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Observatory Support
STScI Exposure Time Calculators Oversight

Welcome to the Exposure Time Calculator (ETC)

FOR THE CURRENT ETC (ETC 20.1) USER'S GUIDE, GO HERE.

User Guides for older versions have be found here:

ETC 19.1 and previous versions' links

The ETC is a web-based application developed in Java that assists Hubble astronomers and engineers in preparing Phase I and Phase II observing proposals for submission to the Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci). The ETC’s sole purpose is to calculate the following:

  1. Signal-To-Noise (SNR) Ratio (for a given Exposure Time)

  2. Exposure Time (given a desired SNR Ratio)