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GALAXY EVOLUTION EXPLORER (GALEX)GUEST INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM - Cycle 2
1.Guest Investigator (GI) Program Description 1.1 Overview 1.2 Program Types 1.2.1 New Observations 1.2.2 Archival Investigations 1.2.3 Unscheduled Observing Time – Targets of Opportunity and Discretionary Time 1.3 Mission Capabilities and Constraints – Cycle 2 1.4 General Guidelines and Policies 1.4.1 Proposal Process 1.4.2 Who May Propose 1.4.3 Late Proposals 1.5 Data Rights and Distribution 1.7 Proposal Evaluation and Selection 1.8 Funding for US Investigators 1.9 Education and Public Outreach 2. Proposal Preparation and Submission 2.1 General Information on NASA Proposals 2.2 Notice of Intent 2.3 Cover Page 2.4 Proposal Format and Content 2.5 Proposal Template, Examples, and Instructions 3.1 Mission Overview 3.3 Satellite Operations and Observation Planning 3.3.1 Observation Modes 3.3.2 Brightness Limits 3.4 Data Processing, Calibration, and Distribution 3.4.1 Pipeline Processing and Calibration 3.4.2 Data distribution GALEX GUEST INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM - Cycle 21 Guest Investigator (GI) Program Description1.1 OverviewThis program element (NNH05ZSD001N ) of the 2005 ROSES solicits proposals for the acquisition and analysis of new scientific data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). GALEX operates in two broad bands, Far-UV (FUV, 1350-1800 Å) and Near-UV (NUV, 1800-2800 Å), providing wide-field (1.2o) imaging and low resolution (R = 150-300) grism spectroscopy, with sufficient sensitivity to study a wide variety of objects within and outside of our Galaxy. GALEX was launched on April 28, 2003. The GALEX primary mission is scheduled for completion in September 2006. During the period from October 2005-September 2006, the scientific capabilities of GALEX will be available to the astronomical community for scientific investigations that do not duplicate the GALEX PI team investigations. This solicitation is for Cycle 2 of the GALEX Guest Investigator (GI) Program, to be carried out beginning on or after October 1, 2005, and lasting approximately 12 months. Section 2 contains instructions for proposal preparation. A brief description of the GALEX mission is provided in Section 3; a more detailed description can be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/. 1.2 Program Types Proposals submitted in response to this program may be for new observations with GALEX, or for analysis of existing GALEX data. Approximately 1500 orbital nights (1/3 of the available observing time) will be available to the community for new observations in Cycle 2. There are four proposal categories: 1) Standard, 2) Legacy, and 3) Snap proposals are for new observations; 4) Archival proposals are for investigations using the rich GALEX archival data set. Mixed proposals may be submitted that include some new observations and some archival work, provided the archival work is not expected to comprise more than ~1/3 of the investigation's effort; these should be submitted as the relevant type of observing proposal. If more than ~1/3 of a combined investigation is expected to comprise work with archival data, and the investigators wish to request funding for the archival work, then two separate proposals (one new observing, one archival) should be submitted and the connection noted in each proposal. More information on these different proposal types may be found in the following sections.
1.2.1 New Observations: Program Categories and Time AllocationGALEX observing time is allocated in orbital nights (orbits). Proposals should request only the time needed for scientific exposures. 1. Standard proposals provide the opportunity to observe targets specified by the proposer. These may include shallow or deep imaging, shallow or deep grism observations, repeated visits to observe time-variable phenomena, or mapping of regions of the sky not observed by the GALEX primary science surveys. NASA intends to execute all observations associated with accepted proposals.
NASA anticipates that at least 25% of the GI observing time in Cycle 2 will be allocated to Legacy proposals. Although there is no assurance that any specific target in a Snap program will be observed, NASA expects that data will be obtained for many targets in this category. Snap programs are obtaining approximately ??% of their targets (as of Jan 30, 2005). Following the evaluation of submitted proposals, some proposals submitted but not accepted by NASA under the Standard category may be recommended for inclusion in the Snap category. In Cycle 2, it will be the proposer's option to accept or reject such reprogramming of a submitted Standard proposal. Observing Program Constraints – Proposers may request observations using only GALEX standard observing modes. These are described briefly in Section 3.3.1 and in more detail in the GALEX Observers Guide.
1.2.2 Archival InvestigationsProposals will be accepted for scientific investigations based on the first two GALEX data releases (GR1 and GR2). GR2 will become publicly available in mid-October, 2005. The first two releases will contain ~33% of the data for each of the GALEX primary mission surveys. GR1 data may be found at http://galex.stsci.edu A listing of the expected contents of GR2 may be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/targets. This listing may be updated after the NRA release but will not be changed after 11 March, 2005. There is no guarantee that all of the observations expected to be in GR2 will be successful; archival proposals based on fields that are not observed in time to be included in DR2 will not be funded in Cycle 2 and must be reproposed in future cycles as the relevant data becomes available. Investigators considering an Archival proposal should pay close attention to the GALEX primary science investigations. Although Archival proposals may be based on any data released in the GALEX data releases, they may not duplicate the science goals of type 1 PI science team investigations. 1.2.3 Unscheduled Observing TimeTargets of Opportunity -- The GALEX mission is poorly suited for Targets of Opportunity (ToO). However, because of the potential scientific impact of ToO observations (for targets such as supernovae, novae, cataclysmic variables in outburst, comets, etc.), limited ToO observations will be supported in Cycle 2. Scientists wishing to observe such targets should prepare and submit proposals according to the same procedures used for a Standard program (i.e., as described in Section 2. A proposal may not contain a mixture of ToO targets and non-ToO targets. Target of Opportunity status should be noted in the Special Requirements section of the proposal. ToO proposals will be reviewed in the regular review cycle, and successful proposals will be approved and will be allocated specific amounts of provisional observing time. (However, the review panels may recommend a maximum amount of observing time that should be allocated to a given ToO program.) Up to four ToO programs requiring a response time between one week and one month will be approved for Cycle 2.
The lack of a real-time observing capability constrains the speed with which a ToO observation can be implemented. The GALEX ToO response time is expected to be no less than 7 days during Cycle 2. ToO proposals must clearly state the required response time. It will be the GI's responsibility to notify the GALEX Mission Scientist and the GALEX Science Operations Center at the California Institute of Technology (CIT) when any approved opportunity has occurred. The Mission Scientist will consult with the GALEX PI and other members of the GALEX operations team to determine the feasibility of observing the particular event and the impact of disrupting ongoing observations, before deciding whether or not to activate the ToO program and approve the observation. Discretionary Observing Time -- Mission Scientist's Discretionary Observing Time (DOT) is intended for observations of an urgent nature for which no approved observing program exists, and that are of sufficiently high scientific merit and priority that they should not be delayed to the next observing cycle. The total amount of DOT available during Cycle 2 is extremely limited. The GALEX Mission Scientist may approve DOT in those cases where the scientific timeliness of the project is such that it should be done quickly, the need for the observation could not have been foreseen and proposed for in the current observing cycle, and the observation does not duplicate or infringe on PI or approved GI programs. A proposal for DOT may be submitted to the Mission Scientist in the form of a letter (printed or electronic) and should describe the scientific objectives, reason(s) for requiring GALEX, the proposed observations and their feasibility, and should explain why DOT should be granted in lieu of consideration during the next proposal cycle. All requests for DOT will be reviewed for scientific merit and technical feasibility.
1.3 Mission Capabilities and Constraints During Cycle 2This section summarizes GALEX capabilities that should be considered by all GALEX proposers. Complete information on the GALEX instrument and other topics is available from the GALEX Observer’s Guide and the Mission and Instrument Overview (both available from http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Documents). Sensitivity Limits – There are fundamental detector performance limitations which preclude observations of individual bright targets, of target fields containing bright stars, and of bright or crowded fields (section 3.3.2). Proposers should pay particular attention to this issue in the “Feasibility and Safety” section of their proposals. New observing techniques are being tested that may permit limited (FUV only) observations of objects at or near the bright limits cited here, if the observation poses no risk to the instrument (as determined in technical review by the GALEX operations team). Updated information about this option will be posted on the GALEX GI web site (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/), as it becomes available. Further information on brightness limits may be found in Section 3.3.2 and in the detector section of the GALEX Observers Guide. Further information on the detectors may be found in the GALEX Detector Operations Guide. Observing Modes - GALEX has two observing modes, broad-band imaging and grism spectroscopy. The exposure time alone defines the achievable signal-to-noise ratio for a given image or spectrum. Imaging observations are typically done either in “single-visit” (“stare/dither” mode - observe one field for one orbital night) or in “All-sky Imaging Survey (AIS)” mode (observe several contiguous or overlapping fields, each for the same exposure time, in one orbital night). Grism spectroscopy is done only in “single visit” mode with a different grism angle used for each orbital night. Observations are generally obtained in both FUV and NUV bands simultaneously. Further information on observing modes may be found in Section 3.3.1 and in the GALEX Observers Guide. Targets of Opportunity - The GALEX ToO response time for prompt events is expected to be no less than 7 days during Cycle 2, and is likely to be 2 weeks or more (Section 1.2.3). 1.4 General Guidelines and Policies1.4.1 Proposal ProcessProposers should submit a Notice of Intent to Propose in order to facilitate the timely selection of peer review panels. Although Notices of Intent are strongly recommended, they are not required to propose for the GALEX GI program. 1.4.2 Who May ProposeParticipation in the GALEX GI Program is open to individuals associated with all categories of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations, including educational institutions, industry, nonprofit institutions, NASA Centers, and other Government agencies. Each GALEX GI proposal must identify a single Principal Investigator (PI) who assumes full responsibility for the conduct of the scientific investigation. Proposal Co-Investigators must have well-defined roles in the investigation, which will be evaluated as part of the proposal review process. Following selection by NASA, the various participants in the GALEX GI program (GALEX GI Center at GSFC, the GALEX SOC at CIT, and the Multimission Archive at Space Telescope (MAST) ) will communicate formally only with the PI (or his/her designee) of each proposal. It is this person's responsibility to provide the GSC at CIT with the necessary data that defines each observation in a timely manner and to respond promptly to any questions concerning observational constraints or configurations. 1.4.3 Late ProposalsConsistent with NASA policy, a late proposal may be considered only if it is judged to be in the best interests of the Government. However, a proposal submitted after the published deadline is unlikely to be considered of uniquely greater value to NASA than proposals submitted on time. A proposal is considered “on time” only if all necessary components, including electronic material, have been received by the published deadline. Finally, note that processing delays at the proposer's home institution, delays due to mail inspection, late delivery due to the method of shipment, or Internet delays do not excuse late submission of a proposal. 1.5 Data Rights and DistributionData rights for GALEX GI observations (Legacy, Standard and Snap programs) reside solely with each observing program's Principal Investigator for a period of six months following availability of the processed data at the GALEX data archive in MAST (http://galex.stsci.edu/). GIs will be notified electronically when their data are available from the archive. After this period, the data become available for public access through MAST. Investigators, particularly for Legacy Proposals, are encouraged to consider waiving the proprietary period for their data. Observations of calibration targets/fields generally have no proprietary period and will be released through the GALEX archive as soon as the processed data products are available. The GALEX Project reserves the right to use any GALEX observation to assist in assessing the performance of the instrument, but the confidentiality of data obtained for scientific programs will be maintained. 1.6 TargetsThe Cycle 2 observing opportunity primarily seeks to identify new targets for observation with the GALEX satellite or to obtain significantly deeper exposures of already-observed targets. Lists of all targets planned for observation in the GALEX Prime Mission may be found at (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/targets ). Each target's name and celestial coordinates (right ascension and declination, epoch J2000) will be considered when judging any potential target duplications.
1.7 Proposal Evaluation and Selection ProcessProposals submitted to NASA in response to this opportunity will be evaluated in a competitive peer review conducted by NASA Headquarters, using review panels organized by scientific research area. Upon completion of the review by the individual panels, a final cross-discipline panel review chaired by a NASA HQ representative will synthesize the results of the individual panels. Legacy proposals will be reviewed with other GALEX proposals in the same scientific discipline as well as in other disciplines. (stellar evolution, ISM, large scale structure, etc). Each scientific panel will have the option to forward a small number of Legacy proposals for final evaluation by the chairs of the GALEX peer panels; this panel of chairs will formulate the final recommendations to NASA for the Cycle 2 observing program. Based on these results, the GALEX Program Scientist will then develop a recommendation for the total program to be submitted to the Selection Official. The final proposal selection will be made by the director of the Universe Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. 1. The overall scientific merit of the proposed investigation; 2. The suitability and feasibility of using the GALEX observatory or GALEX data for the proposed investigation; 3. The feasibility of accomplishing the objectives of the investigation; 4. The degree to which the investigation uses the unique capabilities of GALEX; 5. The feasibility and scope of the data analysis plans;
Legacy proposals will also be evaluated on: 7. Provisions to provide legacy data to the community in a timely fashion (possibly waiving the proprietary period) and/or plans to provide enhanced data products to the community.
Scientific review panels will be given an assessment of the technical feasibility of each proposal, determined by the GALEX operations team. After acceptance of an observing program by NASA, successful proposers must prepare detailed (Phase 2) observing plans for submission to the GSC at CIT. These Phase 2 plans are required for scheduling purposes, and will be assessed again for feasibility. Should there be any question regarding the safety or feasibility of individual observations, the GALEX PI, in consultation with the GALEX Mission Scientist, will make the final decision as to whether or not to attempt or postpone a particular observation, based on the latest information available regarding the satellite’s on-orbit performance. 1.8 Funding for U.S. InvestigatorsLimited funds for awards under this NRA are expected to be available to investigators at U.S. institutions, subject to the annual NASA budget cycle. Approximately $2M is expected to be available, and is expected to support approximately 30-40 investigations. Successful proposers at U.S. institutions, including U.S. Co-Investigators on successful non-U.S. proposals, will be eligible for funding. Funding will be available for both new observations and for archival investigations. Budgets should not be submitted with research proposals in response to this NRA. Selected investigators will receive a funding guideline from NASA based on the scope of the approved observing program and the available budget for the GALEX GI program. The primary guideline for new observations will be a program’s total time allocation. Secondary factors include proposal ranking, scope of data analysis plans, and the number of targets/observations. The primary guideline for archival proposals will be scope of data analysis. A budget summary and narrative description of how these funds will be used must be submitted after receipt of the guideline. An institutional signature will be required when a budget is submitted. 1.9 Education and Public Outreach The policy of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) continues to encourage strongly the participation by the space science community in education and public outreach activities, with the goal of enhancing the Nation’s formal education system and contributing to the broad public understanding of science, mathematics, and technology. A significant national program in space science education and outreach is now underway, and SMD’s demonstrated contributions to education and outreach have now become an important part of the broader justification for the public support of space science (for further details see the SMD’s “Education and Public Outreach” page (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/research/epo.htm). Education is also now one of the core missions of NASA. 2. Proposal Preparation and Submission2.1 Proposal PreparationGeneral information on the preparation and submission of research proposals to NASA may be found in the 2005 NASA HQ NRA Proposers Guidebook (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/). If you have questions about the general nature of NASA NRAs, or questions or problems with submitting NOIs or HQ Cover Pages, please consult the NASA HQ Proposal Submission FAQ page, or send technical support questions to proposals@hq.nasa.gov.
Questions about the GALEX Guest Investigator Proposals or the GALEX Cycle 2 proposal submission process should be directed to the GALEX GI help desk.2.2 Notice of Intent
In order to expedite the proposal review process and the timely selection of scientific peer review panels, investigators intending to submit proposals for participation in this program should submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to propose by March 11, 2005 The NOI Web site will request the tentative title of the investigation, name and affiliation of the PI and any Co-I's, and a brief summary of the objectives of the proposed investigation.
(Return to Table of Contents)
2.3 Cover Page
The Cover Page must be submitted by the proposers’ institution (this is new in 2005 and is required for all NASA proposals). All proposals must be prefaced by an integrated Cover Page / Proposal Summary that contains important information required by NASA. This item is produced by first entering the requested information electronically through the NASA Peer Review Services (NPRS) Web site (http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/) and then printing this form. The printed copy of the electronically submitted form must be signed by the PI and submitted as part of the printed proposal (also required for all NASA proposals), so it should be submitted well before the deadline. No institutional signature is required for Phase 1 proposal submission. Please note that the entire NSPIRES proposal submission system is new this year, and initial indications are that it is not user-friendly. The GALEX GI program is one of the first programs to use it, so glitches are likely. Please allow extra time.Non-US GI's should download and complete the Non-US Proposer Coversheet. (US proposers tempted to cheat and use the Non-US form, should note that submission through NSPIRES is required to receive funding.)
|
|
Survey |
Survey Parameters |
Scientific objectives |
||||||
|
Area [deg2] |
Time [Mo.] |
Expos [ksec] |
Mag. Limit [mAB*] |
Flux Limit**_ |
# Gals (est.) |
Vol. [Gpc3] |
<z> |
|
|
All-sky Imaging (AIS) |
40,000 |
4 |
0.1 |
20.5 |
1.5x10-16 |
107 |
1.5 |
0.2 |
|
Wide Spectroscopic (WSS) |
80 |
4 |
30 |
20 |
2.4x10-16 |
104-5 |
0.03 |
0.15 |
|
Nearby Galaxies (NGS) |
--- |
0.5 |
1.5 |
27.5 [arcsec-2] |
3.8x10-19 |
100 |
--- |
-- |
|
Medium Imaging (MIS) |
1000 |
2 |
1.5 |
23.5 |
9.6x10-18 |
3 x 106 |
~1 |
0.6 |
|
Medium Spectroscopic (MSS) |
8 |
2 |
300 |
21.5 R=100] 23.3 [R=20] |
4.7x10-17 1.1x10-17 |
104-5 |
0.03 |
0.5 |
|
Deep Spectroscopic (DSS) |
2 |
4 |
1500 |
22.5 R=100] 24.3 [R=20] |
2.4x10-17 4.6x10-18 |
104-5 |
0.05 |
0.9 |
|
Deep Imaging (DIS) |
80 |
4 |
30 |
25 |
2.4x10-18 |
107 |
1.0 |
0.85 |
|
Ultra-Deep Imaging (UDIS) |
4 |
1 |
150 |
26 |
9.0x10-19 |
3x105 |
0.05 |
0.9 |
* mAB = m0 – 2.5 log (Flux / U), where
UFUV = 2.05 x 10-16 ergs cm-2 Å-1 s-1, UNUV = 1.40 x 10-15 ergs cm-2 Å–1 s -1
m0_FUV = 18.82 , m0_NUV = 20.18
**Flux limits are given for the NUV band, and are in ergs cm-2 Å–1 sec-1
The wide field-of-view and spectral windows provided by GALEX permits the study of many important astrophysical subjects besides galaxy evolution. These include, but are not limited to: stellar winds and outflows, post-main-sequence stellar evolution, binary/multiple star evolution, globular cluster structure and evolution, massive stars, supernova remnants, reflection nebulae, interstellar dust, structure of the ISM / IGM, the UV background, nearby galaxy populations, galaxy clusters, intergalactic material, QSO evolution, and large scale structure.
More information on GALEX science objectives and further information on GALEX survey content and strategy may be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/science .
GALEX is a 50cm UV-optimized telescope that obtains images simultaneously in two bands: 1350-1800Å (far-UV, FUV) and 1800-2800Å (near-UV, NUV). The field of view is 1.2 degrees and the angular resolution is 4-6 arcsec. GALEX can also obtain slitless spectroscopy (same field of view and spatial resolution) with spectral resolution of R=200-350 (FUV) and 80-150 (NUV). The telescope has one primary 50 cm mirror, which feeds light through either an imaging window or an imaging grism, to a dichroic beamsplitter, and into two sealed-tube microchannel-plate photon-counting detectors. The effective area is ~35 cm2 for the FUV channel and ~65 cm2 for the NUV channel. The high throughput results from an optical design utilizing a high-efficiency beam splitter, a high–efficiency CaF2 grism, and multilayer reflective coatings optimized for wavelength coverage in the GALEX range. Further details on the GALEX instrument can be found in the Instrument Status paper , the GALEX Mission and Instrument Summary, the GALEX Observer’s Guide, and the GALEX Detector Flight Operations Guide.
GALEX is in a nearly circular orbit with a mean altitude of 690 km, an orbital inclination of 29o, and an orbital period of 98 minutes with ~2100 sec orbital nights. The plane of the orbit precesses with a period of 60 days. Typically, GALEX is in contact with the ground station for 8-12 minutes per orbit for 10 consecutive orbits, followed by five orbits with no contact. All GALEX scientific observations are conducted autonomously by the onboard instrument data system, from week-long observing plans. Science observations are made only during orbital nights, with a maximum possible time of ~1700 sec/orbit available for science observations. Proposers should assume 1 orbit = 1500sec for the purpose of determining the number of orbits required.
3.3.1 Observation modes
All science data collection uses a spiral dither, to prevent bright-star-induced fatigue of localized regions on the detectors and to improve image flat-fielding. In “single-visit” (or “stare/dither”) mode, only one field center is observed for the entire eclipse. In “sub-visit observations” (or “AIS mode”), several (typically 10-12) contiguous field centers are observed during one orbital night. Grism observations are always done in “single visit” mode at a single grism orientation; multiple observations (typically ~20 for WSS) are made at different grism orientations. Grism images require a “pre-image”, which may be an existing GALEX image (if the field centers are within ?? arcmin). In Cycle 2, all new pre-images require a full orbit. All GALEX science data is sent down as time-tagged photon lists, allowing ex-post-facto aspect determination and image reconstruction. GI observations may use only these standard GALEX observing modes. We hope in future cycles to offer a “short pre-image + long grism in a single orbit” option but the Caltech team cannot support this option in Cycle 2.
3.3.2 Brightness Limits
There are bright star detector limits that, because of the wide field of view, significantly affect flexibility of mission planning when choosing targets. Fundamental detector safety requirements limit observations of bright targets. Currently, point sources, with flat spectra, may not be observed (imaging or grism) that are brighter than:
FUV: 5000cps or mAB = 9.5 or Fl = 7 x 10-12 erg cm-2 s-1 Å-1 in the FUV;
NUV: 5000cps or mAB = 10.8 or Fl = 1 x 10-12 erg cm-2 s-1 Å-1 in the NUV.
Bright and / or crowded fields may not be observed if they exceed total brightness levels of:
FUV: 15,000cps or Fl = 2.0 x 10-11 erg cm-2 s-1 Å-1
NUV: 50,000cps or Fl = 1.0 x 10-11 erg cm-2 s-1 Å-1
Pointing centers must be separated from bright stars by :
0.75o for an object with Fl_NUV = 1 x 10-12, or mAB = 10.8 (5,000 cps)
0.88o for an object with Fl_NUV = 1 x 10-11, or mAB = 8.3 (50,000 cps)
1.00o for an object with Fl_NUV = 4 x 10-11, or mAB = 6.8 (200,000 cps)
1.50o for an object with Fl_NUV = 1 x 10-10, or mAB = 5.8 (500,000 cps)
2.00o for an object with Fl_NUV = 2 x 10-10, or mAB = 5.0 (1,000,000 cps)
(Fluxes and magnitudes in NUV band (~ 2300 Å), Fl in ergs cm-2 s-1 Å-1 )
The Safety Checking Tool will check for all of these, and should be used to check any field of interest, and the results discussed in the “Safety” section of the proposal. A bright star finder, star catalogue (listing observed TD-1 UV fluxes), an astrographic catalogue (AC2000 combined with Tycho), an exposure simulator, and other tools may also be found at the Tools page of the GALEXGI site (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/tools.
Proposers expecting to observe objects near these brightness limits should consult the GALEX Observer’s Guide and the GALEX Detector Guide for further information and restrictions, and should pay particular attention to this issue in the “Safety” section of their proposals. New observing techniques are being tested that may permit limited observations (FUV only) of objects at/near the bright limits cited here, if the observation poses no risk to the instrument (as determined in technical review by the GALEX operations team). Updated information about this option will be posted on the GALEX GI web site (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/) as it becomes available.
3.4.1 Pipeline Processing
Data pipeline processing is done at the GALEX SOC, including image construction from time-tag photon lists, flat-fielding, background subtraction, photometric calibration, image rectifying, astrometric solution, and transformation into North-up FITS images. In the case of imaging observations, the pipeline then detects objects in the field, extracts object properties, and collects the objects and their properties into catalogues. In the case of grism observations, the different grism orientations are stacked, individual source spectra are extracted, wavelength calibrated, corrected for spectral response, and collected into catalogues. The astrometric accuracy of the resulting images is ~1 arcsecond (worse at the edge of the field). The photometric accuracy is currently routinely ~8% (and continues to improve as more in-flight calibration is obtained), and the wavelength accuracy of the spectral ranges is 1-2 Å relative, 2-4 Å absolute. More details may be found in the GALEX Observer’s Guide, the Early Release Data Description, the GALEX Pipeline Data Guide, and the GALEX In-Flight Calibration Guide (all available, with several others, at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Documents).
The GALEX project will produce a series of image and spectroscopic products in addition to the images and spectra. These will be delivered, with the images and spectra, in GALEX Data Releases (GRs). The second public data release (GR2) will occur in mid-October 2005; the first two releases will contain approximately 33% of the data for each of the GALEX primary mission surveys, as well as accompanying data products. All data in GR1 and GR2 may be used in GALEX Cycle 2 archival proposals.
The GALEX data is permanently archived at the Multimission Archive at Space Telescope (MAST) (http://archive.stsci.edu/). GR1 data are available now (http://galex.stsci.edu/). In mid-October, 2005, GR2 will also become available through MAST. Guest Investigators will access their data through MAST, and MAST will provide selective access to proprietary data. Access procedures for public and proprietary data are similar to those for Hubble Space Telescope data. Only the PI of each GI program (and their designees) can access that program's data during the proprietary period. GALEX data distribution is by electronic file transfer from the MAST. Observations of calibration targets generally have no proprietary period. See Section 1.5 for additional information about GALEX data rights.
Primary Science Mission:
The primary GALEX mission is expected to run for 37 months, from 1 August 2003 to 30 September 2006. During GI Cycle 2 (last year of the primary mission), approximately one third of the observing time will be available for Guest Investigators.
GALEX Cycle 2 Guest Investigator Proposals:
NRA Release – 28 January 2005
Notices of Intent –- 4:30pm, EST, 11 March 2005.
(NOIs are not required but are strongly encouraged.)
Proposal Deadline -- 4:30pm, EDT, 8 April 2005.
Cycle 2 Observations: 1 October 2005 through 30 September 2006.
GALEX Data Releases: Early Release Observations – 1 December 2003
Data Release 1 (GR1) -- 1 January 2005
Data Release 2 (GR2) – November-December 2005
Scientific and technical questions concerning the GALEX GI Program should be directed to:
Dr. Susan Neff
GALEX Mission Scientist
Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics
Code 665
Goddard Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Greenbelt, MD 20771
USA
Telephone: 301-286-5137
Facsimile: 301-286-1753
E-mail: Susan.G.Neff@nasa.gov
Programmatic information may be obtained from:
Dr. Zlatan Tsvetanov
GALEX Program Officer
Universe Division
Code SZ
Science Mission Directorate
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546-0001
USA
Telephone: 202-358-0810
Facsimile: 202-358-3096
E-mail: Zlatan.Tsvetanov@nasa.gov
Technical information about the GALEX mission, the proposal template, and electronic form submission should be obtained, starting in early February 2004, from:
GALEX Help Desk
Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics
Code 665
Goddard Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Greenbelt, MD 20771
USA
Telephone: 301-286-0850
Facsimile: 301-286-1753
E-mail: GALEX.helpdesk@galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov
Responsible NASA Official:
Curator: