B/xmm XMM-Newton Observation Log (XMM-Newton Science Operation Center, 2012-)
The XMM-Newton Observation Log
<XMM-Newton Science Operation Center (2002-2014)>
=2002yCat....102009X 2002yCat....102009X
ADC_Keywords: X-ray sources ; Observatory log
Mission_Name: XMM
Description:
The XMM-Newton observatory is a cornerstone mission of the European
Space Agency (ESA) Horizon 2000 program. This spacecraft, the largest
ever flown by ESA for a scientific program, was launched on December
10, 1999, carrying a payload funded by ESA member states and the USA
(NASA).
The scientific payload comprises three CCD imaging cameras (European
Photon Imaging Cameras, EPIC), sensitive in the 0.1-15 keV band, and
two Reflecting Grating Spectrometers (RGS), sensitive in the 0.3-2.1
keV band, and characterized by a resolving power E/ΔE = 100 to
800. The X-ray instruments are complemented by an Optical Monitor,
sensitive in the 150-650nm band, which allows simultaneous
multiwavelength monitoring of celestial sources.
The XMM-Newton observational program is determined on the bases of
the proposals sent in response to Announcement of Opportunities, and
selected by peer review panels. The XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA)
contains all the science data of all the performed observations. Its
user interface (http:xmm.vilspa.esa.es/xsa) allows a user to retrieve
them after the 1-year proprietary period has expired. Calibration
observations are normally not covered by proprietary rights; their
data being therefore public. Target of Opportunity and Discretionary
Time observations have a 6-months proprietary period.
For each archived observation, the XSA stores Observation Data Files
(ODF) and Pipeline Processing System (PPS) products, if available, as
well as the XMM-Newton EPIC serendipitous catalogue, the OM source
catalogue and the Slew Survey Source Catalogue (see the catalogues
documentation at http://xmm.esac.esa.int/xsa). The ODF comprises raw
telemetry files, reformatted in FITS format, and contains uncalibrated
information. The PPS products are a collection of top-level, validated
scientific and cross-correlation products, routinely generated by the
Science Survey Center, University of Leicester, UK
(http://xmmssc-www.star.le.ac.uk).
The content of the XSA is updated daily. The latest version of all the
scientific data is made available through its interface. Systematic
reprocessing of all the XMM-Newton telemetry is periodically carried
on during the mission. The last bulk reprocessing was performed
in 2007.
The XMM-Newton observation log lists all the science observations
included in the XSA. This log gives observation details and provides
links to quick-look scientific products, to documents describing
XMM-Newton science and calibration data, and to the SAS (Science
Analysis System), a specific software package designed to reduce and
analyze XMM-Newton data. Additional links in the log allows a user to
start a retrieval session for the data of an observation, whenever not
protected by proprietary rights.
XMM-Newton HelpDesk:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_user_support/helpdesk.shtml
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
xmmlog.dat 157 18528 The XMM-Newton Observation log (2025-09-25)
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See also:
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/ : XMM-Newton Science Operation Center home page
Byte-by-byte Description of file: xmmlog.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1-10 I010 --- Obsno Observation identifier (1)
12-49 A38 --- PIname PI name (family first)
51 A1 --- XSAlink [YN] XMM-Newton Science Archive link
available for this observation (yes/no)
53-62 A10 "Y_M-D" PropDate Proprietary period expiry date
64-93 A30 --- Object Target as specified in proposal
95-103 F9.5 deg RAdeg ? Median pointing RA (J2000)
105-113 F9.5 deg DEdeg ? Median pointing Declination (J2000)
115-124 A10 "Y_M-D" Obs0.date ? Observation start date (UT)
126-133 A8 "h:m:s" Obs0.time ? Observation start time (UT)
135-144 A10 "Y_M-D" Obs1.date ? Observation end date (UT)
146-153 A8 "h:m:s" Obs1.time ? Observation end time (UT)
155-161 I7 s ObsDur ? Observation on-time
163-167 A5 --- SASVersion SAS version for PPS products(2)
169-169 A1 --- Image [YN] Epic image of this observation (FITS)
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Note (1): in the format "PPPPPPOORR", where "PPPPPP" is the proposal number,
"OO" is the observation number, and "RR" is the repetition number
(Note: the number may be larger than 231, hence the A10 format)
Note (2): SAS version employed to generate the PPS products
"Multiple" if it is not unambiguously defined
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Acknowledgements:
Christophe ARVISET, XMM-Newton SOC and ESAC
Nora Loiseau and Matteo Guainazzi [XMM-Newton SOC]
History:
The XMM log is updated weekly since June 2002. The date of the current
release is indicated in the "File Summary" section above.
In November 2013, a new version of the XMM log was created.
The slew observations were removed, thus the number of observations
dropped from 12786 at the end of October to 10622 in November 2013.
(End) Francois Ochsenbein [CDS] 05-Jun-2002