Target names are used to provide unique designations for the targets
that will be used throughout the proposal. These names will generally
also be used in Phase II, and ultimately to designate targets in the
HST data archive. Prospective proposers and archival researchers will
use these names to determine whether HST has observed a particular
object. This facility will be most useful if consistent naming
conventions are used.
The following conventions must be followed in naming targets:
-
A new target name must be defined for each (celestial) target. For example, for
several pointings within a galaxy, one might define target names such as
NGC4486-NUC
,
NGC4486-JET
,
NGC4486-POS1
, and
NGC4486-POS2
.
-
The maximum allowable length of a target name is 30 characters.
-
No blanks are permitted in target names
. Blanks between a letter and a numeral must be suppressed (e.g.,
HD140283
,
NGC4378
), but a hyphen (and
not
an underscore) must replace blanks between two letters or two numerals (e.g.,
ALPHA-CEN
,
NGC224-0040+4058
). Also, a hyphen should be used where required for clarity (e.g.,
NGC4486-POS1
).
-
Only letters, numerals, hyphens, periods (.), and
+
or
-
are allowed in target names; other punctuation is not permitted (e.g.,
BARNARDS-STAR
is valid, but
BARNARD'S-STAR
is not). Greek letters must be spelled out (e.g.,
ALPHA-ORI
). Letters may be upper-case or lower-case, but will always be treated as if
they are upper case (e.g.
Alpha-Cen
will be treated as if written
ALPHA-CEN
).
-
Degree signs must be represented by an upper-case "
D
" (e.g., CD-42
°
14462 becomes
CD-42D14462
).
-
Some special target names are reserved for calibrations and other
purposes and may
not
be used for external pointings; see
Special Targets.
Catalog Name
The preferred order for catalogs to be used for the designation of various
classes of objects is provided below. It is arranged in order of decreasing
preference.
If a target is not contained in these catalogs, other catalog designations may
be used (e.g., 4U X-ray catalog designation, Villanova white-dwarf catalog
number, etc.). The use of positional catalogs (SAO, Boss, GC, AGK3, FK4, etc.)
is discouraged.
For uncataloged targets, see the section below
on Uncataloged
Targets.
Stars
-
Henry Draper Catalog number (e.g., HD140283)is preferred. HDE numbers are
discouraged, except in the Magellanic Clouds.
-
Durchmusterung number (BD, CD, or CPD). In the southern hemisphere, adopt the
convention of using CD north of -52 degrees and CPD south of there (e.g.,
BD+30D3639
,
CD-42D14462
,
CPD-65D7691
).
-
General Catalog of Variable Stars designation, if one exists (e.g.,
RR-LYR
,
SS-CYG
).
-
AFGL designation.
-
IRC designation.
-
IRAS designation.
Star Clusters and Nebulae
-
New General Catalog (NGC) number (e.g.,
NGC6397
,
NGC7027
).
-
Index Catalog (IC) number (e.g.,
IC418
).
-
For planetary nebulae for which you do not have an NGC or IC designation, the
Perek-Kohoutek designation (e.g.,
PK208+33D1
) may be used.
-
For H II regions for which you do not have an NGC or IC designation, the
Sharpless catalog number (e.g.,
S106
) may be used.
-
For IR nebulae, AFGL designation.
Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies
-
NGC number (e.g.,
NGC4536
).
-
IRAS designation.
-
IC number (e.g.,
IC724
).
-
Uppsala Catalog number, only if an NGC or IC number is not available (e.g.,
UGC11810
).
-
For clusters of galaxies, the Abell catalog number, but only if an NGC or IC
number is not available (e.g.,
ABELL2029
).
Uncataloged Targets
Objects that have not been cataloged or named must be assigned one of the
following designations:
-
Isolated objects must be designated by a code name (the allowed codes are
STAR
,
NEB
,
GAL
,
STAR-CLUS
,
GAL-CLUS
,
QSO
,
SKY
,
FIELD
, and
OBJ
), followed by a hyphen and the object's J2000 equatorial coordinates, if
possible, rounded to seconds of time and seconds of arc (e.g., for a star at
J2000 coordinates RA = 1H 34M 28S, DEC = -15D 31' 38", the designation
would be
STAR-013428-153138
).
-
Uncataloged objects within star clusters, nebulae, or galaxies
must
be designated by the name of the parent body followed by a hyphen and the
rounded J2000 coordinates, if possible, of the object (e.g., for a target within
NGC 224 with J2000 coordinates RA = 0H 40M 12S, DEC = +40D 58' 48", the
designation would be
NGC224-004012+405848
).
-
Positions within nebulae or galaxies may also be designated by the name of the
parent object followed by a hyphen and a qualifier. The qualifier should be
brief, but informative (e.g., the jet in NGC 4486 could be designated
NGC4486-JET
). Other examples are:
NGC5139-ROA24
,
LMC-R136A
,
ABELL30-CENTRAL-STAR
,
NGC205-NUC
.
Special Targets
The names of certain types of targets must be designated by appending
a code to the target name. For example,
-CALIB
should be appended to the name of a target that is being observed
only as a calibration standard for other observations. These
designations will assist in planning of the observing schedule. The
three possible codes are listed in the following table.
Designations of Special Targets
Target Type
|
Code
|
Description
|
External calibration target
|
-CALIB
|
An astronomical target used for calibration (e.g.,
BD+28D4211-CALIB
).
|
Astrometric reference star
|
-REF
|
Stars used to determine astrometric positions of other targets (e.g.,
HD20731-01-REF
would designate reference star 01 near HD 20731). Note that the "parallax
star" (the target whose position is being measured) may not have a
-REF
suffix.
|
Offset acquisition target
|
-OFFSET
|
A target that will be used for an offset acquisition; it is the object that will
be acquired first, from which an offset will be applied to move to the target of
interest (e.g.,
3C273-OFFSET).
|
Special Calibration Observations
The Observation Summary of a Phase I proposal should include not only
all relevant external calibration targets, but also any (non-default)
internal calibration targets and calibrations using the Earth. Allowed
target names for such observations include: ANTI-SUN, ANY, BIAS, CCDFLAT, DARK,
EARTH-CALIB, INTFLAT, KSPOTS, NONE, ORBIT-POLE, UVFLAT, VISFLAT,
WAVE. These names may not be used for other external pointings.
Cycle 10 Announcement Page
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Notice
jyounger@stsci.edu
Last updated: June 9, 2000