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Part II: ACS Data Handbook

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2.4 Headers and Keywords


While the ACS image headers for the WFC, HRC, HRC-ACQ, and SBC observations have very similar formats, two main differences are apparent. The MAMA (SBC) headers require a slightly modified structure from the CCD (WFC, HRC) headers, and the HRC-ACQ headers require several unique keywords.

In Table 2.6 and Table 2.7, we describe the ACS header keywords, with a note indicating to which detector those keywords refer. The primary header keywords (FITS extension 0) are given in Table 2.6, and the extension header keywords (FITS extensions > 0) are given in Table 2.7. For more information about primary and extension FITS headers, refer to Section 2.1.1 of the HST Data Handbook Introduction.

Table 2.6: ACS Primary Header Keywords (FITS extension 0)
KEYWORD DESCRIPTION
SIMPLE data conform to FITS standard (T/F)
BITPIX bits per data value
NAXIS number of data axes
EXTEND file may contain standard extensions (T/F)
NEXTEND number of standard extensions
GROUPS image is in group format? (T/F)
DATE date this file was written (yyyy-mm-dd)
FILENAME name of file
FILETYPE type of data found in data file
TELESCOP telescope used to acquire data
INSTRUME identifier for instrument used to acquire data
EQUINOX equinox of celestial coordinate system
DATA DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS (All Detectors)
ROOTNAME rootname of the observation set
IMAGETYP type of exposure identifier
PRIMESI instrument designated as prime
TARGET INFORMATION (All Detectors)
TARGNAME proposer's target name
RA_TARG right ascension of the target (deg) (J2000)
DEC_TARG declination of the target (deg) (J2000)
PROPOSAL INFORMATION (All Detectors)
PROPOSID PEP proposal identifier
LINENUM proposal log line number
PR_INV_L last name of principal investigator
PR_INV_F first name of principal investigator
PR_INV_M middle name / initial of principal investigator
EXPOSURE INFORMATION (All Detectors)
SUNANGLE angle between sun and V1 axis
MOONANGL angle between moon and V1 axis
SUN_ALT altitude of the sun above Earth's limb
FGSLOCK commanded FGS lock (fine, coarse, gyros, unknown)
TWOGYRO observation scheduled with only two gyros? (Y/N)
DATE-OBS UT date of start of observation (yyyy-mm-dd)
TIME-OBS UT time of start of observation (hh:mm:ss)
EXPSTART exposure start time (modified Julian date)
EXPEND exposure end time (modified Julian date)
EXPTIME exposure duration (seconds)--calculated
EXPFLAG exposure interruption indicator
POINTING INFORMATION (All Detectors)
PA_V3 position angle of V3-axis of HST (deg)
TARGET OFFSETS (POSTARGS) (All Detectors)
POSTARG1 POSTARG in axis 1 direction
POSTARG2 POSTARG in axis 2 direction
DIAGNOSTIC KEYWORDS (All Detectors)
OPUS_VER OPUS software system version number
CAL_VER CALACS code version
PROCTIME pipeline processing time (MJD)
SCIENCE INSTRUMENT CONFIGURATION (All Detectors)
OBSTYPE observation type (imaging, spectroscopic, coronagraphic)
OBSMODE operating mode
CTEIMAGE type of charge transfer image, if applicable
SCLAMP lamp status: NONE or name of lamp which is on
NRPTEXP number of repeat exposures in set (default=1)
SUBARRAY data from a subarray (T) or full frame (F)
DETECTOR detector in use: WFC, HRC or SBC
FILTER1 element selected from filter wheel 1
FILTER2 element selected from filter wheel 2
FWOFFSET computed filter wheel offset (0, +1, -1)
FWERROR filter wheel position error flag (T, F)
LRFWAVE proposed linear ramp filter wavelength
APERTURE aperture name
PROPAPER proposed aperture name
DIRIMAGE direct image for grism or prism exposure
CTEDIR CTE measurement direction: serial or parallel
CRSPLIT number of cosmic ray split exposures
MAMA OFFSETS (SBC Only)
MOFFSET1 axis 1 MAMA offset
MOFFSET2 axis 2 MAMA offset
LOCAL RATE CHECK IMAGE (SBC Only)
LRC_XSTS local rate check image exists (T/F)
LRC_FAIL local rate check failed (T/F)
CALIBRATION SWITCHES: PERFORM, OMIT (All Detectors)
STATFLAG calculate statistics? (T/F)
WRTERR write out error array extension? (T/F)
DQICORR data quality initialization?
ATODCORR correct for A to D conversion errors?
BLEVCORR subtract bias level computed from overscan image?
BIASCORR subtract bias image?
FLSHCORR subtract post flash image?
CRCORR combine observations to reject cosmic-rays?
EXPSCORR process individual observations after cr-reject?
SHADCORR apply shutter shading correction?
GLINCORR correct for global detector non-linearities? (SBC only)
LFLGCORR flag pixels for local and global nonlinearities? (SBC only)
DARKCORR subtract dark image?
FLATCORR apply flat field correction?
PHOTCORR populate photometric header keywords?
RPTCORR add individual repeat observations?
DRIZCORR drizzle-combine dithered images?
CALIBRATION REFERENCE FILES (All Detectors)
BPIXTAB bad pixel table
CCDTAB CCD calibration parameter table
ATODTAB analog-to-digital correction file
OSCNTAB CCD overscan table
BIASFILE bias image file name
FLSHFILE post flash image file name
CRREJTAB cosmic-ray rejection parameter table
SHADFILE shutter shading correction file
MLINTAB MAMA linearity correction table (SBC only)
DARKFILE dark image file name
PFLTFILE pixel-to-pixel flat field file name
DFLTFILE delta-flat field file name
LFLTFILE low order flat
CFLTFILE Coronagraphic Spot Flat
SPOTTAB Table with Coronagraphic Spot Position versus Date
PHOTTAB photometric throughput table (not used)
GRAPHTAB HST graph table
COMPTAB HST components table
IDCTAB image distortion correction table
DGEOFILE distortion correction image
MDRIZTAB MultiDrizzle parameter table
COSMIC RAY REJECTION ALGORITHM PARAMETERS (WFC, HRC, HRC ACQ)
MEANEXP reference exposure time
SCALENSE multiplicative scale factor applied to noise
INITGUES initial guess method (min, med)
SKYSUB sky value subtracted (mode, none)
SKYSUM sky level from the sum of all constituent images
CRSIGMAS statistical rejection criteria
CRRADIUS rejection propagation radius (pixels)
CRTHRESH rejection propagation threshold
BADINPDQ data quality flag used for rejection
REJ_RATE rate at which pixels are affected by cosmic rays
CRMASK flag CR-rejected pixels in input files? (T/F)
MDRIZSKY sky value computed by MultiDrizzle
PATTERN KEYWORDS (WFC, HRC, SBC)
PATTERN1 primary pattern type
P1_SHAPE primary pattern shape
P1_PURPS primary pattern purpose
P1_NPTS number of points in primary pattern
P1_PSPAC point spacing for primary pattern (arcsec)
P1_LSPAC line spacing for primary pattern (arcsec)
P1_ANGLE angle between sides of parallelogram patt (deg)
P1_FRAME coordinate frame of primary pattern
P1_ORINT orientation of pattern to coordinate frame (deg)
P1_CENTR center pattern relative to pointing (yes/no)
PATTSTEP position number of this point in the pattern
POST FLASH PARAMETERS (WFC, HRC, HRC ACQ)
FLASHDUR exposure time in seconds: 0.1 to 409.5
FLASHCUR post-flash current (off, low, med, high)
FLASHSTA status (successful, aborted, not performed)
SHUTRPOS shutter position (A or B)
ENGINEERING PARAMETERS (WFC, HRC, HRC ACQ)
CCDAMP CCD amplifier read out configuration
CCDGAIN commanded gain of CCD (electrons/DN)
CCDOFSTA commanded CCD bias offset for amplifier A (electrons)
CCDOFSTB commanded CCD bias offset for amplifier B (electrons)
CCDOFSTC commanded CCD bias offset for amplifier C (electrons)
CCDOFSTD commanded CCD bias offset for amplifier D (electrons)
CALIBRATED ENGINEERING PARAMETERS (WFC, HRC, HRC ACQ)
ATODGNA calibrated gain for CCD amplifier A (electrons/DN)
ATODGNB calibrated gain for CCD amplifier B (electrons/DN)
ATODGNC calibrated gain for CCD amplifier C (electrons/DN)
ATODGND calibrated gain for CCD amplifier D (electrons/DN)
READNSEA calibrated read noise for amplifier A (electrons)
READNSEB calibrated read noise for amplifier B (electrons)
READNSEC calibrated read noise for amplifier C (electrons)
READNSED calibrated read noise for amplifier D (electrons)
BIASLEVA bias level for amplifier A (electrons)
BIASLEVB bias level for amplifier B (electrons)
BIASLEVC bias level for amplifier C (electrons)
BIASLEVD bias level for amplifier D (electrons)
TARGET ACQUISITION PARAMETERS (HRC only)
ACQTYPE type of acquisition
ACQNAME rootname of acquisition exposure
TARGET ACQUISITION PARAMETERS (HRC ACQ only)
ACQTYPE type of acquisition
CENTMETH target acquisition centering method
CRELIM perform cosmic ray rejection in acquisition
CCDBIASS CCD bias subtracted from target acq image? (y/n)
BIASLEV CCD bias level used to process acquisition exp.
CHECKBOX size of checkbox for finding algorithms
TARGAREA area of target (detector pixels)
ASSOCIATION KEYWORDS (All Detectors)
ASN_ID unique identifier assigned to association
ASN_TAB name of association table
ASN_MTYP role of exposure in association

 
Table 2.7: ACS Extension Header Keywords (FITS extensions > 0)
KEYWORD DESCRIPTION
XTENSION extension type
BITPIX bits per data value
NAXIS number of data axes
NAXIS1 length of first data axis
NAXIS2 length of second data axis
PCOUNT number of group parameters
GCOUNT number of groups
INHERIT inherit the primary header
EXTNAME extension name
EXTVER extension version number
ROOTNAME rootname of the observation set
EXPNAME 9 character exposure identifier
DATAMIN minimum data value (electrons)
DATAMAX maximum data value (electrons)
BUNIT brightness units (counts, electrons, electrons/sec)
BSCALE scale factor for array value to physical value
BZERO physical value for an array value of zero
WORLD COORDINATE SYSTEM AND RELATED PARAMETERS (All Detectors)
WCSAXES number of World Coordinate System axes
CRPIX1 x-coordinate of reference pixel
CRPIX2 y-coordinate of reference pixel
CRVAL1 first axis value at reference pixel
CRVAL2 second axis value at reference pixel
CTYPE1 the coordinate type for the first axis
CTYPE2 the coordinate type for the second axis
CD1_1 partial of first axis coordinate w.r.t. x
CD1_2 partial of first axis coordinate w.r.t. y
CD2_1 partial of second axis coordinate w.r.t. x
CD2_2 partial of second axis coordinate w.r.t. y
LTV1 offset in X to subsection start
LTV2 offset in Y to subsection start
LTM1_1 reciprocal of sampling rate in X
LTM2_2 reciprocal of sampling rate in Y
ORIENTAT position angle of image y axis (degrees E of N)
RA_APER RA of aperture reference position
DEC_APER Dec of aperture reference position
PA_APER position angle of aperture reference position (deg)
VAFACTOR velocity aberration plate scale factor
WFC CCD CHIP IDENTIFICATION (WFC only)
CCDCHIP CCD chip (1 or 2)
READOUT DEFINITION PARAMETERS (All Detectors)
CENTERA1 subarray axis1 center point in unbinned detector pixels
CENTERA2 subarray axis2 center point in unbinned detector pixels
SIZAXIS1 subarray axis1 size in unbinned detector pixels
SIZAXIS2 subarray axis2 size in unbinned detector pixels
BINAXIS1 axis1 data bin size in unbinned detector pixels
BINAXIS2 axis2 data bin size in unbinned detector pixels
PHOTOMETRY KEYWORDS (All Detectors)
PHOTMODE observation configuration for photometric calibration
PHOTFLAM inverse sensitivity (erg s-1 cm-2 A-1 for 1 electron/sec)
PHOTZPT ST magnitude zero point
PHOTPLAM pivot wavelength
PHOTBW rms bandwidth of filter plus detector
REPEATED EXPOSURES INFO (WFC, HRC, HRC ACQ)
NCOMBINE number of image sets combined during CR rejection
DATA PACKET INFORMATION (All Detectors)
FILLCNT number of segments containing fill
ERRCNT number of segments containing errors
PODPSFF podps fill present? (T/F)
STDCFFF ST DDF fill present? (T/F)
STDCFFP ST DDF fill pattern (hex)
ON-BOARD COMPRESSION INFORMATION (WFC Only)
WFCMPRSD was WFC data compressed? (T/F)
CBLKSIZ size of compression block in bytes
LOSTPIX number of pixels lost due to buffer overflow
COMPTYP compression type performed? (partial/full)
TARGET ACQUISITION PARAMETERS (HRC ACQ Only)
TARGA1 fsw located subarray axis1 coord. of target
TARGA2 fsw located subarray axis2 coord. of target
APERA1 fsw located subarray axis 1 coord. of aperture
APERA2 fsw located subarray axis 2 coord. of aperture
APERLKA1 axis 1 detector pixel of acq aperture center
APERLKA2 axis 2 detector pixel of acq aperture center
MAXCHCNT counts in the brightest checkbox
BOPOFFA1 axis 1 offset (arcs) object moved off aperture
BOPOFFA2 axis 2 offset (arcs) object moved off aperture
ENGINEERING PARAMETERS (SBC Only)
GLOBRATE global count rate
GLOBLIM was global linearity level exceeded?
IMAGE STATISTICS AND DATA QUALITY FLAGS (All Detectors)
NGOODPIX number of good pixels
SDQFLAGS serious data quality flags considered 'bad' by CALACS
GOODMIN minimum value of good pixels (electrons)
GOODMAX maximum value of good pixels (electrons)
GOODMEAN mean value of good pixels (electrons)
SOFTERRS number of soft error pixels (DQF=1)
SNRMIN minimum signal to noise of good pixels
SNRMAX maximum signal to noise of good pixels
SNRMEAN mean signal to noise of good pixels
MEANDARK average of the dark values subtracted (electrons)
MEANBLEV average of all bias levels subtracted (electrons)
MEANFLSH Mean number of counts in post flash exposure (electrons)
ORIGINAL (OLD) WORLD COORDINATE SYSTEM INFORMATION (All Detectors)
WCSCDATE Time WCS keywords were copied
OCRPIX1 x-coordinate of reference pixel
OCRPIX2 y-coordinate of reference pixel
OCRVAL1 first axis value at reference pixel
OCRVAL2 second axis value at reference pixel
OCTYPE1 the coordinate type for the first axis
OCTYPE2 the coordinate type for the second axis
OCD1_1 partial of first axis coordinate w.r.t. x
OCD1_2 partial of first axis coordinate w.r.t. y
OCD2_1 partial of second axis coordinate w.r.t. x
OCD2_2 partial of second axis coordinate w.r.t. y
ONAXIS1 x-axis length
ONAXIS2 y-axis length
OORIENTA position angle of image y axis (degrees E of N)

 

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