April 1995 Volume 3, No. 4

IUE DATA ANALYSIS CENTER NEWSLETTER

This is an electronic newsletter edited by the IUE Data Analysis Center (IUEDAC)intended to inform the numerous remote and local users of the IUEDAC software of recent software updates and project changes.

IUEDAC STAFF CHANGES

Ms. Pat Lawton has left the IUEDAC to take a position in the Astrophysics Data Facility. Some of her duties will now be accomplished by Suzy Crabb who has been working in the IUE Data Accounting and Software Services. The DAC wishes Pat well in her new position. mtc

IUE 19th EPISODE!!!!

NASA, ESA and PPARC are pleased to announce the 19th observing episode of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). The 19th episode will place emphasis on key science programs, allocating time to those projects determined to produce important and lasting science. We estimate that approximately half of the available time will be awarded to key projects for the FULL year of observations. Time will also be allocated for moderate shift requests as well for the 19th episode if the science is determined to be important. The episode will start on or around 1 October 1995 and end 30 September 1996 for the NASA science program. ESA/PPARC is considering an extended mission beyond 30 September 1996, but it is very unlikely that NASA will participate in that phase of operations. Copies of the International Ultraviolet Explorer 19th episode proposal package are now available in the pub/proposal subdirectory of the anonymous ftp account on iuesn1.gsfc.nasa.gov. The proposal instruction package is available in either word perfect format (pip19.wpf) or ascii text format (pip19.txt). Associated files available in the same directory are described in the README file. The proposal package can also be accessed via the IUE Data Analysis Center home page on the World Wide Web and hardcopies are available from the IUE project by contacting Mona Drexler at (301) 286-7664 or drexler@iue.gsfc.nasa.gov. As mentioned before, proposers should note important changes in the manner and mode the observatory will operate after 1 October 1995 due to a significant reconfiguration of the ground system that will be implemented in order to lower operations costs. Please note the following important dates concerning proposal submission:


Proposal due dates:                       COB   22 May 1995
IUE observing peer review:                        July 1995
Proposal Selection and notification:              July 1995
Approximate Beginning Date for 19th Episode: 1 October 1996.

For more information please contact Dr. Donald West, IUE Operations Scientist at (301) 286-6901, or Dr. Andrew Michalitsianos (301) 286-6177, or by e-mail michalits@torte.gsfc.nasa.gov.

am

IUE IMAGE PROCESSING NEWS

IUESIPS Tapes

Periodically we receive requests for IUESIPS data on Exabyte tapes, in FITS format, or some other medium. Unfortunately we cannot fulfill these requests. IUESIPS data are still delivered in IUE GO format on 9-track tapes (1600 or 6250 bpi). If this poses a problem for you, please contact Cathy Imhoff (imhoff@iuegtc.gsfc.nasa.gov) to arrange an alternative. By the way, if you don't want your 9-track tapes from an observing run, please inform your observing shift Resident Astronomer and Cathy. This will save us the time and cost of generating and shipping the tapes.

Status of NEWSIPS

Processing of the SWP and LWP low-dispersion Set 1 images (pre-1990) is essentially complete. Nearly all the data should now be available from the NDADS system for Goddard images. If you are not familiar with the procedures for retrieving data from NDADS, please contact the IUEDAC staff for help. In the next week we will begin processing the recent Goddard SWP low-dispersion images (1990-1995). You are welcome to request specific images that you need for your research; they will be processed as soon as possible. The output files will be sent to NSSDC and made available through the NDADS system. Our automated request procedure is described in the most recent NASA IUE Newsletter, No. 54, page 26. You may also use the IUEDAC routine USRREQ; enter USRREQ,DUMMY and you will be prompted for the input. Or you can send a formatted e-mail message directly to usrreq@iuegtc.gsfc.nasa.gov, with the following (sample) format:

NAME          Joe Astronomer
EMAIL_ADDRESS joe@some.computer.edu
PHONE         555-555-5555
SPONSOR       University of Hard Knocks
REPRT/PROCESS P
IMAGELIST
SWP12345L
LWP09876L
ENDOFLIST

Note that the keyword entries for NAME etc. start in column 15. A new keyword, REPRT/PROCESS has been added. Enter a P to request NEWSIPS processing. Enter R to get a report of the status of the images. The report option allows users to check whether images have been processed or are available from NDADS.

cli

IUE REFERENCE MATERIAL

Subscriptions to the NASA IUE Newsletter

To subscribe to our printed newsletter or to correct your mailing address, please contact the IUE secretary Mona Drexler (drexler@iue.gsfc.nasa.gov, or 301-286-7664). Some back issues are also available from Mona.

IUE Image Processing Manuals

We have available copies of both the IUESIPS Image Processing Manual (Version 2.0) and the NEWSIPS Image Processing Manual (Version 1.0). Note that the NEWSIPS Manual was also published as NASA IUE Newsletter No. 53. Please contact Cathy Imhoff for copies.

IUE Atlases Available

We have three very useful IUE spectral atlases available on request.

"IUE Ultraviolet Spectral Atlas" by C.-C. Wu et al.
    1991, NASA IUE Newsletter, No. 43.
    Plots IUE spectra, tabulates fluxes for MK standard 
    stars

"IUE Ultraviolet Spectral Atlas of Selected 
     Astronomical Objects" by C.-C. Wu et al.  1992, 
     NASA Ref. Publ. No. 1285 Plots IUE spectra, tabulates 
     fluxes for planets, variable stars, galaxies, etc. etc.

"Atlas of O-Type Spectra From 1200 A to 1900 A", NASA 
     Ref. Publ. 1155, by N. R. Walborn, J. Nichols-Bohlin, 
     and R. J. Panek

If you would like a copy or two, please contact Cathy Imhoff at imhoff@iuegtc.gsfc.nasa.gov or (301) 794-1470. Note that the "IUE Ultraviolet Spectral Atlas" by C.-C. Wu et al. 1991, NASA IUE Newsletter, No. 43. can be accessed online through the IUEDAC procedure STDSTARS.

cli

IUEDAC SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE UPDATES

Recent Software Changes:

20-Mar  Several new routines are being added to the 
        experimental library to allow IUEDAC routines 
        to be compatible with Macintosh computers.
        The new routines will eventually be implemented 
        in the standard library but the changes should be 
        transparent to users on other platforms.

28-Mar  The IUE merged log was updated. Goddard entries 
        through March 16th are included.

03-Apr  The IUE observing program database has been updated. 
        Observing programs from the 18th episode are now included.

04-Apr  New versions of TABINV, KURGET, and KURGET1 were 
        added to the experimental library. The new versions 
        correct a problem with accessing the Kurucz models which  
        appears to occur only on unix systems.

06-Apr  The following experimental routines were implemented:
          IFITSRD (and subroutines) - allows reading multiple 
                  rows of variable length array entries in
                  binary tables & optimized to run ~ 10 times 
                  faster!
          PLATFORM (and subroutines) - new keyword for 
                   temporary file location
          BOXCAR - remove spawns, output filtered background, 
                   & fix bug in aperture name
          LBLFIX - remove spawns and improve test for 
                   NEWSIPS data
          IUEFX - doesn't change case of file path
          CPYCHK - checks for file existence
          BINS - new keyword for writing results to a 
                 disk file
          WEIGHT - more flexible weighting using nu flags
          COPUF - allows file transfer without using system 
                  commands
          SHOWTXT - allows text display with quit option

06-Apr   The [IUERDAF.CURDAF] subdirectory was deleted and a 
         new subdirectory was added called [IUERDAF.OBSOLETE]. 
         Several implemented routines which have been replaced 
         or renamed were moved to this subdirectory.

19-Apr  Almost all of the experimental library routines have 
        now been implemented. Many of the ~50 new programs 
        include changes for improving software portability and 
        should not impact users.

24-Apr  A new routine called MPATH was added to the experimental 
        library which allows users to add, remove, or display 
        libraries in the IDL search path.

rwt

IUE PROGRAMS DATABASE UPDATE

The IUE Observing Programs (IUEPROG) database has been updated and is now current through the 18th episode. The files sun_prog.tar.Z and ultrix_prog.tar.Z are available from the pub/software subdirectory of iuesn1.gsfc.nasa.gov's anonymous ftp account. The documentation file, iueprog.txt, is available in the pub/beta subdirectory.

sc

IUE MERGED OBSERVING LOG UPDATE

The IUE Merged Log (IUELOG) database has been updated and is now current for observations through the 16th of March 1995. The IUEFES database is current for observations through the 23rd of May 1994. The sun_mergelog.tar.Z and ultrix_mergelog.tar.Z files in the anonymous ftp account on iuesn1.gsfc.nasa.gov were updated on the 31st of March 1995. The updated documentation file, iuelog.txt is available in the pub/beta subdirectory. Please see the README files in each directory for further information.

pjl


Editor:                       Dr. Michael Carini 
Contributors:                 Mr. Randy Thompson  
                              Dr. Tom Meylan
                              Ms. Suzy Crabb
                              Ms. Lyla Taylor
                              Dr. Cathy Imhoff
                              Dr. Andrew Michalitsianos
                              Ms. Pat Lawton

Web Curator:

Dr. Michael Carini, Science Programs, Computer Sciences Corporation.

Responsible NASA organization/official:

Dr. Don West, IUE Operations Scientist.