XMM-Newton-NEWS


XMM-NEWTON NEWS #5,   27-Jun-2001

ESA, XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre at
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
P.O. Box - Apdo. 50727, 28080 Madrid, Spain

SOC Home Page: http://xmm.esac.esa.int/
Helpdesk web interface: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk
Helpdesk email address: xmmhelp@sciops.esa.int
News Mailing List: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/newsletterindex.shtml

Contents:



Dear Colleagues,

SAS 5.1 Released

Version 5.1 of the XMM-Newton Science Analysis System was released 24 June 2001.
For download instructions see:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/sas.

Version 5.1 of the SAS is available in binary form for the following platforms:
Besides the numerous improvements to the robustness of the code, this version of the SAS contains improved algorithms for energy, gain, and cti correction for the X-ray instruments and OM. The background rejection algorithms were also improved.

The response generation tasks and the corresponding calibration algorithms have been significantly improved, and from this version the use of ad hoc response matrices is no longer required.

For more details consult http://xmm.esac.esa.int/sas.

With the release of SAS v5.1, there are major improvements in the implementation of calibration knowledge. The normal method by which updates, in the Current Calibration File (CCF) are announced is via the distribution of "CCF Release Notes" concurrent with the availability of a file from the XMM-Newton SOC ftp site.
Users are encouraged to check details at :
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/user/calib_top.html
for information about the calibration files.

Furthermore there is a mailing list for the announcements of calibration updates; the link to subscribe is:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/mailman/listinfo/ccf

However at this milestone, we have tried to summarise the status of the instruments' calibration status with a more descriptive set of documents - one per instrument. These documents provide an estimate of the accuracy of calibrations that can be expected with use of the SAS v5.1, and the associated calibration files released at or around the same time (i.e. around end-June 2001). In addition the open points still in progress are listed.

These documents are likewise obtained at the calibration "top-level" page
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/user/calib_top.html
as Calibration Technical Notes, listed under each instrument section.

New Observation Log Available

The SOC has released a (set of) HTML-table(s) which describe, to a fair level of accuracy, for observations in the past:
- What has actually been observed and what was the exposure time achieved.

For observations in the future :
- What is the detailed, near-term (~1 month), projected observation planning.

The WWW Address is:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/user/mplan/

The long-term planning (~ 3 months) skeleton remains available at:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/news/advance_plan.html

PV Data Released

The performance verification observations for which all required data files have recently become available are NOW available at:

http://xmm.esac.esa.int/user/mplan/XMM-Newton/public_list.html


With best regards,
The XMM-Newton SOC.