The following sections give short descriptions of the contents and the access to the services at the time of writing. Please consider that some access possibilities and services may have already changed from the examples given here. Every installation provides on-line help reflecting the actual status.
Data from a specific observation, identified by its sequence number (6 digits) and an additional identifier ('p' for PSPC, 'f' for PSPC with filter and 'h' for HRI data), are stored in a subdirectory of directory 'archive/data'. PSPC data with sequence number 123456, for example, are stored in directory 'archive/data/123456p'. Follow up observation(s) have a postfix of '-1', '-2', ... E.g., the data of the first follow up observation of the above example are in archive/data/123456p-1.
Example session (copy data of PSPC observation 200014p):
% ftp rosat_svc.mpe-garching.mpg.de connect to the Service Area
user: anonymous; password: e-mail address
ftp> cd archive/data go to RDA main directory
ftp> cd 200014p proceed to proper observation directory
ftp> bin set binary mode transfer
ftp> prompt avoid prompting using mget
ftp> mget * copy all files from the directory
ftp> bye leave ftp
% gzip -d *-gz decompress files
Now the data (in FITS format) are ready for input to one of the
interactive analysis systems (EXSAS, PROS).
To receive data on tape (cassette), archive requests may also be sent via
mail or e-mail to the RSDC.
The proper request form is available in directory 'archive'.
ROSAT information is available within the XRAY account through the bulletin board and the database system. To access the bulletin board, simply type 'BULLETIN'; information on the latest HEASARC developments is posted there, as are status reports for ROSAT and GRO.
To access the database system, type 'BROWSE' followed by the name of the database you wish to view. ('BROWSE ?' lists available databases.) BROWSE is a command-driven program which allows users to manipulate, display, and execute analysis tasks on database entries.
Example session (search ROSATLOG for a specific PI name):
HEASARC> BROWSE ROSATLOG load the ROSATLOG database
...> HELP get help on browse commands
...> DBHELP get help on current database
...> SP PI WHITE Search the total sample for entries
with 'WHITE' as PI. All entries
will be displayed.
...> DALL 1 display all information in entry 1
...> RSAM reset the sample to TOTAL again
...> EXIT quit browse
ROSAT public archive data can be extracted using the BROWSE
request command.
Example session (obtaining data from the US public archive once data
files are located):
HEASARC> BROWSE ROSUSPSPC load the US PSPC database
...> SC do coordinate search (prompts for values)
...> displays all files matching search criterion
...> REQUEST starts automatic procedure to de-archive the data
that user requested as file numbers. Will prompt
user for their e-mail address
...> EXIT
BROWSE will send a request for data to ARMS (Automated Retrieval Mail System).
ARMS will de-archive and place the data
in an anonymous FTP area that the user can access for downloading. The system
will also notify the user via e-mail when the de-archiving has been completed.
For more information see the document 'Using the US Public Data Archive'
(see below).
BROWSE can also be accessed via the www HEASARC home page as given in the header.
A subset of ROSAT archival data that was used for instrument calibration
can be found under the directory
rosat/data/<hri or pspc>/processed_data/<seq-id group>/<seq-id>,
where <seq-id group> is one of 100000, 200000, ... 900000.
For example, data associated with the data set having sequence id
rp300023 is located in the directory
rosat/data/pspc/processed/data/300000/rp300023.
To minimize storage space, the data are stored on the jukebox in UNIX compressed format. Users can uncompress the data automatically when ftp'ing. To do this, simply "get" the file by specifying the filename WITHOUT the .Z extension. An example is shown below:
% ftp legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov user: anonymous; password: e-mail address ftp> cd rosat/data/pspc/processed_data/300000/rp300023 ftp> ls rp300023.fits.Z rp300023.fits.Z ftp> bin ftp> get rp300023.fits ftp> quitThis automatic uncompression will work for both VMS and UNIX systems. Users should note that automatic uncompression does NOT work with the ftp "mget" command. If the user wants to have access to the full archive then it is urged that as a first step the document Using the US ROSAT Public Data Archive should be obtained. The document describes in detail how to obtain data via BROWSE, ARMS or MIPS.
Queries about the LEDAS can be emailed to On-Line Services at the German XUV Data Center
UNIX users can apply their usual compress facility to decompress the data.
After renaming the extension of the compressed dataset
from _Z to .Z type: compress -d 200141.ima01.
VMS users can copy the executable COMPRESS.VMS from XUV_ARCHIVE:[XUV].
Then, at your home computer, rename it to COMPRESS.EXE and to install it,
type:
COMPRESS := $<disk>:[path]COMPRESS.EXE.
To decompress a dataset, type: COMPRESS -d 200141.IMA01.
For the future, it is intended to also keep the photon event files of all sources detected by the WFC (extraction radius TBD) in the on-line archive.
For all public data the complete set of files (including photon files, attitude file etc. in EXSAS compatible FITS format) is available on tape. The request should contain the ROR number of the observation, your postal address and the prefered transport medium (EXABYTE (default) or mag-tape).