Hubble Space Telescope Call for Proposals for Cycle 17

1.4 Resources, Documentation and Tools

1.4.1 Cycle 17 Announcement Web Page

The Cycle 17 Announcement Web Page provides links to information and documentation (including this Call for Proposals) that will be useful to you while preparing your proposals. This page will also provide any late-breaking updates on the Phase I process, and answers to frequently asked questions.

1.4.2 Phase I "Roadmap"

The Phase I Proposal Roadmap is a high level step-by-step guide to writing a Phase I Proposal. Links to the appropriate sections of various documents (Call for Proposals, Primer, etc.) are given for each step.

1.4.3 HST Primer

The HST Primer provides a basic introduction to the technical aspects of HST and its instruments, and explains how to request the appropriate number of orbits in a Phase I proposal. The HST Primer is accessible from the Cycle 17 Announcement Web Pages.

1.4.4 Instrument Handbooks

The Instrument Handbooks are the primary source of information for the HST instruments. You should use current versions of the Instrument Handbooks when preparing a proposal. They are available for all instruments, including former instruments that may be of interest for Archival Research. The Handbooks are distributed electronically, and can be accessed from the HST Documents Web Page. This page also provides links to more detailed technical information, such as that provided in Instrument Science Reports.

1.4.5 The Astronomer's Proposal Tool (APT)

The Astronomer's Proposal Tool (APT) was introduced in Cycle 12 as the interface for all Phase I and Phase II proposal submissions for HST. The current version of APT has some minor bug fixes and enhancements included, but is basically the same system that was used in Cycle 16. See the What's New button in APT for details on the changes. The APT Web Page contains information on the installation and use of APT.

The Aladin Sky Atlas is available via the APT. This interface can be used to display HST apertures on images of the sky. This tool brings a variety of benefits to users including access to a wide variety of images and catalogs, as well as more capabilities for displaying and manipulating images than the old VTT. Training documentation and videos can be found on the APT Training Materials page.

1.4.6 Exposure Time Calculators (ETCs)

STScI provides Exposure Time Calculators (ETCs) for each of the HST instruments. Please use those electronic tools to estimate how long you need to integrate to achieve the signal-to-noise ratio required for your project. The ETCs will also issue warnings about target count rates that exceed linearity and safety limits. The ETCs can be accessed from the individual instrument Web pages, which in turn are accessible from the HST Instruments Web Page.

1.4.7 HST Data Archive

The HST Data Archive is a part of the Multimission Archive at STScI (MAST). The HST Data Archive contains all the data taken by HST. Completed HST observations from both GO and GTO Programs are available to the community upon the expiration of their proprietary periods. Observations taken under the Treasury and public parallel programs carry no proprietary period.

The MAST Web page provides an overview of the HST Data Archive, as well as the procedures for retrieving archival data (see also the introductory description in Section 7.2 of the HST Primer). A copy of the HST Data Archive is maintained at the Space Telescope - European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF; see Appendix A.2) in Garching, to which European requests should normally be addressed. The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC; see Appendix A.3) also maintains a copy of HST science data (only), and is the preferred source for Canadian astronomers.

The Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA) is a recent project to offer enhanced HST archive products. The HLA is a joint project of the Space Telescope Science Institute, the European Coordinating Facility, and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre. It offers access to high level HST products including composite images and interactive tools for previewing data products. Section 7.3 of the HST Primer contains more detailed information about the HLA.

1.4.8 Duplication checking

The HST Data Archive provides access to several tools that allow you to check whether planned observations duplicate any previously executed, protected GTO, or accepted HST observations. See Section 5.2.2 for details.