XMM-Newton-NEWS
XMM-Newton-NEWS #119, 01-Mar-2011
XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre at
ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre,
P.O. Box - Apdo. 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
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Contents:
- Version 11.0 of the Science Analysis System (SAS) released
- SAS Inverse Index
- 11th XMM-Newton SAS Workshop
Version 11.0 of the Science Analysis System (SAS) released
The XMM-Newton SAS team is pleased to announce the release of a new
version of the SAS: SAS 11.0.
Binaries for diverse flavours of Linux (both in 32- and 64-bit native
versions), Solaris and MacOs are available at:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/sas/current/download
The main improvements of this release can be summarised as follows:
- A new EPIC-MOS redistribution. While the detector response for EPIC
MOS has been so far calculated using a physical model, it has been
found that an empirical parametrisation can actually better
reproduce the spatially- and time-dependent redistribution. The new
algorithm goes together with a new set of EMOS[1-2]_REDIST
calibration files, and therefore simultaneous upgrade of SAS and
CCFs is required.
- ESAS, the package integrated within SAS for dedicated analysis of
EPIC observations of extended sources, has been largely upgraded. It
is now validated for handling EPIC-pn data.
- The new task "xmmextractor" replaces the functionality of
"psechain", as a highly configurable workflow generator within SAS
for pipeline processing.
- "eexpmap", the task for EPIC exposure map calculation, has been
upgraded for much faster processing.
We have produced for the first time 64-bit SAS versions for several
platforms. This is especially important for processing very long
EPIC-pn exposures of bright sources, which so far could only be
processed by using "epsplitter". A 64-bit native version of SAS for
MacOs will be released within the next 3 months. Virtual machines (a
32-bit and a 64-bit version) including SAS 11.0 to be used under
Linux, MacOs and Windows will be available shortly.
SAS 11.0 will be the last version of SAS produced for Solaris.
For further details on SAS 11.0 please visit the SAS Pages at:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/sas/
SAS Inverse Index
The XMM-Newton SOC has released an "Inverse SAS task Index" that will
help users to identify individual SAS tasks, or groups of tasks,
needed to be executed in order to perform a given scientific analysis
job.
The SAS inverse index guides users through different stages of data
processing and analysis. It is available in the form of tables which
include several interactive features to simplify the access to both
the individual SAS tasks documentation and the data analysis threads
with usage examples.
The SAS inverse index can be found at the following URL:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/sas/current/sas_inverse_index/sas_inverse_index.shtml
11th XMM-Newton SAS Workshop
The 11th SAS Workshop will be held at the ESA's European Space
Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de la Canada (near Madrid,
Spain) between the 6th and the 10th of June 2011.
SAS Workshops aim at providing XMM-Newton users with a basic
introduction to the procedures and techniques to reduce and analyse
XMM-Newton data. The 5-day workshop is organised around 5 half-days of
presentations and 5 half-days of practical training sessions. The
sessions cover all aspects of data reduction and data analysis for the
X-ray instruments and the Optical Monitor on-board XMM-Newton.
Interested persons should send an email through the XMM-Newton
Helpdesk at:
https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk
not later than the 30th of April 2011.
Please specify in the subject line:
"Interest in participating in the 11th XMM-Newton SAS Workshop"
and provide the following information:
Name :
Organisation :
Address :
Country :
Phone :
E-mail :
Main Research Field :
Need means of transportation between pre-booked
accommodation at Madrid and Venue at ESAC ? : YES/NO
Bring your own laptop ? : YES/NO
No fee is required to attend the SAS Workshop. We regret to inform
that no financial support is available for Workshop participants.
More information is provided at the workshop website at:
https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/sas-workshop-2011
Yours sincerely,
XMM-Newton SOC