew maneuver is performed in INERTIAL ACS mode which freezes the observatory attitude, pointing the observatory at the celestial target for extended periods. The length of an observation is limited by how long the orientation of the solar panels in INERTIAL mode can remain within operational limits, usually about 1 week.

To maximize efficiency the STELLAR slew is timed to arrive at the new target when it is occulted by the Earth. The following INERTIAL attitude slew maneuver is timed to complete within the same occultation period. An additional period of observatory settling is also allowed to complete before the celestial target exits Earth occultation and the science observation can begin. As an example, here are the entries in the as-flown timeline around the observation of Mkn 421 on 2013 January 2nd:

      ObservationID Name           Start               End                  ACS

      60061256002   NGC5728        2013-01-02 04:20:05 2013-01-02 18:10:00  I
      60002023001   Mkn421	 2013-01-02 18:34:29 2013-01-02 18:40:00  S
      60002023002   Mkn421	 2013-01-02 18:40:02 2013-01-02 23:00:00  I
      60021009001   COSMOS_MOS009	 2013-01-02 23:16:40 2013-01-02 23:25:00  S

      (ACS I = INERTIAL mode, S = STELLAR mode)

The slew in STELLAR mode from NGC 5728 to Mkn 421 began at 18:10:00 and completed at 18:34:29. The slew in INERTIAL mode on Mkn 421 began at 18:40:00 and completed at 18:40:02. The observatory in held in INERTIAL mode from 18:40:00 to 23:00:00. The position of Mkn 421 was occulted by the Earth from 18:22:24 until 19:00:44 and so the observatory will have completed all slews and attitude settling by the time the target emerged from behind the Earth. The observation ended when the observatory slewed to the next target (COSMOS_MOS009) at 23:00:00. Observations of the same target at later dates will continue the visit numbering scheme. For example the next observation of Mkn 421 was on 2013 January 10th and contained ObsIDs 60002023003 and 60002023004.

Note that some observations may have an additional ObsID if it was deemed necessary to refine the observatory pointing. The small maneuver may have been performed within the first 10 orbits of an observation. Some targets may only have a single ObsID associated with the observation if they are part of a survey program. These programs are usually planned as a mosaic of positions where the distance between the tiles in the mosaic are less then 10 degrees. No STELLAR mode slew is required to set the orientation of the solar array when observing these tiles contiguously.

Targets which have not yet been observed will have ObsID values consisting of only the first 8 digits.

Exposure_A
The effective exposure time on source, in seconds (s), for Focal Plane Module A (FPMA). This is the normal mode (01) livetime-corrected exposure time within the ObservationID. The data have been screened by the data analysis pipeline (NuSTARDAS) using default parameters to exclude periods when:

      02  The target is occulted by the Earth.
      03  The observatory is slewing.
      04  The observatory is passing through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA)
      	and no focal plane CZT events are recorded.
      05  The on-board radioactive calibration sources are in the field of view.
      06  No valid attitude solution from the optical bench star tracker is
      	available. However, a lower accuracy attitude solution may be available
          using the spacecraft bus star trackers. See the NuSTAR Observatory
          Guide for more details.

Despite the fact that the X-ray instruments on NuSTAR are never turned off, an ObservationID can have zero exposure time. ObservationIDs with zero exposure time are usually associated with the slew from the previous target that is timed to complete when the new target is occulted by the Earth and so contain no time in normal mode. Most observations will contain a series of time periods when normal mode data is available, separated by Earth occultation and SAA passages. These time periods are cataloged in the Good Time Interval (GTI) extension of the 01 mode event files. See the NuSTAR Data Analysis Software (NuSTARDAS) Users Guide and the NuSTAR Analysis Quickstart Guide for detailed information.

A negative value for this parameter indicates that the target has not yet been observed. Such values are the planned total exposure time multiplied by -1.

Exposure_B
The effective exposure time on source, in seconds (s), for Focal Plane Module B (FPMB). This is the normal mode (01) livetime-corrected exposure time within the ObservationID. The data have been screened by the data analysis pipeline (NuSTARDAS) using default parameters to exclude periods when:

      02  The target is occulted by the Earth.
      03  The observatory is slewing.
      04  The observatory is passing through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA)
      	and no focal plane CZT events are recorded.
      05  The on-board radioactive calibration sources are in the field of view.
      06  No valid attitude solution from the optical bench star tracker is
      	available. However, a lower accuracy attitude solution may be available
          using the spacecraft bus star trackers. See the NuSTAR Observatory
          Guide for more details.

A negative value for this parameter indicates that the target has not yet been observed. Such values are the planned total exposure time multiplied by -1.

Ontime_A
The total time on source, in seconds (s), for Focal Plane Module A (FPMA), defined as the total of the Good Time Interval (GTI) contained in the ObsID for FPMA. Note that the exposure time is corrected for the instrument livetime, a function of overall detector count rate, and so ontime and exposure time will be different.

Ontime_B
The total time on source, in seconds (s), for Focal Plane Module B (FPMB), defined as the total of the Good Time Interval (GTI) contained in the ObsID for FPMA. Note that the exposure time is corrected for the instrument livetime, a function of overall detector count rate, and so ontime and exposure time will be different.

Observation_Mode
The observation mode for the ObsID, either 'SCIENCE' or 'SLEW'.

Instrument_Mode
The Focal Plane Module (FPM) mode, either 'CPMODE' or 'Normal'. All ObsIDs presently in NUMASTER are 'CPMODE' (charge pumping mode). It is unlikely that observations will be made in 'NORMAL' mode.

Spacecraft_Mode
The NuSTAR spacecraft attitude control system (ACS) mode, either INERTIAL or STELLAR. Slews larger then 10 degrees are performed in STELLAR ACS mode and can take up to an hour for the observatory to reach the new target. However, this mode is unsuitable for science observations as it will include a roll maneuver of about 1 deg/day to maintain the solar array oriented to the Sun. So a second, usually short, slew maneuver is performed in INERTIAL ACS mode which freezes the observatory attitude, pointing the observatory at the celestial target for extended periods. The length of an observation is limited by how long the orientation of the solar panels in INERTIAL mode can remain within operational limits, usually about 1 week.

Slew_Mode
The spacecraft slew mode, either 'EIGEN' or 'POWER'. The STELLAR ACS mode slews are conducted in slew_mode = 'POWER' to keep the spacecraft in a power positive orientation, whereas INERTIAL ACS mode slews follow the eigenvector path between two positions. Operational considerations limit 'EIGEN' slews to a maximum of 10 degrees.

Processing_Date
The date on which the data in the ObsID was processed at Caltech.

Public_Date
The date on which the data in the ObsID will become publicly available. If blank, the public date has not yet been set. Basic information about an observation (observation dates, exposure times, etc.) is available in the NUMASTER table before the data quality is validated by the NuSTAR Science Operations Center (SOC). The public release date will be included in the NUMASTER table after the observation has been reviewed by the SOC to be of acceptable science quality. The maximum time between the completion of an observation and the release to the public is expected to be 60 days by mid-2014.

Software_Version
The HEASoft and NuSTAR Data Analysis System (NuSTARDAS) software release date and version used in the NuSTAR pipeline to process the data from the ObsID. E.g., 'Hea_21Dec2012_V6.13_nustardas_14Jun13_v1.2.0' means that the data were processed using HEAsoft version 6.13 released on December 21, 2012, and NuSTARDAS version 1.2.0 released on June 14, 2013.

Prnb
This parameter contains the proposal number. All observations made as part of the NuSTAR Baseline Science Program have been assigned a value of 0 for this parameter.

Abstract
The abstract of the proposal to which the observation corresponds.

Subject_Category
The subject category of the observation and/or the classification of the target. The corresponding subject_category values are as follows:

       AGN:  Active Galaxies and Quasars
       BLZ:  Blazars
       CAL:  Calibration Observation
       EGS:  Extragalactic Surveys
       GCL:  Galaxy Clusters and Relics
       GPS:  Galactic Compact Sources (including Galactic Plane Surveys)
       MAG:  Magnetars and Rotation-Powered Pulsars
       NGS:  Starburst, Normal and Local Group Galaxies (Nearby Galaxy Survey)
      OAGN:  Obscured Active Galaxies and Quasars
       SNE:  Non-ToO Supernovae
       SNR:  Supernova Remnants and Galactic diffuse
       SOL:  Solar System Observations (including the Sun)
       TOO:  Target of Opportunity Targets (including Supernovae)
       ULX:  Ultraluminous X-ray Sources
       XRB:  Galactic X-ray Binaries
     Prime:  NuSTAR Prime Mission (2013-2014)

Category_Code
The category code of the proposal to which the observation corresponds. This is an integer in the range from 0 to 9, inclusive, and is the same as the first digit of the ObsID.

         0:  Non-Pointing Data (e.g. IOC) or Safe Hold
         1:  Calibration Observations (e.g. Crab nebula)
         2:  Solar System Objects (e.g. the Sun)
         3:  Galactic Compact Sources (stars, CVs, X-ray binaries, isolated neutron stars)
         4:  Non-ToO Supernovae, Supernova Remnants, and Galactic Diffuse Emission
         5:  Normal Galaxies
         6:  Active Galaxies and Quasars
         7:  Galaxy Clusters and Extragalactic Diffuse Objects
         8:  Proposed Targets of Opportunity (ToOs) Observations
         9:  Non-proposal ToOs and Director's Discretionary Time

Priority
This contains the proposal priority. For unobserved targets (i.e., those entries with status values of either 'accepted' or 'scheduled'), the possible priority values are 'L', 'A', 'B', or 'C', with 'L' associated with targets in the Large proposal category. Targets with priority 'C' are observed within the specific GO cycle on a best-effort basis.

Note that observed targets have a value set to '1' for this parameter.

PI_LName
The last name of the Principal Investigator of the proposal to which the observation corresponds.

PI_FName
The first name of the Principal Investigator of the proposal to which the observation corresponds.

CoPI_LName
The last name of the Principal Investigator of the proposal to which the observation corresponds, if any.

CoPI_FName
The first name of the Principal Investigator of the proposal to which the observation corresponds, if any.

Country
The country in which the proposal Principal Investigator or Collaboration is based.

Cycle
The cycle number of the proposal to which the observation corresponds. The cycle number of observations made as part of the NuSTAR baseline science program (01 August 2012 to 31 March 2015) is 0.

Obs_Type
The type of observation and/or classification of the target within the proposal, e.g., TOO for target of opportunity, SNR for supernova remnant, etc. The codes are as follows:

       AGN:  Active Galaxies and Quasars
       BLZ:  Blazars
       Cxx:  NuSTAR observations performed in coordination with joint
             NuSTAR/Chandra GO programs, where xx is the two-digit Chandra Cycle
             number (e.g. C16 for Chandra Cycle 16)
       CAL:  Calibration Observation
       EGS:  Extragalactic surveys performed during the 2 1/2 year NuSTAR prime
             mission--targets observed in the NuSTAR extended mission beginning
             2015-04-01 with this Obs_Type are part of the Swift-BAT AGN
             survey; unobserved EGS targets (i.e., with negative Exposure_A and
             Exposure_B values in this table) are priority C and are not
             guaranteed to be observed by NuSTAR
       ELS:  Extragalactic Legacy Survey, observations of extragalactic sources
             performed during the NuSTAR extended mission
       GCL:  Galaxy Clusters and Relics
       GLS:  Galactic Legacy Survey, observations of sources within the Galaxy
             performed during the NuSTAR extended mission
       GPS:  Galactic Compact Sources (including Galactic Plane Survey)
       Ixx:  NuSTAR observations performed in coordination with joint
             NuSTAR/INTEGRAL GO programs, where xx is the two-digit INTEGRAL
             Cycle number (e.g. I15 for INTEGRAL Cycle 15)
       MAG:  Magnetars and Rotation-Powered Pulsars
       Nxx:  NuSTAR Guest Observer Program, where xx is the two-digit NuSTAR
             Cycle number (e.g. N01 for Cycle 1)
       NGS:  Starburst, Normal and Local Group Galaxies (Nearby Galaxy Survey)
      OAGN:  Obscured Active Galaxies and Quasars
       Rxx:  NuSTAR observations performed in coordination with joint
             NuSTAR/NICER GO programs where xx is the two-digit NICER Cycle
             number (e.g. R01 for NICER Cycle 1)
       S09:  NuSTAR observations performed in coordination with Suzaku Cycle 9
             programs
       Sxx:  NuSTAR observations performed in coordination with joint
             NuSTAR/Swift GO programs, starting with cycle 14 (S14), where xx is
             the two-digit Swift Cycle number (e.g. S15 for Swift Cycle 15)
       SNE:  Non-ToO Supernovae
       SNR:  Supernova Remnants and Galactic diffuse
       SOL:  Solar System Observations (including the Sun)
       TOO:  Target of Opportunity Targets (including Supernovae)
       ULX:  Ultraluminous X-ray Sources
       Xxx:  NuSTAR observations performed in coordination with joint
             NuSTAR/XMM-Newton programs, where xx is the two-digit XMM-Newton
             Cycle number (e.g. X13 for XMM-Newton Cycle 13)
       XRB:  Galactic X-ray Binaries

Title
The title of the proposal to which the observation corresponds.

Data_Gap
The amount of missing time within an observation, in seconds. This drop in unfiltered ONTIME (FPM A and B) is typically caused by ground station data transmission issues or bursting pixels filling onboard data recorders.

Nupsdout
The metrology out-of-limit time of the observation, in seconds. This reduction in ONTIME (FPM A and B) is due to periods when the metrology Position Sensing Detectors laser system (PSDs) are outside calibrated limits. Refer to NuSTARDAS Users Guide for more information. A procedure to recover this lost time is given in the NuSTARDAS Users Guide. This value is stored in the NUPSDOUT header keyword in cleaned level 2 event files. See also the NuSTAR FAQ.

Solar_Activity
This field contains information regarding any notable solar activity which may have occurred during the observation that may impact the background event rate. Two types of events are tabulated:

(1) Solar flare - Temporary increase in background events that may be due to scattered Solar X-rays from M or X-class flare(s). Usually these events only last on the order of 10 minutes and are independent of the orbital path. Users wishing to screen out these periods can modify the GTI files. (Refer to NuSTARDAS Users Guide.)

(2) Solar CME - Increase in NuSTAR background when observatory is close to the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). A temporary increase in the low Earth orbit radiation environment may be caused by passage of Solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) over the Earth which can persist for many orbits and significantly increase the background event level in the detectors. Refer to NuSTARDAS Users Guide for discussion of optimizing the screening out of high-background periods near SAA passages.

Coordinated
If the observation was coordinated with any other observatories, this field will note that. Coordinated observations may not be simultaneous; they can be within a few days of the NuSTAR exposure.

Issue_Flag
This is a Boolean flag (0 or 1) which indicates the observation has a known issue which may impact the analysis of the observation. It has the following two values:

     0 - no issues,
     1 - triggered when data_gap > 0, nupsdout > 0, solar_activity is not NULL,
         or a non-standard instrument setting was used (see comments field)

Comments
This field contains general comments specifically related to the ObservationID. Standard comments include the following:

ToO - Target of opportunity observation.

STELLAR - Spacecraft ACS mode during initial slew to a target. The slew is timed to arrive when the target is occulted by the Earth and so most STELLAR ObservationIDs will have no science mode (01) events. However, there are a few STELLAR mode ObservationIDs that contain useful exposure if the target is in the continuous viewing zone or the slew completes when the target is unocculted (e.g. in response to a ToO). Refer to the NuSTAR FAQ.

OA on DET3 - The default location of the NuSTAR observatory optical axis is on DET0 for both FPMA and FPMB. However, there are some observations where the position of the optical axis was moved to DET3 usually in response to the predicted presence of stray light covering DET0. No special precessing steps are required to analyze these observations, the metrology system can track the motion of the optical axis over all the detectors. (However, see the NuSTAR FAQ.)

Aim point refinement - An adjustment to the attitude was made during the observation to improve data quality.

Status
This field contains the status of the observation or the target accepted for NuSTAR observation(s). Note that, for unobserved targets (i.e., those entries with status values of either 'accepted' or 'scheduled'), the exposure times in the exposure_a and exposure_b fields are the total planned exposure time multiplied by -1. Also note that the ObsID for accepted targets is only the first 8 digits of the full ObsID designation that will be assigned when the target is scheduled for an observation.

The possible values for the status and their meanings are as follows:

      accepted    The target has been accepted and will be scheduled for a
                  NuSTAR observation.
      scheduled   The target has been scheduled for an observation.
      observed    The target has been observed with the associated ObsID, but
                  not all planned observations have been completed.
      processed   The ObsID has been transferred to the archive and is available
                  for encrypted download by the Principal Investigator of the
                  proposed observation.
      archived    The ObsID is now publicly available in the archive.

CALDB_Version
The CALDB version used in the NuSTAR pipeline to process the data from the ObsID. E.g., '20150316' means that the data were processed using the CALDB version released on March 16, 2015.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the NUMASTER database table can be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Saturday, 05-Mar-2022 00:42:08 EST