proposer/how_to_get_current_info_on_hst_status
 June 29 1994


HOW TO GET CURRENT INFORMATION ON HST STATUS AND OBSERVATIONS:  To find
information on the current  status of HST, recently completed observations,
and planned observations, there are reports available on STEIS.  See the
most recent issue of the ST ScI Newsletter for information on how to use
STEIS, or contact the User Support Branch (1-800-544-8125) for help.  The 
reports are listed below in order of where to look to get the earliest warning 
of an upcoming observation: 

1)  Weekly Timeline (timeline_mm_dd_yy) - derived from an internal ST ScI 
report produced by the Operations Division, this report contains a 
fairly large amount of detail for all observations (science, calibration, and 
engineering) scheduled for the designated week, including begin/end times, 
principal investigator, target, instrument mode, filters, apertures, etc.  
These reports are installed in STEIS approximately once a week under the
observer/weeky_timeline directory and show up about two weeks before
observations. These are also available via listserver and are mailed to 
those on the timeline for whom we have valid internet addresses.

2)  HST Daily Reports (hst_status_mm_dd_yy) - copied from the GSFC 
reports written by Joe Ryan (HSTP-G Operations Manager), each covering 
a 24-hour period beginning at 0800 Eastern time each day.  These reports 
are installed in STEIS as they come in under the stsci/hst_news directory. 

3)  Completed Science Observations  (comp_obs_mm_dd_yy) - derived from 
an internal ST ScI report produced by the Science Programs Division, and 
contains information on science observations indexed by proposal type and 
ID number.  Also contains program title, a rough indication of the data 
quality, target name, and the weekly SMS in which the observation was 
scheduled. This report covers data taken by the science assessment and 
early release observations programs, and GTO and GO programs.  Not included 
are reports on data from OV and SV programs.  These reports are installed 
in STEIS approximately weekly under the observer/completed_observations 
directory. 

4) Don't forget to try out the new WWW tools such as starview (see the hst-archive
menu for details).

Additional information for these reports can be found in the README 
files of the appropriate STEIS directories.