Contents:
1) CalFUSE v3.0 Now the Default Pipeline - including for Archiving to MAST.
2) ** Cycle 6 Proposal Deadline September 17, 2004 **
3) The FUSE Conference in Victoria
4) Pictures sought from the Victoria meeting.
1) CalFUSE v3.0 Now the Default Pipeline - including for Archiving to MAST.
The newest version of the FUSE calibration pipeline, CalFUSE v3.0.7, is
now available for general use. Note also, that as of August 25, 2004, data
archived to MAST will have been processed by this new pipeline version. Users
should note that there are several changes to both the data processing and the
file formats and contents between CalFUSE v2.4 and CalFUSE v3.0, which we
summarize below.
CalFUSE v3.0 differs from previous versions in that it maintains the
data as a photon list (called an intermediate data file, or IDF) throughout the
pipeline. Bad photons are flagged but not discarded, so the user can sort,
filter, and combine data without re-running the pipeline. To this end, Don
Lindler has written a new IDL tool, CF_EDIT, that allows the user to display,
manipulate, and combine IDF files. Both IDF and extracted spectral files
are now available from MAST.
The new pipeline is available on the FUSE FTP site:
ftp://fuse.pha.jhu.edu/fuseftp/calfuse
Please note the files INTRO_TO_CalFUSEv3.0.7 and INSTALLING_CalFUSEv3.0.7
CF_EDIT is available on the FUSE IDL Tools web page:
#
# Note: Before downloading CalFUSE, please send a blank e-mail to
# fuse_support@pha.jhu.edu with the subject line "GOT CALFUSE".
# We'll save your address and send you information about future
# software updates or bug reports. Thanks!
#
We will be writing documentation for CalFUSE v3.0 throughout the fall.
Check for updates on the CalFUSE home page:
If you are not yet ready to upgrade to CalFUSE v3.0, new calibration
files for CalFUSE v2.4 are available on the FUSE FTP site. See the file
NEW_CAL_v2.4.4 for more information.
Note: if you obtained a pre-release copy of v3.0.7, please download the latest
edition, as it has changed substantially in recent weeks.
CalFUSE v3.0: Files and Formats
The format of the output spectral files produced by CalFUSE v3.0 and
available from MAST differs slightly from that of earlier versions of the
pipeline.
First, FUSE spectra are extracted only for the target aperture.
Non-target extractions are not currently supported by the software.
Second, the spectra are binned in wavelength to 0.013 A, or about two detector
pixels. As a result, the output arrays are no longer 16384 elements in length.
Third, the arrays are stored in a new format: instead of writing WAVE, FLUX,
ERROR for each detector pixel, we write the entire wavelength array, then the
flux array, then the error array, etc. As a result, elements of individual
arrays must be addressed using the syntax
idl> print,a.wave[3:30] -- not "a[3:30].wave" as before.
Fourth, some of the spectral arrays and their meanings have changed.
The new arrays are
float WAVE Wavelength (Angstroms)
float FLUX Flux (erg/cm2/s/A)
float ERROR Gaussian errors (erg/cm2/s/A)
int COUNTS Raw counts in extraction window
float WEIGHTS Raw counts corrected for deadtime, etc.
float BKGD Estimated background in extraction window
short QUALITY Percentage of window used for extraction
In earlier versions of the pipeline, the counts array was background-
subtracted. Now it is an integer representing the number of raw counts in the
extraction window.
The WEIGHTS and BKGD arrays are generated by the optimal-extraction
routine. As a result, the WEIGHTS array is not necessarily a scaled version of
the COUNTS array, and the BKGD array is not likely to be smooth. They are
related to the FLUX array as follows:
TARGET_COUNTS = WEIGHTS - BKGD
TARGET_FLUX = TARGET_COUNTS * HC / LAMBDA / AEFF / EXPTIME / WPC,
where AEFF is effective area in cm2 and WPC is the size of an output pixel in
Angstroms.
The QUALITY array no longer lists the number of Y pixels that
contribute to each output X pixel. Instead, it is the fraction of the
extraction window considered to contain valid data, expressed as a percentage
(0 is all bad; 100 is all good).
2) ** Cycle 6 Proposal Deadline September 17, 2004 **
The deadline for submitting FUSE cycle 6 observing proposals is
September 17, 2004. As usual, a complete submission requires three separate
steps:
1 - Fill in and submit the Cover Page/Proposal Summary through the NASA
Peer Review Services web site (http://proposals.hq.nasa.gov/proposal.cfm)
2 - Submit 12 formatted paper copies, including a cover page signed by the PI,
to NASA Peer Review Services (full address in the proposal instructions).
3 - E-mail the completed LaTeX proposal form to fuseprop@pha.jhu.edu
For further details please see: http://fusegi.pha.jhu.edu
3) The FUSE Conference in Victoria
The conference "Astrophysics in the Far Ultraviolet - Five Years of
Discovery with FUSE" took place August 2-6 at the University of Victoria, B.C.
Based on our impressions and those of the people we talked with, it was
unanimously viewed as a great success. The FUSE project wishes to thank
everyone involved, as organizers, presenters, or attendees, for helping make it
a productive and memorable meeting. In particular we extend a warm
"Thank You!" to John Hutchings and his Local Organizing Committee for a job
very well done.
Contributions to the conference proceedings are due by October 1, 2004.
Detailed information about the proceedings and instructions for down-loading
style and template files etc., can be found at:
http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/conf/FUSE/proceeds.cfm
We have posted the conference group photo at:
http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/conf/FUSE/guestlist.cfm
A larger version, including identifications, can be downloaded from
that site. We have identified all but two of the 115 participants who were
present at the taking of the picture. We ask that you help us 1) verify our
identifications and 2) complete the list by telling us who the two remaining
unknowns are. Please send any corrections or new IDs to fuseconf@pha.jhu.edu.
4) Pictures sought from the Victoria meeting.
As part of editing the conference proceedings, we are looking for
pictures taken at the meeting, appropriate to use to fill empty half-pages and
as spacers between papers or between chapters. Subjects can include
participants, events or vistas from the meeting. Please e-mail us at
fuseconf@pha.jhu.edu if you have pictures you'd be willing to let us use in the
proceedings and/or on the FUSE home page. Due to the typical size of image
files, we ask that you do not attach you pictures to the e-mail. We'll provide
instructions in a return e-mail.
The Observer's Electronic Newsletter is published by the FUSE project and is aimed at the FUSE user community.
Editor: B-G Andersson, FUSE Guest Investigator Officer.
The FUSE Project is managed by the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Astrophysical Sciences in Baltimore, MD, for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The FUSE Principal Investigator is Dr. Warren Moos, the FUSE Program Manager at JHU is Mr. Randy Ewing, and the NASA Project Scientist for FUSE is Dr. George Sonneborn.