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Help for Timeline Description Mission Date(s) References Swift As-Flown Timeline Parameters HETE-2 Timeline Parameters Suzaku Timeline Parameters Description This tool locates and displays the Swift as-flown timeline files or RXTE ObsCats or the requested portions of the Suzaku or HETE-2 timeline logs in the HEASARC Data Archive that correspond to any specified date(s) or range(s) of dates. Mission Only the Swift, RXTE, Suzaku, and HETE-2 missions are currently supported by the Timeline Tool. Date(s) The user may enter a single date or date range or multiple dates or date ranges separated by semicolons. Acceptable date formats: YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss (time portion is optional) DDDDD.ddddd for Modified Julian Dates (MJDs) Range operator is '..'. Separate multiple dates and/or date ranges with semicolons (;). (e.g. 2004-12-31; 53380.5213; 2005-01-15 12:45:00; 2005-04-05 .. 2005-04-17) References Software developed and maintained by Edward J. Sabol of the HEASARC. Tool suggested by Dr. Lorella Angelini. Swift As-Flown Timeline Parameters The Swift "as-flown timeline" is a time-ordered table that records in each line the time of a specific observing event in the Swift timeline. The following events are recorded in the timeline: start and/or stop time of the event, configuration sequence of observing modes for the different instruments, slews, passages in the SAA, safe hold. The as-flown timeline is generated at the Swift Mission Operation Center (MOC). The following is a description of the columns in the Swift as-flown timeline table: time The GMT time of the event (YYYY-DAY-HH:mm:ss.sssssss). event_type This parameter records as a string the type of the event. Some of the values are PPT, AT and SAA, where PPT identifies part or the entire exposure of a target as pre-planned target, AT are the automatic target and SAA the passage in the South Atlantic Anomaly. If the field is identified with the string "No ACS Data" all the either fields for this record are empty. begin_or_end This is a flag that indicates if the record refers to the beginning or the end of the event. The possible values are Begin or End. name The name of the observed target. orig_target_id This is a numerical value assigned automatically to each target and corresponds to the trigger number. The numerical value follows the convention adopted for Swift to assign the target identification. The numerical values can include up to 8 digits. target_id This is a unique numerical value assigned to each target. To remove the degeneracy in the assignment of Target_ID for the safe pointing position and/or to correct any wrong assignment of the Target_ID, the unique (or the correct) number is re-assigned on ground and stored in the Target_ID parameter. In these cases Orig_Target_ID and Target_ID do not contain the same values otherwise they are identical. The numerical value follows the convention adopted for Swift to assign the target identification. The numerical values can include up to 8 digits. orig_obs_segment The Swift observation strategy is similar to a monitoring campaign, where a target is observed several times. The observation segment, stored in this parameters, corresponds to the number of times a specific target has been observed. The numerical value follows the convention adopted for Swift to assign the observation segments and can include up to 3 digits. obs_segment This parameter contains the correct observation segment. The Swift observation strategy is similar to a monitoring campaign, where a target is observed several times. The observation segment, stored in this parameters, corresponds to the number of times a specific target has been observed. The numerical value follows the convention adopted for Swift to assign the observation segments and can include up to 3 digits. However the observation segment value can be wrongly assigned. This parameter contains the correct value reassigned on ground. orig_id This parameter contains a numeric value that should uniquely identify an observation. This value is the combination of the numerical value assigned to a target and the observation segment as given in the Orig_Target_ID and Orig_Obs_Segment parameters. id This parameter, observation number, contains a numeric value that uniquely identify an observation. This value is the combination of the numerical value assigned to a target and the observation segment and is derived from the parameters Target_ID and Obs_Segment. ra Right Ascension of the pointing position. dec Declination of the pointing position. roll_angle Roll angle of the observation given in degrees. bat_mode Value that indicates the BAT instrument configuration. This typically identifies a configuration of modes run simultaneously. xrt_mode Value that indicates the XRT instrument configuration. This typically identifies a pre-planned sequence of instrument modes and window setting of the XRT. uvot_mode Value that indicates the UVOT instrument configuration. This typically identifies a pre-planned sequence of instrument modes, filters and window setting of the UVOT. merit This records the merit value assigned by the FOM or on ground for this event. It is a numeric value. ppt_obs_state This parameter contains a code that identify the status of a pre-planned event after this occured. The values are VALIDATED, PARTIALLY VALIDATED, UNVALIDATED. VALIDATED is used to identify an event that occured as pre-planned. PARTIALLY VALIDATED identifies an event that was interrupted due to AT or TOO as therefore the pre-planned exposure was not completed. UNVALIDATED identifies an event that did not occur as planned. remarks This contains text if additional remarks are entered. obs_id This parameter contains a numeric value that should uniquely identify the observation. The data associated to this observation are labelled with this number. The numerical value is a fixed 11-digit number, where the first 8 are for the target and last 3 are for the observation segment. HETE-2 Timeline Parameters The HETE-2 timeline is a time-ordered table that records the pointing direction of the HETE-2 boresight camera and the roll angle of the HETE-2 spacecraft at each given time, as determined by the aspect camera/optical sub-system aboard HETE-2. HETE-2 is sensitive to gamma-ray sources within about 70 degrees and X-ray sources within about 40 degrees of that position. The right ascension and declination of the boresight camera represents the -Z axis direction in the HETE-2 coordinate system. The HETE-2 timeline is derived from the spacecraft aspect data file supplied by the HETE-2 Team at MIT. The HETE-2 timeline is also available in Browse, which supports more sophisticated types of queries. The complete HETE-2 timeline is also available in ASCII format. The following is a description of the columns in the HETE-2 timeline table: MET The HETE-2 mission elapsed time of the pointing, in seconds. This is given to a precision of 0.1 seconds by the HETE-2 optical system. Mission elapsed time is a monotonically increasing counter whose origin (MET=0) corresponds to 1999-01-26 21:06:15.0 UTC. UTC This parameter records the UTC time as a string: YYYYMMDD_hhmmss. MJD This parameter records the Modified Julian Date of the pointing. GPS_Time The Global Positioning System time of the HETE-2 pointing, in seconds. Global Positioning System time is the atomic time scale implemented by the atomic clocks in the GPS ground control stations and the GPS satellites themselves. GPS time was zero at midnight UTC on 6 January 1980. Since it is not perturbed by leap seconds, GPS is now ahead of UTC by an integer number of seconds. This parameter value is determined by HETE-2's GPS sub-system. RA The right ascension of the HETE-2 boresight camera pointing, in degrees, in J2000 equatorial coordinates. This is given to a precision of 0.001 degrees in the HETE-2 timeline file. In the HETE-2 coordinate system the boresight camera points along the -Z axis, so this right ascension is RA(-Z), the right ascension of the -Z spacecraft axis. It is derived from the right ascension of the +Z axis as tabulated in HETE-2 spacecraft aspect data file using the expression: RA(-Z) = RA(+Z) + 180 degrees. Note that HETE-2 is sensitive to gamma-ray sources within about 70 degrees and X-ray sources within about 40 degrees of the boresight camera pointing direction. Dec The declination of the HETE-2 boresight camera pointing, in degrees, in J2000 equatorial coordinates. This is given to a precision of 0.001 degrees in the HETE-2 timeline file. In the HETE-2 coordinate system the boresight camera points along the -Z axis, so this declination is Dec(-Z), the declination of the -Z spacecraft axis. It is derived from the declination of the +Z axis as tabulated in HETE-2 spacecraft aspect file using the expression: Dec(-Z) = -Dec(+Z). Note that HETE-2 is sensitive to gamma-ray sources within about 70 degrees and x-ray sources within about 40 degrees of the boresight camera pointing direction. Roll The roll angle of the HETE-2 spacecraft, in degrees. This is given to a precision of 0.001 degrees in the original timeline file. Suzaku Timeline Parameters The Suzaku timeline log is a reverse-time-ordered table that records in each line information regarding each observation. This is generated at ISAS/JAXA and delivered to the HEASARC on a daily basis. The complete Suzaku timeline is also available in ASCII format. The following is a description of the columns in the Suzaku timeline table: ObsID This parameter contains a numeric value that uniquely identifies each Suzaku observation. The data associated with each observation are labeled with this number. The numeric value is a fixed 9-digit number. Name The name of the observed target. RA The right ascension of the Suzaku pointing position, in degrees, in J2000 equatorial coordinates. This is given to a precision of 0.001 degrees in the Suzaku timeline log. Dec The declination of the Suzaku pointing position, in degrees, in J2000 equatorial coordinates. This is given to a precision of 0.001 degrees in the Suzaku timeline log. Maneuver_Start The start time of the maneuver preceding the observation. This is the start time of the slew to the target. The time is given in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss). Next_Maneuver The start time of the next maneuver after the observation ended. This is end time of the observation and the start time of the slew to the next target. The time is given in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss). Euler_1, Euler_2, Euler_3 These parameters are the three Euler angles, given in degrees, associated with the observation. Remarks This field contains text, if additional remarks are entered. This file was last modified on Monday, 16-Oct-2006 15:04:06 EDT For feedback or questions concerning this tool, please use our feedback facility. HEASARC Home | Observatories | Archive | Calibration | Software | Tools | Students/Teachers/Public

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