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Tutorial 3
CHAPTER 2 :
Support for Archival
Research at STScI
The Data System Operations Branch (DSOB) of STScI is responsible
for the management, scientific and technical oversight, and operation of the
HST archive. DSOB staff also support astronomers who wish to use public
data from the HST archive for their own research. The amount of archival
research support DSOB can provide is limited by its human and physical
resources. To provide assistance to archival researchers, the DSOB staff
includes archival specialists (with bachelor or masters level degrees in
physics or astronomy) and archive scientists (Ph.D. astronomers). DSOB
maintains two archive host computers, STDATA and STDATU, for use by
off­site archival researchers. DSOB will establish accounts for astronomers
on one of the archive host computers. External users can then use telnet to
log into the archive host to query the HST catalog and submit retrieval
requests.
Support provided by DSOB includes:
. Answering specific questions about data in the archive and methods for
retrieving that data
. Providing advice on strategies for searching the archives
. Responding to problems identified by users
. Setting up accounts for users who wish to retrieve data
. Writing data tapes for users
. Providing support for users who visit STScI
DSOB staff will not normally do an astronomer's archive search,
generate requests for data, or reanalyze data from the archive. DSOB staff
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4 Chapter 2: Support for Archival Research at STScI
will provide assistance and documentation so that archival researchers can
themselves perform these operations.
DSOB maintains an archive hotseat to assist off­site astronomers in
their archival research. The archive hotseat can be contacted by sending
e­mail to archive@stsci.edu, or by phoning (410)338­4547. The
hotseat is staffed during normal working hours, Monday through Friday, by
an archive specialist. The hotseat person will respond to questions
concerning the user interface, the archive, or data tapes provided to an
astronomer by DSOB. The hotseat person will also provide limited advice
concerning basic search strategies, and will investigate and document any
problem reports. All initial communication between the user community
and DSOB with regard to the HST archive should be directed to the archive
hotseat.
Archival researchers who need more extensive advice on search
strategies or help analyzing their archival data should visit the STScI. All
visits (i.e., visits by both funded and unfunded archival researchers) must
be approved by the DSOB chief at least three weeks in advance. T
o
arrange a visit, contact the archive hotseat. The archive hotseat will e­mail
archival researchers an editable Archival Research Visit Request form,
asking for a brief description of what the potential visitor wants to
accomplish, what kind of support he or she wants and a preliminary list of
the datasets involved. A copy of this form is provided in the appendix to
this manual and a PostScript version of the form is maintained on the
archive host computer. (See ``Forms'' on page12.)
The number and the duration of visits will be limited by the available
staff. Funded researchers will have priority over those who are unfunded.
An archive specialist and an archive scientist will be assigned to each
approved visitor. Newly­arrived visitors will meet with the archive scientist
to discuss their needs while at STScI, but most of the support will be
provided by an archive specialist (who will be available as needed
throughout the visit). The archive scientist will be available for up to
several hours a day during a visit to help the visitor resolve problems.
Visitors who arrive at STScI without arranging support with DSOB can use
the hotseat support, but should not expect further support from archive
specialists or scientists.
DSOB provides several mechanism for archival researchers to retrieve
data from the HST archives. The total amount of data that can be retrieved
for a given astronomer is limited by the resources of DSOB. By logging in
to the archive host computer, and using the STARCAT interface,
astronomers can retrieve up to 50 megabytes of archival data to a scratch

Tutorial 5
disk on the archive host computers; this data can then be transferred back
to a researcher's home computer using FTP. (Network bandwidth
limitations may reduce the amount of data that can be realistically
transferred to other sites).
Archival researchers can submit requests for (larger amounts of) public
HST data to be written to Exabyte or 9­track tapes and shipped to them at
their home institution. Requests can be submitted electronically using
STARCAT on the archive host computer, or on paper by completing the
Request for Archival Data form. A copy of this form is provided in the
appendix to this manual and a PostScript version is maintained on the
archive computer (see ``Forms'' on page12). This form can also be
obtained from the archive hotseat. DSOB will satisfy requests for up to 500
megabytes of data for unfunded archival researchers. Larger amounts will
be provided to funded investigators as specified in their research program.
Only one copy of a dataset will be provided for a given research program.
Generally speaking, communication between the user community and
DSOB with regard to the HST Archive should be directed to the archive
hotseat. This will allow DSOB staff to respond to your requests even when
individual members of the group are away. If you feel that your needs are
not being adequately addressed through the hotseat, please address
complaints or comments to the DSOB Branch Chief, Knox Long (send
e­mail to long@stsci.edu, or phone 410­338­4862).

6 Chapter 2: Support for Archival Research at STScI