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             |              CCC  XX   XX    OOO           |
Chandra      |             CC     XX XX    OO OO          | CXC
Electronic   |            CC       XXX    OO   OO         | Number 33
Bulletin     |             CC     XX XX    OO OO          | December
             |              CCC  XX   XX    OOO           | 2004
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Welcome to the Chandra X-ray Center's Electronic News Bulletin Number 33.

CXC Web site: cxc.harvard.edu

If you would like to unsubscribe from this alias, simply reply to this message
to let us know.  

Please use this website to update your address or email: 
          http://cxc.harvard.edu/cdo/udb/userdat.html

Contents:

1. Cycle5/Cycle6 TOO Periods
   
2. CALDB 2.29 Released

3. New Pitch Angle Restrictions 

4. New Archive Web Pages

5. Cycle 6 EPO Peer Review

6. The Six Years of Science with Chandra Symposium 

7. Archive: New Data Distribution Procedure and V&V Reports  

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Item 1.  Cycle5/Cycle6 TOO Periods
==================================

Cycle 5 TOOs will expire on Dec 15, 2004.
Cycle 6 TOOs can be triggered from Dec 1, 2004.

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Item 2.  CALDB 2.29 Released - 19 November 2004
===============================================

As of 10:15 AM EST this morning, the Chandra CalDB version 2.29 is available
for download from the following CXC web page:

"Downloading CALDB 2.29"
http://cxc.harvard.edu/caldb/downloads/index.html

++ Everything will be copied shortly on the European mirror site at:
	http://chandra.ledas.ac.uk/caldb/downloads/index.html

CalDB 2.29 contains the following:

	- Updates to the ACIS time-dependent gain for May 2004 (EPOCH 18)
		and for August 2004 (EPOCH 19). Users are advised that
		only those analyzing data acquired since March 2004, with
		oxygen emission lines are likely to
		see any significant differences in their scientific results.
		However, any user may verify for him or herself the actual
		affects of the updates by reprocessing their own data using CIAO
		"acis_process_events". 

	- Minor corrections to a single tile of ACIS-9 in the -120C gain
		and FEF files, which have been incremented one version number.
		Very few if any users will notice this change; it is more an
		issue for the ACIS calibration team.

	See the release notes and associated threads for details at
	http://cxc.harvard.edu/caldb/downloads/Release_notes/CALDB_v2.29.txt
	(Again the mirror site will soon have these updates as well, at
	http://chandra.ledas.ac.uk/caldb/downloads/Release_notes/CALDB_v2.29.txt

CalDB 2.29 has also been installed in the Chandra Processing CalDB at the CXC;
Users receiving ACIS data processed after 2004-11-18T21:45:00 will want to 
upgrade their local CalDB areas before doing any reprocessing with 
acis_process_events.

Cheers,

- Dale Graessle


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Item 3.  New Pitch Angle Restrictions
=====================================


Due to recently recognized occurences of excessive cooling
in two different propellant lines, we will be imediately implementing
a restriction against pointing at pitch angles greater than
150 degrees.  At present, this is a precautionary measure
while we evaluate the situation and investigate under what
circumstances we might carry out observations at 150 to 170 degree
pitch angles. We expect that pitch angles greater than 170 degrees will not be
feasible in any event.


For Cycle 6 the preliminary Long Term Schedule is being totally reworked in 2 
stages:

1: Targets without pitch issues have been identified to generate a 
pool of targets to generate the LTS through January 2005. This work is complete
and the updated LTS is now on the public web page. GOs and GTOs whose 
targets fall into this category will be notified and appropriate reviews and 
sign-offs for the target parameters will be needed relatively quickly.

2: Over the next month or two we will also generate a revised Long Term Schedule 
for the remainder of Cycle 6 reflecting the new pitch angle constraints, as 
well as those already in place to minimize EPHIN over-heating plus avoiding 
the Sun.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY INFORMAL INFORMATION WHICH YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED 
CONCERNING SCHEDULING OF CYCLE 6 TARGETS IS NO LONGER VALID AND SHOULD NOT BE 
USED TO PLAN INFORMAL COORDINATIONS or the like.

There are a few Cycle 6 targets with approved constraints which translate to a 
pitch angle requirement greater than 150 degrees. CXC USINT personnel will be 
in contact with the PIs for these observations to discuss modifications to the 
constraints which could lead to a more acceptable pitch angle for the 
observation. If we are not able to modify the constraints, the observations 
will be placed on indefinite hold pending the results of our more detailed 
analysis of the propellant line cooling issue.

We apologize for any difficulties and inconveniences which may result, but the 
health and safety (and thereby the longevity) of Chandra remain our
top priority.

The pitch angle restrictions are discussed at:
http://cxc.harvard.edu/cdo/pitch_angle.html
Keep an eye on this page for updates.  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Item 4.  New Archive Web Pages
==============================

We are pleased to announce two new webpages for the CDA.

Dataset Identifiers

Starting in January 2005, the publications managed by the AAS will
provide authors with a mechanism that allows them to establish links
between their articles and the observational data that is presented in
them. We would like to urge our users to take full advantage of this
opportunity to incorporate this linkage in their future papers.
An explanation of the system and the syntax of the identifiers is
provided at:

	http://cxc.harvard.edu/cda/datasetid.html


Special Data Services Requests

There are a number of services provided by CXC-DS Operational groups
that are not currently available through a web interface, but have
required incidental e-mail.
Requesting these services has now been consolidated though a single
webpage interface:

	http://cxc.harvard.edu/cgi-gen/cda/specreq"

It covers requests for old data versions, for special processing, for data on
physical medium, for custom database queries, as well as anything not covered
by these categories (or anywhere else). In addition, it allows us to track
such requests. 


Arnold H. Rots    



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Item 5.  Cycle 6 EPO Peer Review
================================


The Chandra Cycle 6 EPO peer review was conducted on Oct. 20-22. One
Individual and 5 Institutional proposals were funded. For summaries of the
funded proposals and contact information, go to: 

http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/proposals_c6.html

Kathy Lestition


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Item 6.  The Six Years of Science with Chandra Symposium
========================================================


The Six Years of Science with Chandra Symposium will be held at the Royal 
Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge Massachusetts from November 2-4, 2005. This meeting 
will highlight key science results from the first six years of operation of 
the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the XMM-Newton Observatory, with emphasis on 
recent results. Both invited and contributed presentations will be included in 
the program. The Science Organizing Committee is being formed and more 
information will be available in a month or two.

Harvey Tananbaum

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Item 7.  Archive: New Data Distribution Procedure and V&V Reports
=================================================================


As of 1 December 2004, CXC Operations are running DS Release 7.4.
This release includes a large number of changes in the way data are
being handled, with two changes that will be very visible to the
users.  (More details about the release will be in the next bulletin.)

1. The software that creates the V&V reports has been completely
replaced.  Consequently, they will look different and they will be in
PDF format.  The primary package will contain a V&V report that is
similar in length to what you are used to.  The secondary package
will, in addition, contain a V&V reference document (also PDF) that is
considerably longer and contains much more detail.

2. The on-line data distribution will no longer work through
pre-packaged tar files that are put in an ftp staging area.  Users
(PIs and Observers) will still be notified that new data have become
available, but they will be directed to retrieve the data through
WebChaSeR using its login feature (either the proposal or PI
account) as long as the data are proprietary; the e-mail message will
contain a reminder of relevant information.  
Please note that anybody can retrieve the non-proprietary data
products for a proprietary observation.  But one needs to be logged in
to the authorized PI or proposal account in order to have the
proprietary products (in particular, the event files and the images)
included in the retrieval package.

Arnold Rots

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