The following is a brief description of Project's policies of which GOs should be aware in planning and carrying out IUE research. Further details about these policies are available through the references given below and by consulting the Project Scientist, Yoji Kondo (301-286-6247), the Operations Scientist, Donald K. West (301-286-6901), or the IUE Resident Astronomers (301-286-7537).
The GO has broad latitude to define how the telescope and scientific instruments are to be used during his scheduled observing shifts, subject to general spacecraft constraints and instrument safety considerations. Certain operations (e.g. battery discharge, overexposures greater than 100X) and non-standard or experimental observing techniques require approval of the Project Scientist before the observing shift, even if the planned activities were discussed in the proposal for telescope time.
Guest Observers (GOs) officially listed as Principal Investigators (PIs), Lead Investigators, and Co-Investigators normally receive special IUE badges and car passes. These should be retained for the several years' duration of the investigator's involvement with IUE. The PI may request a temporary badge for any other visitor to IUE on a visit-by-visit basis. Requests for badges and car passes should be made to the Operations Scientist or Resident Astronomers at least two weeks in advance of a visit. Name, affiliation, citizenship, and visit dates must be provided. Badges and car passes prepared on request are normally held for pickup at the GSFC main gate.
Access to GSFC is by badge and car pass. Each GO must have in his or her possession an IUE badge or temporary GSFC visitor's badge. IUE badges are non-transferable and can only be issued to the GOs officially listed as Lead Investigators or Co-Investigators on approved programs. All other GOs must be issued temporary badges on a visit-by-visit basis. (It is the PI's prerogative to add Co-Investigators to a program at any time via a letter to the IUE Project Scientist.)
At the beginning of a new episode, the Project will try to issue badges and car passes automatically to most PIs, Lead-Is, and Co-Is who our records show have not received these items previously. We will intentionally exclude only those non-U.S. Co-Is who are part of large collaborative efforts having U.S. PIs and whose travel to GSFC on IUE business is considered unlikely. Nevertheless, omissions may occur. The PI is responsible for ensuring that all persons traveling to GSFC in connection with his/her program have the proper credentials.
It is expected that GOs may wish to add targets to their programs to provide observing flexibility. The PI should submit target information on an Object Specification Form (see Appendix E), with a brief explanatory letter, to the Project Scientist at least one month in advance of the observing run. Required information includes target name, 1950 coordinates, object class, and the PI's program identification (five-letter code). Approval is contingent on suitability of the targets to the program and lack of conflict with the approved targets on other GO programs.
The PI is responsible for all aspects of the observing program, including scheduling, adding targets, observing, and receiving the data. A PI may delegate these duties to a colleague by informing the IUE Project Scientist or RAs in writing. No prior notification is required for a colleague to perform the observations (assuming he or she has arranged for a GSFC badge and all necessary observing information such as the schedule, skymaps, target lists, etc.). Delegation of either pre-visit planning (scheduling, receipt of skymaps) or receipt of the processed data requires notifying the Observatory in writing. An Assignment of Responsibility Form is available for this purpose (see Appendix E).
In special cases, experienced GOs may not need to be present to perform routine observations requiring no real-time decisions. Requests should be submitted to the Project Scientist at least 6 weeks in advance of the observing run. Details are available in the Service Observing Guidelines included in the GO packet.
Novae, supernovae, and like objects will be observed, either by staff astronomers or GOs with approved target of opportunity programs, as approved by the Project Scientist. PIs with approved target of opportunity programs should contact the Project Scientist to activate the program when suitable observing opportunities arise. (IUE User Guidelines 1979; also NASA IUE Newsletter No. 5, pp. 15-16, 1979.)
IUE battery discharge outside of Earth shadow season is limited to important observations that are time-critical or otherwise cannot be rescheduled when there are no power problems. A request providing justification for observing an object at power negative beta angles (see letter accompanying skymap for current power negative betas) should be submitted to the Project Scientist well in advance of the shift. (See also NASA IUE Newsletter No. 23, pp. 10-13, 1983.)
There are no longer any restrictions on use of the LWR camera. However, due to the flare in the Ultraviolet Converter (UVC), the LWR camera has been permanently reconfigured with a reduced UVC voltage of 4.5 kv. This reduces the sensitivity of the camera by a factor of 1.37. The extra overhead required to turn the camera on and off is absorbed by the observer's program. (See also NASA IUE Newsletter No. 28, pgs. 7, 10, and 22, 1985.)
GOs who wish to have their IUE data processed quickly for use at the GSFC RDAF may routinely request priority processing through the IUE staff before the observing run. All other requests for priority or special processing must be submitted in advance to the Operations Scientist for review.
Copies of data for official VILSPA collaborators may be routinely requested through the IUE staff during the observing run. Only images initiated at one ground station and read down at the other are covered by this Three Agency agreement. The US GO must provide a shipping address for the VILSPA collaborator. All other requests for duplicate data products must be submitted in advance to the Operations Scientist for review.
Requests for reprocessing IUE archival data should be submitted directly to the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) on their data request forms. A copy of the current NSSDC form is given in Grady and Taylor 1989, or may be obtained from the Observatory or NSSDC. A brief letter justifying the scientific need for the reprocessing should accompany the data request. This letter will be forwarded to the Project Scientist for review and approval. A magnetic tape should be provided; it will be returned containing the reprocessed data. Any astronomer can request data from the NSSDC, either as available in the archives or including reprocessing. (See also NASA IUE Newsletter No. 29, p. 39, 1986).
The PI has exclusive right to new IUE observations for six months following receipt of the data. After this, the data will be available to all US astronomers through the NSSDC and foreign scientists through the World Data Center. (IUE User Guidelines 1979; also NASA IUE Newsletter No. 5, pp. 15-16, 1979.)
GOs are asked to send preprints and reprints of their IUE-related papers to the IUE Observatory in care of the Operations Scientist. The author's name should be annotated on the title page with the footnote: "Guest Observer with the IUE Satellite, operated jointly by NASA, ESA and SERC." (IUE User Guidelines 1979; also NASA IUE Newsletter No. 5, pp 15-16, 1979).
The IUE Project asks that investigators publishing data obtained from the IUE archives acknowledge the original PI who acquired the IUE data. In addition, the IUE Project asks that investigators acknowledge the use of the Regional Data Analysis Facilities and/or the National Space Science Data Center as appropriate.
Observatory Notification Requirements:
Advance approval and additional pre-observing planning is required as well as a working knowledge of the remote software. Contact the Observatory for remote observing guidelines and observatory notification requirements.
Statement of Policy:
In the remote mode of observing, the GO communicates with Observatory staff by telephone, and FES and spectral images are sent to the GO via computer network. The efficiency of observing in this mode varies considerably depending on the type of program and the experience of the observer. If a major disruption of communications should occur during a remote shift, the RA on duty will decide whether sufficient information is available to continue the observations. If it is not possible to continue with the remote user's program, an observatory program will be substituted but the time will be charged to the GO's program.