About This Article
1. WFC3 Instrument Handbook for Cycle 30
L. Dressel
The Cycle 30 edition of the WFC3 Instrument Handbook has been published. A PDF version of the entire Handbook is linked to the top of the webpage. The web version can be searched for information on specific topics by using the Search box below the Table of Contents. For example, "single guide star" produces a list of articles where this phrase occurs. On the consequent result page, the question mark icon in the search box links to a menu that provides descriptions of how to refine this search using logical statements, wildcards, etc. A more limited search can be conducted by selecting one of the chapters in the Table of Contents and using the Search box provided under Chapter Contents.
Figure 1: Web version of the Cycle 30 WFC3 Instrument Handbook. A PDF version is downloadable using the top annotated link, while the web version is searchable using the search box annotated below.
Updates to the previous edition of the Handbook are described in Section 1.1:
- We have provided improved system throughput plots for UVIS filters in Section 6.5.1 and in Appendix A (Section A.2).
- We have provided improved system throughput plots for IR filters in Section 7.5.1 and in Appendix A (Section A.2).
- We have created Section 6.8.2 to describe sensitivity measurements, the sensitivity ratio of the CCD chips, and the sensitivity change over time for the UVIS detector.
- We have created Section 7.8.2 to describe sensitivity measurements made with the IR filters and grisms.
- We have provided updated measurements and discussion of Charge Transfer Efficiency (CTE) on the UVIS CCD chips, with descriptions of methods to reduce and estimate signal loss and the limitations of the methods, in Section 6.9.
- We have added a summary of the WFC3 calibration plan for the upcoming cycle in Appendix E (Section E.15)
2. TrExoLiSTS: Transiting Exoplanets List of Space Telescope Spectroscopy
N. Nikolov, A. Kovacs, C. Martlin.
We present the new STScI's WFC3 project webpage, Transiting Exoplanets List of Space Telescope Spectroscopy, TrExoLiSTS. It tabulates existing observations of transiting exoplanets available in the MAST archive made with HST/WFC3 in the UV and IR channels using the stare or spatial scan mode. The webpage includes time series observations obtained during primary transits, secondary eclipses and phase curves. We hope TrExoLiSTS will reduce target duplication and redundant effort in proposal preparation. The webpage includes a user-friendly interface for easier navigation through the contents and a search bar allowing quick identification of targets by name or equatorial coordinates, program identifiers, instrument settings, observing dates and program details. Reference for the quality of visits obtained 1.5 years ago and earlier are made available via including a direct image, white light curve, and drift of the spectral time series across the detector along the dispersion and cross-dispersion axes. Program identifiers and target names are linked with proposal details and exoMAST entries, respectively. A full contents download is available in machine readable format. Details on the methods for parsing the contents for TrExoLiSTS will be presented in an Instrument Science Report. Future improvements to the webpage will include: Expanding program query to other HST instruments. With the launch of JWST, we envision expansions of this tool in the future to include similar information for transit observations made with JWST instruments. Link to TrExoLiSTS: https://www.stsci.edu/~WFC3/trexolists/trexolists.html Credit: Jenny Medina, Harish Khandrika, Kevin Stevenson.
Figure 2. Example of the current version of the Trexolists project catalogue.
3. New Documentation
ISR 2021-16: WFC3/UVIS: Deuterium Lamp and Filter Performance 2009-2021 - B. Kuhn & H. Khandrika
The complete WFC3 ISR archive is available here.
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