4.9 Flux Data [Flux and Other_Fluxes]

Flux information for all targets is required. There can be more than one entry for a given target. STScI will use this flux information to prevent over-illumination of sensitive detectors. Proposers should refer to Section 3.9 on page 47 for instructions and guidelines on how to provide flux data for their targets. The flux data must be given in the format and units shown in Table 4.13: Formats for Specification of Target Flux Data. The units should not be entered on the Target List.

Text Proposal File

If you are using the Text Proposal File, other flux items must be separated by commas.

Table 4.13: Formats for Specification of Target Flux Data 

Parameter	Format example	Units
Examples for Stars:
Broad-band magnitude1	V=13.1 +/– 0.5	magnitude
Spectral type	TYPE=G5III
Color Index1	B-V = 0.86 +/– 0.2	magnitude
Color Excess	E(B-V) = 0.3 +/– 0.2	magnitude
Background Surface Brightness2	SURF-BKG(B) = 20 +/– 0.2	mag/arcsec2
Examples for Galaxies, Nebulae, and other extended sources:
Surface Brightness1,2	SURF(V) = 25.0 +/– 1.0	mag/arcsec2
Surface Brightness1	SURF(B) = 24.5 +/- 0.5	mag/arcsec2
Color Excess	E(B-V) = 2.5 +/– 0.2	mag
Plus whatever other fluxes are relevant to your science program. Some other examples are listed below:
Interstellar Extinction	A(V) = 1.3 +/– 0.1	mag
Flux at a specified wavelength	F(5100) = 51 +/– 3 E-15	erg/(cm2 sec Å)
Continuum Flux3	F-CONT(3500) = 57 +/– 3 E-15	erg/(cm2 sec Å)
Line Flux3,4,5	F-LINE(3727) = 5 +/– 1 E-14	erg/(cm2 sec Å)
Line Width6	W-LINE(3727) = 2.4 +/– 0.2	Å
Surface Brightness at specified wavelength2	SURF(5100) = 11 +/– 2 E-15	erg/(cm2 sec Å arcsec2)
Surface Brightness at continuum wavelength2	SURF-CONT(5000) = 52 +/– 2 E-15	erg/(cm2 sec Å arcsec2)
Surface Brightness of line emission3,4,5	SURF-LINE(5007) = 52 +/– 2 E-15	erg/(cm2 sec arcsec2)
Size (FWHM of circular region)7	SIZE = 25 +/–5	arcsec

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1

The following broad-band magnitudes may be used: U,B,V,R,I,J,H,K.

2

You may append “–BKG” to this reference (just before the wavelength designation) to indicate that it is a background flux value (e.g., SURF-BKG(V) = 18.2 +/– 0.5; SURF-CONT-BKG(5100) = 10 +/– 3 E-15).

3

Give wavelength used in keyword in rest frame, but flux in observed frame.

4

Line flux should be relative to the continuum, if specified, or relative to zero if not specified.

5

Whenever the S/N refers to a spectral line, W-LINE must be given along with F-LINE or SURF-LINE. Values of F-LINE and SURF-LINE outside the Earth’s atmosphere are required.

6

W-LINE is the full width at half maximum (FWHM).

7

SIZE should be included if the exposure time estimate assumed the flux was spread over an extended region; if omitted, the highest spatial resolution of the observing mode will be assumed.