User Interface Access to the Keck Observatory Archive

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General Questions
  1. What is KOA?
  2. Are data from all Keck instruments available in the KOA?
  3. What type of data are available?
  4. What is metadata?
  5. Where can I find more information about the HIRES instrument and data products?
  6. How far back in time are data available in the archive?
  7. What is the dark feature present in the middle of the chip in 'legacy' data?
  8. I would like to obtain weather/environmental information for the data. Is this possible?
  9. Is there a proprietary period for the archived data?
  10. Who do I credit in my publications when I use KOA?
Usage
  1. Where is the KOA user interface (UI)?
  2. Do I need to register to request/download data from the KOA?
  3. I'm a PI of a HIRES program. How can I access my proprietary data?
  4. How can I access/change my user password?
  5. How soon after my observing run are my data available on the KOA?
  6. Can I request that tapes or DVDs of data be sent to me?
  7. Can I preview the data before downloading them?
  8. Who do I contact for questions, comments or concerns?
General Questions
  1. What is KOA?

    KOA stands for the Keck Observatory Archive, a NASA-funded project jointly developed and operated by the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) and the Michelson Science Center (MSC). The KOA only archives single-aperture Keck data. If you're looking for Keck interferometer (KI) data, go to the MSC KI Support page.

  2. Are data from all Keck instruments available in the KOA?

    No. KOA is currently only archiving and serving HIRES data.

  3. What type of data are available?

    Currently, KOA is serving only level 0 (raw) HIRES data. Level 1 (calibrated) data will be available in the future.

  4. What is metadata?

    Metadata is basically the FITS header keyword information. The HIRES metadata consist of two parts: the native keywords from the original primary header unit, and the meta-keywords which have been added during the course of evaluating and preparing the FITS files for archiving. Examples of native keywords are: TTIME, RA, DEC, ECHANGL, XDANGL, OBJECT, DECKNAME. Examples of meta-keywords include: KOAID, DATLEVEL, IMAGETYP, INSTSTAT, PROGID, PROGPI, WAVECNTR, WXDOMHUM.

  5. Where can I find more information about the HIRES instrument and data products?

    Information on the HIRES instrument and data products can be found here.
    Description of all keywords can be found here.

  6. How far back in time are data available in the archive?

    The archive started ingesting HIRES data coincident with its CCD upgrade on August 18, 2004. This upgrade replaced the old, single-CCD detector with a state-of-the-art three-CCD mosaic. Starting in May 2008, HIRES data obtained with the old chip previous to this date, called 'legacy data', will also be made available. Legacy data from 2001-2004 are released at the beginning of May 2008, and data from 1994-2001 are released in June 2008.

  7. What is the dark feature present in the middle of the chip in 'legacy' data?

    This feature is a cosmetic defect caused by a pen mark near the middle of the old HIRES chip. To quote the HIRES User's Manual, S. Vogt (1994):

    One very prominent distinguishing cosmetic defect of this CCD is a large felt-tip pen mark near the center of the CCD. It was kindly added by some technician at Tektronix to remind us that this virtually flawless $100,000 CCD is only an engineering-grade device. Unfortunately, the folks at Tektronix seemed to have forgotten how to make science-grade devices, so we are stuck with this annoying blob.

  8. I would like to obtain weather/environmental information for the data. Is this possible?

    We provide access to the all-sky CONCAM images on the main KOA UI page. For a particular date, enter the desired date in the search box. Plots of the nights temperatures, dew point, humidity, barometric presssure, and full width at half maximum of the guide star images are also available.

  9. Is there a proprietary period for the archived data?

    Yes, the default proprietary period (PP) is 18 months from the date of observations. With scientific justification and approval of the selecting official, this period can be extended or shortened. The PP can also be specified individually for each of the three HIRES CCDs. Full details of the PP policy can be found here.

  10. Who do I credit in my publications when I use KOA?

    Please use the following acknowledgement in your publications:

    This research has made use of the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA), which is operated by the California Association for Research in Astronomy and the Michelson Science Center, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Usage
  1. Where is the KOA user interface (UI)?

    The user interface can be found at http://koa.ipac.caltech.edu/applications/HIRES.

  2. Do I need to register to request/download data from the KOA?

    If you are a HIRES program PI, then you should have received an email notifying you of your account information. Non-PI, public access is available for non-proprietary data. You do not need to register to query the data. However, an email address is required to submit a download request. (Non-PI access will be available starting in July 2006)

  3. I'm a PI of a HIRES program. How can I access my proprietary data?

    Visit the KOA UI and login with your username/password. You should have received an email notifying you of your account information and the availability of your data in the archive.

  4. How can I access/change my user password?

    Send an email to koaadmin@ipac.caltech.edu to request a new password. For security reasons, passwords will only be sent to PIs.

  5. How soon after my observing run are my data available on the KOA?

    Metadata (FITS keyword information) should be available within 24 hours of the night of observation. The data FITS files are written to DVDs and mailed to MSC, where they will be archived and made available for download. This process takes on average 11.5 days to complete.

  6. Can I request that tapes or DVDs of data be sent to me?

    All data should be downloaded from the web. We do not take requests for data on hard media.

  7. Can I preview the data before downloading them?

    Yes, JPEG images of the data are made available for quick-look purposes from the UI search result page. Users are also encouraged to download and install DS9, a versatile fits data visualization package, to be used with their browsers as the default application for FITS files. With DS9 you can view the two-dimensional spectral images, and do cross-cut plots through any sections of the image. For a quick tutorial on how to use DS9, go here.

  8. Who do I contact for questions, comments or concerns?

    Please submit your questions or comments to the KOA Help Desk or email them to koaadmin@ipac.caltech.edu.

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Last modified on April 30 2008 06:59:04