Supported Instruments

A key property of Astro-WISE is that the raw imaging data and meta data from all supported imaging instruments are stored in a single way in Astro-WISE. Information on the instrument is linked to the raw data when the latter enters the Astro-WISE Information System in a uniform way. As a consequence, the raw/intermediate/fully calibrated data from all supported imaging instruments are archived and processed in an identical fashion. In other words, once you know how to deal with data from one particular instrument in Astro-WISE you know how to process and archive them all. During calibration, instrument specific differences are captured in process parameters. These process parameters are linked to the calibrated data. As a consequence, they will be automatically used in post-calibration processing without the user bothering about it. This makes the post-calibration procedures identical for different instruments.

In summary, in the Astro-WISE information system, it is the instrument that is calibrated, not the data: the distinction between imaging instruments vanishes in Astro-WISE.

This allows tremendous simplifications in the data reduction/analysis process. For example, once an instrument is supported, one can "push the button" and derive the final data products simply and easily. In addition since all data in Astro-WISE is treated in this fashion it means one can also take advantage of data products previously derived by other workers (e.g., calibration files) to derive new data products for an instrument.

OmegaCAM at VST, Paranal
OmegaCAM is a 16K x 16K pixel optical detector imaging one square degree of the sky (approximately four full moons) that is the sole instrument on the VST (VLT Survey Telescope) at Cerro Paranal in Chile. Its primary use is for large optical surveys of the Southern sky.
  • Supported period: Mar 2005 - indefinite
  • Notes: Mar-Nov 2005 are instrument lab test data
VIRCAM at VISTA, Paranal
VISTA is a 4-m class wide field survey telescope for the southern hemisphere, equipped with a near infrared camera (1.65 degree diameter field of view at VISTA's nominal pixel size) containing 67 million pixels of mean size 0.339 arcsec and available broad band filters at Z,Y,J,H,Ks and a narrow band filter at 1.18 micron. VISTA is used in the VIKING survey; the infra-red counterpart of KIDS, which is to be observed with VST.
  • Supported period: Feb 2010 - indefinite
MEGACAM at CFHT
MegaPrime is the wide-field optical imaging facility at CFHT. It represented a major upgrade of the telescope upper-end as well as the largest astronomical CCD mosaic ever built at the time of the official first light in January 2003 and for many years that followed.
The wide-field imager, MegaCam (built by CEA, France), consists of 36 2048 x 4612 pixel CCDs (a total of 340 megapixels), covering a full 1 degree x 1 degree field-of-view with a resolution of 0.187 arcsecond per pixel to properly sample the 0.7 arcsecond median seeing offered by the CFHT at Mauna Kea. The new prime focus upper end includes an image stabilization unit and a guide/autofocus unit with two independent guide CCD detectors.
  • Supported period: 2003 - indefinite
WFI at 2.2m, La Silla
The Wide-Field Imager (WFI) is an 8K x 8K pixel optical detector imaging one half degree on a side (approximately one full moon in area) permanently mounted on the 2.2m MPG/ESO telescope at La Silla in Chile. A large amount of data from WFI has been ingested into Astro-WISE (the largest proportion of all instruments) and is currently being used for various projects including galaxy photometry and optical surveys (see this Astro-WISE consortium page for more information).
  • Supported period: full lifetime
  • Notes: May 1999 - Jan 2005 has been tested fully
Wide-Field Camera at INT, La Palma
The Wide-Field Camera (WFC) contains a mosaic of four 2K x 4K optical detectors and is mounted on the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope at La Palma in the Canary Islands. Much of the data ingested into Astro-WISE has been used for the training of users and of the system, and for the construction of the Astro-WISE Secondary Standards Program preliminary catalog (see this Astro-WISE consortium page for more information).
  • Supported period: Jul 2002 - indefinite
  • Notes: 1 unsupported configuration prior to Jul 2002
MDM8K at MDM Observatory, Kitt Peak
The MDM8K is the MDM Observatory's 8K CCD, a 2 x 4 array of 2K x 4K CCDs used on both the 2.4-m Hiltner telescope and the 1.3-m McGraw-Hill telescope. The CCDs are typically read out in 2x2 binned mode. This is the only supported configuration within Astro-Wise.
  • Supported period: full lifetime
  • Notes: May 2004, January 2005 tested (only the configuration with 2x2 binning is supported)
SuprimeCAM at Subaru, Hawaii
SuprimeCAM (SUP) 10K x 8K optical detector with a field-of-view larger than a full moon mounted at the prime focus of the Subaru Telescope at Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Data ingestion is supported for 10 distinct detector configurations (this includes commisioning configurations).
  • Supported period: full lifetime
  • Notes: 10 configurations between Jan 1999 and late 2007 are currently supported. Data from the most recent CCD change is untested at this time.
Advanced Camera for Surveys at HST
The Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) is supported by Astro-WISE for initial use by the Coma Legacy Survey. Integrating support for ACS into Astro-WISE has complete.
  • Supported period: to be determined
  • Notes: Calibrated data will be ingested soon for the Coma Legacy Survey
Large Binocular Camera Blue at LBT, Arizona
The Large Binocular Telescope's (LBT) Large Binocular Camera Blue (LBCB) is supported by Astro-WISE and is currently in the commisioning phase. Two cameras will eventually be installed, one on each arm of the LBT, each optimized for either the red or the blue part of the visible spectrum.
  • Supported period: to be determined
  • Notes: Ingestion possible for commisioning data
PDS microdensitometer at ESO
The PDS instrument is actually the PDS (Photometric Data Systems) microdensitometer used to scan ESO Schmidt plates. The PDS data in the Astro-WISE system is the ESO-LV surface photometry catalog of the ESO-Uppsala Galaxies.
  • Supported period: not applicable
  • Notes: ESO LV data available
Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, Westerbork
The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) is an array of fourteen 25 meter radio dishes. The WSRT data in the Astro-WISE system are the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS).
  • Supported period: not applicable
  • Notes: WENSS Survey available
Low Frequency Array (LOFAR)
LOFAR is an array of radio telescopes to observe in the 30-240MHz frequency range. The array is under construction: see their LOFAR webpages. In the future, AWE will be used to analyse calibrated data from the LOFAR Deep Extragalactic Surveys. See local AWE-LOFAR project page for more information.
  • Supported period: to be determined
  • Notes: In the future, AWE will be used to analyse calibrated data from the LOFAR Survey. See AWE-LOFAR project page
ISAAC at VLT
The Infrared Spectrometer and Array Camera (ISAAC) is an IR (1 - 5 μm) imager and spectrograph that lies at the Nasmyth B focus of UT1. It has two arms, one equipped with a 1024 x 1024 Hawaii Rockwell array, and the other with a 1024 x 1024 InSb Aladdin array from Santa Barbara Research Center. The Hawaii arm is used at short wavelengths (1 - 2.5 μm). Prior to P70, the Aladdin arm was used exclusively at long wavelengths (3- 5 μm). From P70 onwards this arm is also offered for JHK imaging.
MONICA at 0.8m Wendelstein
MONICA (MOnochromatic Image CAmera) is an instrument for the 0.8 m telescope at Wendelstein which allows broad- and narrowband direct imaging by using a LN2 cooled CCD detector.