CALDB Documentation for Users and Developers
User Documents
The CALDB as Installed at the HEASARC
- CAL/GEN/91-001: "The HEASARC Calibration Database (brief overview)" (Nov 22 2005 Version; html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/93-006: "The Organization of the HEASARC CALDB" (Nov 28 2005 Version; html, pdf)
CALDB Installation, Maintenance and Use
- CAL/GEN/94-004: "How to Install a Calibration Database" (2009 Aug 04 version; html, pdf)
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CAL/GEN/92-015:
"How to Manage a Calibration Database" (November 17, 2005 version; html, pdf)
Entirely rewritten in Nov 2005; Breedon's original version is still available.
User Guides
- CAL/GEN/94-002: "The Calibration Database User's Guide" (html, pdf)
- OGIP/95-008: "MATHPHA User's Guide" (html, pdf)
- CAL/SW/93-010: "The GRPPHA User's Guide" (html, pdf)
- CAL/SW/93-011: "CALCRPSF User's Guide" (html, pdf)
Mission-Specific Calibration Documentation
- Ariel-V
- ASCA - The Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics
- CGRO - The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory
- COS-B - Celestial Observation Satellite B
- The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2)
- EXOSAT - European X-ray Observatory Satellite
- ROSAT - The Roentgensatellit
- SAS-2 - Small Astronomy Satellite 2
- SAX - Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X
- RXTE - The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
- The Chandra X-ray Observatory:
- SPIE publications, proceedings of Chandra Calibration Workshops
- FITS Embedded Function Specification (postscript)
- Swift
- Suzaku
CALDB-Related Legacy articles
- Recent Updates to GRPPHA Yusaf and George (Legacy 6, Sep 1995)
- Calibrating BBXRT Weaver (Legacy 5, Nov 1994)
- The ROSAT PSPC: The Off-Axis Point Spread Function Hasinger, Boese, Predehl, Turner, Yusaf, George, Rohrbach (Legacy 4, Feb 1994)
- The ROSAT PSPC: The On-Axis Point Spread Function: In-Flight comparison with the PANTER results Addendum: High Signal-to-Noise In-Flight Data Hasinger, Turner, George, Boese (Legacy 3, 1993 May)
- A Recalibration of the EXOSAT Diffraction Gratings Paerels, Wolkovitch & Kahn (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
- The Calibration Requirements for Spectral Analysis George, Arnaud, Pence & Ruamsuwan (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
- The ROSAT PSPC: The On-Axis Point Spread Function: In-Flight comparison with the PANTER results Hasinger, Turner, George, Boese (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
- Calibration Sources for Spectral Analysis Seward (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
- The HEASARC Calibration Database George (Legacy 1, May 1992)
Developer's Documentation
FITS Calibration File Formats/Conventions
- CAL/SW/2006-001: "Length Limits In Calibration Database Software and Files" (html; pdf)
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CAL/GEN/92-011:
"Required and Recommended FITS keywords for Calibration Files" (html, pdf)
A list of required keywords is also available. - OGIP/93-001: "Specification of Physical Units within OGIP FITS files" (html, ps)
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OGIP/93-013:
"Standard Strings for Mission, Instrument, Filter, Detector
& Grating Names for OGIP FITS files" (html, ps)
Feb 17, 2006: A draft update of this memo is now available (pdf, html) - OGIP/94-001: "Standard strings for Detector Operating and Observing Modes" (html, ps)
- CAL/GEN/92-003: "Basic Calibration File (BCF) & Calibration Product File (CPF) Guidelines" (html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/92-008: "Calibration Index Files" (html, pdf)
High Energy Spectrometry & Timing File Formats
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CAL/GEN/92-002:
"The Calibration Requirements for Spectral Analysis." (html, pdf)
(A description of the RMF & ARF OGIP file formats; published in Legacy, 2, 51.) - CAL/GEN/92-002a: "The Calibration Requirements for Spectral Analysis (Addendum)" (html, pdf)
- OGIP/92-007: "The OGIP Spectral File Format" (html, ps)
- OGIP/92-009: "The XSPEC Table Model File Format" (html, ps)
- OGIP/96-001: "The Format for WMAPs in Spectral Files" (html, ps)
- OGIP/93-003: "The Proposed Timing FITS File Format for High Energy Astrophysics Data" (html, pdf)
General Instrumental Calibration Files
- CAL/GEN/92-019: "The HEASARC format for Effective Areas" (html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/92-020: "The HEASARC format for Radial PSF datasets" (html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/92-021: "The HEASARC format for Vignetting Functions" (html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/92-022: "The HEASARC format for Obscuration Factor datasets" (html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/92-024: "The HEASARC format for Filter & Window Transmissions" (html, pdf)
- CAL/GEN/92-027: "The HEASARC format for 2D (image) PSF datasets" (html, pdf)
CALDB Software Documentation
- CAL/SW/95-002: "HEASARC CALDB Access Subroutines" (html, pdf) Updated 2006-08-21
- CAL/SW/93-005: "Summary of CALLIB Routines" (html, pdf)
- CAL/SW/93-004: "Summary of CALTOOLS Tasks" (html, pdf)
- OGIP/92-012: "The OGIP FORTRAN Programming Standard" (html, pdf)
- CAL/SW/93-018: "How to Install Callib & Caltools software" (html, pdf)
Data Delivery
- CAL/GEN/2003-001: "Automated Delivery of Calibration Data to the CALDB". (alternate versions: pdf, tex)
In Progress
- CAL/GEN/2004-001: "Specifying the Location of Defects in Charge Coupled Devices: The BADPIX File Format" (pdf)
Also see the HEASARC FITS File Format Recommendations
Page author: Michael F. Corcoran
Last updated: Wednesday, 05-Aug-2009 16:12:53 EDT.