The Hubble Deep Field (HDF) is a Director's Discretionary program on HST in Cycle 5 to image an undistinguished field at high Galactic latitude in four passbands as deeply as reasonably possible. These images provide the most detailed view to date of distant field galaxies and are likely to be important for a wide range of studies in galaxy evolution and cosmology. In order to optimize observing in the time available, a field in the northern continuous viewing zone was selected and images were taken for ten consecutive days, or approximately 150 orbits. Shorter 1-2 orbit images were obtained of the fields immediately adjacent to the primary HDF in order to facilitate spectroscopic follow-up by ground-based telescopes. The observations were made from 18 to 30 December 1995, and both raw and reduced data have been put in the public domain as a community service. We present a summary of the criteria for selecting the field, the rationale behind the filter selection and observing times in each band, and the strategies for planning the observations to maximize the exposure time while avoiding earth-scattered light. Data reduction procedures are outlined, and images of the combined frames in each band are presented. Objects detected in these images are listed in a catalog with their basic photometric parameters.
With the development and operations deployment of the Astronomer's Proposal Tool (APT), Hubble Space Telescope (HST) proposers have been provided with an integrated toolset for Phase I and II. This toolset consists of editors for filling out proposal information, an Orbit Planner for determining observation feasibility, a Visit Planner for determining schedulability, diagnostic and reporting tools and an integrated Visual Target Tuner (VTT) for viewing exposure specifications. The VTT can also overlay HST's field of view on user-selected Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) images, perform bright object checks and query the HST archive.In addition to these direct benefits for the HST user, STScI's internal Phase I process has been able to take advantage of the APT products. APT has enabled a substantial streamlining of the process and software processing tools, which enabled a compression by three months of the Phase I to Phase II schedule, allowing to schedule observations earlier and thus further benefiting HST observers.Some of the improvements to our process include: creating a compact disk (CD) of Phase I products;being able to print all proposals on the day of the deadline; link the proposal in Portable Document Format (PDF) with a database, and being able to run all Phase I software on a single platform.In this paper we will discuss the operational results of using APT for HST's Cycles 12 and 13 Phase I process and will show the improvements for the users and the overall process that is allowing STScI to obtain scientific results with HST three months earlier than in previous years. We will also show how APT can be and is being used for multiple missions.
With the successful launch of NASA's third "Great Observatory', the Chandra X-ray Observatory (formerly AXAF), we are embarking on a new era of multi-wavelength science campaigns from space. To meet this challenge, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) have initiated a test program whereby proposals of a multiwavelength nature requiring both Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Chandra data can be submitted to either the HST Review Panel or the Chandra Review Panel. This joint activity enables proposers to avoid the "double jeopardy" of submitting to two separate reviews. By agreement with the CXC, STScI will award up to 400 kiloseconds of Chandra observing time, and similarly the CXC will award up to 100 orbits of HST time (about one week of observing time for each observatory). The only criterion above and beyond the usual review criteria is that both sets of data are required to meet the scientific goals.We discuss the multi-wavelength allocation concept, how the process worked for HST's Cycle 9 Review and modifications expected for Chandra's Cycle 2 Review. We will also address other missions, such as EUVE, FUSE, NOAO, SIRTF and NGST that might be included in coordinated observation time allocation in the future.
As the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) moves into its Second Decade of observations, we are embarking on bringing our Phase I submission system into the 21st Century as well. Proposing for Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observing time and archival research proceeds in two phases. In Phase I, the scientific merits of the proposal are considered. Only accepted proposals enter Phase II, where the observations are specified in complete detail.With the advent of state of the art technology and the excellent prototyping work that has brought the Astronomer's Proposal Tool (APT), formerly the Scientist's Expert Assistant (SEA), from a concept 3 years ago, to an approved Project for implementation, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). We plan to make HST's Phase I submission system to be an integral part of the APT. We have always tried to maintain our Phase I strategy of keeping the interface simple, as well as having a minimal learning curve. This strategy will be maintained in the APT framework as well.In this paper we will present our concept for the Science definition, and Phase I proposal development and submission tools. We also discuss how we are transforming our current Call for Proposals (CP) document into a smaller and more concise electronic document that will address our policies and submission process. This document will be built and maintained using innovative tools and XML. We will provide links to existing documentation as well as provide all of the relevant information available via the tool as on-line "context-sensitive" help.
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