An integrated Bright Object Tool (BOT) has replaced the old VTT-based RObust Bright Object Tool. The main engine for the tool, as well as the basic processing steps, has remained unchanged, but the source of the input data, as well as the display of the results, have been changed to provide a more complete tool. The tool will check each exposure in a program for field (and prime) objects that are either health-and-safety concerns, or may impact the scientific value of the data. The tool will utilize the GSC2 catalog to determine the brightness and (rough) spectral type of all objects in the macroaperture, determine the count rate and total counts for each object via a lookup table, and compare these values to limits set by the WFPC2 Group. The output products will be a table listing the results for all objects, with the status of each object (health-and-safety concern, science concern, safe, or unknown status), and an Aladin image with the object?s status indicated.
The new tool utilizes information in the proposal file, and also uses the APT and Aladin interfaces for its tabular and graphical display, respectively. For Instrument Scientists, the use of the proposal file, instead of the ASSIST database, allows for the support of position changes (e.g. POS TARGs) for exposures. For GOs, the use of the proposal file allows for more than one exposure to be processed at one time, making it much easier to run the tool on the entire proposal.
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