WFPC2 Instrument Handbook for Cycle 10

Data Products and Data Reduction

---

The routine processing of WFPC2 science data consists of the pipeline functions described below. The resulting images will be available in FITS format on magnetic tape or via FTP transfer, and as grey scale images in PDF format. The reformatted raw data will also be available, along with the relevant calibration data. The HST Data Handbook or STSDAS Calibration Guide should be consulted for a more complete description than the summary presented here.

The following data are supplied to observers on FITS tapes:

• Edited Image and DQF (uncalibrated): .d0h,.q0h
• Standard Header Packet: .shh
• Extracted Engineering Data and DQF: .x0h,.q1h
• Trailer File (ASCII file): .trl
• Calibrated Image and DQF: .c0h,.c1h

In addition, a histogram file used for monitoring of the signal chain (.c2h file), and a calibration table containing the throughput curve (.c3t file) used in populating the photometric keywords are included.

Further data reduction and analysis can be performed under the STScI's science data analysis software system (STSDAS). Standard routines are available, operating under IRAF, for the analysis of data for image photometry, spectral analysis, astrometry, and the generation of the calibration data files.