Request Handler FAQ
Online Retrieval of PI Packs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I login into the system?
Answer: You can access the service here by entering your ESO User Portal credentials.I don't have access to the ESO User Portal yet. How do I register?
Answer:You can create your new User Portal account here.I have entered the correct User Portal credential, but the system returned the following error message: "The server encountered an unexpected condition which prevented it from fulfilling the request". Could you, please, advise?
Answer: The authentication server is momentarily overwhelmed with requests. Just wait a few of seconds and then reload the page. Also, please double-check that you have entered correctly the full address of the service (http://www.eso.org/requestHandler/pipacks), including the leading triple w.What do the data packages contain?
Answer: The packages contain the raw data belonging to the selected run, the associated raw calibrations, the masters derived from them and the pipeline science products generated from them all. The packages also contain ancillary information such as data reduction reports and plots.
In fact it is the same content of the data packages that Service Mode users have grown accustomed to receiving from ESO on hard media after the end upon of their run (e.g. find here the description of a FORS2 package).How are the data in the packages organized?
Answer: The packages are subdivided in directories, with the OB ID at the top of the hierarchy. As an example, find herethe description of a FORS2 package.How are the data products generated?
Answer: The data products are generated in Garching by the Data Processing and Quality Control group using the instrument pipelines (see also here). Raw calibration data are processed into master calibration products. Raw science data are processed, with the aimto remove signature from the instrument and from the atmosphere. The quality of the master calibrations is checked and only the certified master calibrations are used to process the science data. You can find here extensive documentation about the data and the processing.What data are available through this service?
Answer: All VLT/VLTI data taken in Service Mode as of ESO Period 83 (April 1st, 2009). VisitorMode data packages are available since Period 84 (October 1st, 2009).How do I select which files to download?
Answer: You can select data by run ID (only your runs are shown in the selection pull-down menu) and the nights in which the data were acquired. Upon pressing the "Select" button, the name of the selected raw science files are displayed on the web interface to help refine the search as needed. In addition to these raw science files the actual package will contain all of the file types detailed above.What data are available through this service?
Answer: All VLT/VLTI data taken in Service Mode as of ESO Period 83 (April 1st, 2009). VisitorMode data packages are available since Period 84 (October 1st, 2009).