Advanced Camera for Surveys Instrument Handbook for Cycle 14
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| Advanced Camera for Surveys Instrument Handbook for Cycle 14 | |||||
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1: Introduction
- 1.1 Purpose
- 1.2 Handbook Layout
- 1.3 Preparing an Observing Proposal with ACS
- 1.4 The Help Desk at STScI
- 1.5 The ACS Web Site and Supporting Information
Chapter 2: Special Considerations for Cycle 14
- 2.1 ACS is a Maturing Instrument
- 2.2 SBC Scheduling Policies
- 2.3 Prime and Parallel Observing with the SBC
- 2.4 Policy for Auto-Parallel Observations
- 2.5 Use of Available-but-Unsupported Capabilities
- 2.6 Data Volume Constraints
- 2.7 Charge Transfer Efficiency
- 2.8 Two-gyro Guiding
- 2.9 Status of STIS
Part II: User's Guide
Chapter 3: Introduction to ACS
- 3.1 Instrument Capabilities
- 3.2 Instrument Design
- 3.3 Basic Instrument Operations
- 3.3.1 Target Acquisitions
- 3.3.2 Typical ACS Observing Sequence
- 3.3.3 Data Storage and Transfer
- 3.3.4 Parallel Operations
- 3.4 Designing an ACS Observing Proposal
Chapter 4: Imaging
- 4.1 Imaging Overview
- 4.2 Which Instrument to Use?
- 4.2.1 Comparison of ACS and WFPC2
- 4.2.2 Comparison of ACS and NICMOS
- 4.2.3 Comparison of ACS and STIS
- 4.3 Caveats for ACS Imaging
- 4.3.1 Throughputs and Limiting Magnitudes
- 4.3.2 Limiting Magnitudes
- 4.3.3 Signal-To-Noise Ratios
- 4.3.4 Saturation
- 4.4 Wide Field Optical CCD Imaging
- 4.5 High-Resolution Optical and UV Imaging
- 4.6 Ultraviolet Imaging with the SBC
- 4.7 ACS Point Spread Functions
- 4.7.1 CCD Pixel Response Function
- 4.7.2 Model PSFs
- 4.7.3 Encircled Energy
- 4.7.4 Geometric Distortions
- 4.7.5 PSFs at Red Wavelengths and the UV
- 4.7.6 Residual Aberrations
- 4.8 Two-Gyro Guiding
Chapter 5: Polarimetry, Coronagraphy and Prism/Grism Spectroscopy
- 5.1 Polarimetry
- 5.2 Coronagraphy
- 5.2.1 Coronagraph Design
- 5.2.2 Acquisition Procedure and Pointing Accuracy
- 5.2.3 Vignetting and Flat Fields
- 5.2.4 Coronagraphic Performance
- 5.2.5 Residual Light Subtraction
- 5.2.6 The Off-Spot PSF
- 5.2.7 Occulting Spot Motions
- 5.2.8 Planning ACS Coronagraphic Observations
- 5.2.9 Choice of Filters for Coronagraphic Observations
- 5.3 Grism/Prism Spectroscopy
Chapter 6: Exposure-Time Calculations
- 6.1 Overview
- 6.2 Determining Count Rates from Sensitivities
- 6.3 Computing Exposure Times
- 6.3.1 Calculating Exposure Times for a Given Signal-to-Noise
- 6.3.2 Exposure Time Estimates for Red Targets in F850LP
- 6.3.3 Two-Gyro Guiding
- 6.4 Detector and Sky Backgrounds
- 6.5 Extinction Correction
- 6.6 Exposure-Time Examples
- 6.6.1 Example 1: WFC Imaging a Faint Point Source
- 6.6.2 Example 2: SBC Objective Prism Spectrum of a UV Spectrophotometric Standard Star
- 6.6.3 Example 3: WFC VIS Polarimetry of the Jet of M87
- 6.6.4 Example 4: SBC imaging of Jupiter's Aurora at Lyman-alpha
- 6.6.5 Example 5: Chronographic imaging of the Beta-Pictoris Disk
- 6.7 Tabular Sky Backgrounds
Chapter 7: Feasibility and Detector Performance
- 7.1 The CCDs
- 7.1.1 Detector Properties
- 7.1.2 CCD Spectral Response
- 7.1.3 Quantum Efficiency Hysteresis
- 7.1.4 CCD Long-Wavelength Fringing
- 7.1.5 Optical Performance
- 7.1.6 Readout Format
- 7.1.7 Analog-To-Digital Conversion
- 7.1.8 Flat Fields
- 7.2 CCD Operations and Limitations
- 7.2.1 CCD Saturation: the CCD Full Well
- 7.2.2 CCD Shutter Effects
- 7.2.3 Readnoise
- 7.2.4 Dark Current
- 7.2.5 Cosmic Rays
- 7.2.6 Hot Pixels
- 7.2.7 Charge Transfer Efficiency
- 7.2.8 UV Light and the HRC CCD
- 7.3 The SBC MAMA
- 7.4 SBC Operations and Limitations
- 7.4.1 MAMA Overflowing the 16 Bit Buffer
- 7.4.2 MAMA Darks
- 7.4.3 SBC Signal-to-Noise Ratio Limitations
- 7.4.4 SBC Flatfield
- 7.4.5 SBC Nonlinearity
- 7.5 SBC Bright-Object Limits
- 7.5.1 Overview
- 7.5.2 Observational Limits
- 7.5.3 How Do You Determine if You Violate a Bright Object Limit?
- 7.5.4 Policy and Observers' Responsibility in Phase I and Phase II
- 7.5.5 What To Do If Your Source is Too Bright for Your Chosen Configuration?
- 7.5.6 Bright-Object Protection for Solar System Observations
Chapter 8: Observing Techniques
- 8.1 Operating Modes
- 8.2 Patterns and Dithering
- 8.2.1 How to Obtain Dithered Data
- 8.2.2 Supported Patterns
- 8.2.3 How to Combine Dithered Observations
- 8.2.4 How to Determine the Offsets
- 8.3 A Road Map for Optimizing Observations
- 8.4 CCD Gain Selection
- 8.5 ACS Apertures
- 8.5.1 WFC Apertures
- 8.5.2 Ramp Filter Apertures
- 8.5.3 The Small Filter Apertures
- 8.5.4 Polarizer Apertures
- 8.5.5 HRC Apertures
- 8.5.6 SBC Apertures
- 8.6 Fixing Orientation on the Sky
- 8.7 Parallel Observations
- 8.8 Two-Gyro Guiding
Chapter 9: Overheads and Orbit-Time Determination
Part III: Supporting Material
Chapter 10: Imaging Reference Material
Part IV: Calibration
Chapter 11: Pipeline Calibration
- 11.1 Overview
- 11.1.1 On The Fly Reprocessing (OTFR)
- 11.1.2 When is OTFR not Appropriate or Sufficient?
- 11.1.3 Distortion Correction and Dither Combining
- 11.2 ACS Pipeline
- 11.3 ACS Data Products
- 11.4 System Requirements for ACS Data
Chapter 12: Calibration Accuracies
Chapter 13: Calibration Plans
- 13.1 Ground Testing and Calibration
- 13.2 SMOV Testing and Calibration
- 13.3 Cycle 11 Calibration
- 13.4 Cycle 12 Calibration
- 13.5 Cycle 13 Calibration
- 13.6 Cycle 14 Calibration
Glossary
Index
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