The Pointings search tool can be used to search either a pointings table (containing one pointing entry per row) for a particular HST instrument, or a view for a particular instrument containing one HST observation per row. The "action" parameter determines the type of search, namely "action=Search+Pointings for the first or "action=Search+Exposures" for the second. The instrument is specified with the "primary" parameter and may have the values ACS,STIS,NICMOS,FOC,WFPC2, or WFPC2ASN.
The table below lists all the parameters available for search. Where reasonable a range or set of valid values is listed. Additional notes are included. If you click on the field name, a more detailed description of the data will be found. The column labels below are used in the search forms and search results whereas the column names below need to be specified for searches submitted as a GET request. There are however some special cases as shown in the examples, when coordinates or filters are included in the search.
Note: fields below beginning with "pnt_" describe the pointing, while fields beginning with "pntd_" describe individual observations. When searching the pointings tables, only the "pnt_" fields are available as query parameters. Exposure searches can use all the described fields.
| Column Name | Column Label | Data Type | Valid Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pnt_num | Pointing Number | Integer | Range: 1 to <20,000 | |
| pnt_ra | RA (J2000) | Float | range -90 to 360 deg | RA for Pointing |
| pnt_dec | Dec (J2000) | Float | Range -90 to +90 deg | Dec for Pointing |
| pnt_galactic_latitude | gal_lat | Float | Range: -90 to +90 deg | Galactic Latitude for Pointing |
| pnt_galactic_longitude | gal_lon | Float | Range: 0 to 360 | Galactic Longitude for Pointing |
| pnt_ecliptic_latitude | ecl_lat | Float | Range-90 to +90 deg | Ecliptic Latitude for Pointing |
| pnt_ecliptic_longitude | ecl_lon | Float | Range: 0 to 360 deg | Ecliptic Longitude for Pointing |
| pnt_cnt | Total | Integer | Range: 1 to ? | Total Number of Exposures in Pointing |
| pnt_xcountp pnt_xcount | x | Integer | Range: 0 to ? | Number of Exposures using Filter x Where x = fuv,u,b,v,r,i,line,other,... Note: use pnt_xcountp as a qualifier and pnt_xcount when listed as a selected column |
| pnt_unique | Unique | Integer | Range: 1 to ? | Number of Unique Filters Used |
| pnt_firstdate | First Date | Date | April 24 1990 to present | Start time of earliest observation in Pointing, in format: 2002-06-14 00:48 |
| pnt_lastdate | Last Date | Date | April 24 1990 to present | End time of last observation in Pointing, in format: 2002-06-14 00:48 |
| pnt_xexpp pnt_xexp | xexp | Integer | Range: 1 to ? sec. | Total Exposure time for filter x Where x = fuv,u,b,v,r,i,z,line,other,... Note: use pnt_xexpp as a qualifier and pnt_xexp when used as a selected column |
| pnt_totexp | Totalexp | Integer | Range: 1 to ? sec. | Total exposure time from all observations in pointing |
| pntd_asn_id | Asn. ID | Character | Association ID | |
| pntd_band | Band | Character | Valid Values: U,B,V,R,I,F,N,C,J,H,K, Line, Other | Name of Band for a given observation |
| pntd_broad_category | Category | Character | over 286 combinations e.g. CLUSTER OF GALAXIES;GALAXY, SOLAR SYSTEM, STELLAR CLUSTER, STAR,T TAURI STAR | Use with wild card e.g. *DWARF NOVA* |
| pntd_data_set_name | Data Set Name | Character | 9 character name e.g. J8BA7JCAQ, O4140Q020 | First character indicates instrument J=ACS; N=NICMOS; O=STIS; U=WFPC2; W=WFPC; X=FOC; Y=FOS; Z=GHRS |
| pntd_ra | RA (J2000) | Float | range -90 to 360 deg | RA for a given exposure |
| pntd_dec | Dec (J2000) | Float | Range -90 to +90 deg | Dec for a given exposure |
| pntd_preview_name | Preview Name | Character | May be based on either dataset name or asn_id | |
| pntd_hlsp | HLSP | Integer | Range: 1 to ? | Number of associated High Level Science Products |
| pntd_galactic_latitude | Gal_lat | Float | Range: -90 to +90 deg | Galactic Latitude for given observation |
| pntd_galactic_longitude | Gal_lon | Float | Range: 0 to 360 | Galactic Longtiude for given observation |
| pntd_ecliptic_latitude | Ecl_lat | Float | Range-90 to +90 deg | Ecliptic Latitude for given observation |
| pntd_ecliptic_longitude | Ecl_lon | Float | Range: 0 to 360 deg | Ecliptic Longitude for given observation |
| pntd_actual_duration | Exposure_(s) | Float | Range: 0.00 - 230414.5 seconds | Observation Exposure Time in seconds |
| pntd_spec_1234 | Filter | Character | Over 850 options: examples: G160L, G270M, G230LB, F300W | See a more complete list Sometimes combined so wildcard search may be needed |
| pnt_inst | Instrument | Character | NIC1, NIC2, NIC3, WFPC2, FOC/48, FOC/96, ACS/HRC, ACS/SBC, ACS/WFC, STIS/CCD, STIS/FUV-MAMA, STIS/NUV-MAMA | Instrument used for Pointing |
| pntd_pep_id | Pep_ID | Integer | Integer assign to each proposal | |
| pntd_release_date | Rel. Date | Date | May 9, 1990 - present | Date data become publicly available |
| pntd_start_time | Obs. Date | Date | Apr 24 1990 to present | Start Date and Time of Exposure (e.g., 2002-08-05 14:09:00 |
| pntd_targname | Object | Character | e.g. ETA-CAR, A+81D266, ANY, PLUTO12, NGC188/54 | Observer assigned target name All capitals; no blank characters spaces sometimes filled with - use with wildcards |
| pntd_target_descrip | Target Descr | Character | Wide variety of target types in differing configurations e.g. CLUSTER OF GALAXIES;RICH CLUSTER;HIGH REDSHIFT CLUSTER (Z>0.5); STAR;WIND;WOLF RAYET;ISM;RING NEBULA;EMISSION LINE NEBULA;EJECTA; | All capitals Use with wild card |
| pntd_v3_pos_angle | V3 Pos Angle | Float | Range -306 to +360 |