The Image Catalog for the Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 makes it possible to select WFPC2 images of the ringed planets based on a broad variety of constraints. For example, you may quickly identify all the images of Saturn taken through the F555W filter in 1995. You accomplish this by entering the appropriate values into the fields you see on the form and then clicking on the Submit Query button at the bottom of the page. After a short wait, you will see a listing of all the images that match the constraints you have entered.
Note that all WFPC2 images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or any of its moons or rings are included in this database, although only a limited set of these images are actually archived by the Rings Node. For other images, links to the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute are provided.
Note: Only a small subset of the HST/WFPC2 images of the ringed planets have been archived at the PDS Rings Node. Specifically, only Saturn ring images from 1994 and 1995 have been archived; they are available on CDROMs RPX_0001, RPX_0002, RPX_0003, RPX_0004, and RPX_0005. Additional images are found in this catalog and can be obtained directly from the data archive at Space Telescope Science Institute.
The numerous fields on this form permit you to enter many different kinds of constraints. Entering values in different fields results in an "and" operation. For example, if you select Planet=SATURN and Filter Name=F555W, you will see all the WFPC2 images of the Saturn system (including Titan) obtained using the F555W filter. If you leave a field blank, that particular parameter is unconstrained. Because the form has so many fields, it is very common for most of them to be blank.
Use the Listing type box near the bottom of the page to choose among three possible ways to display the results of a query. Match Count simply counts the number of matching images in the database but does not return a list. A Summary listing returns a table of the matching images in addition to the match count. This is the default. A summary listing can return up to 1000 images at a time. A Detailed listing returns a detailed summary of every parameter for each matching image, in addition to the match count and summary listing. A detailed listing can return up to 100 images at a time. If you exceed the image limit for either a summary or detailed listing, you can see the remaining images by entering a number of images to skip over into the Skip box.
Once you made your selections, click on the Search Catalog button at the bottom of the page to submit your query. If at any time you wish to erase all of your entries in the form and start over, click on the Reset Form button.
Obtaining Data
For images archived at the Rings Node, a
detailed listing returns a list
of file names, which are active links to copies of the CDROMs on line at
the Rings Node. Alternatively, you may email a request for the CDROMs to
Neil Heather.
For images not archived a the Rings Node, the detailed listing provides a link to the STScI archive where the data can be obtained.
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Query listings always begin with a summary of the SQL query and the
options selected, followed by the number of matches. SQL is the
language used by the database; you do not need to understand it but, if
a query fails, please report this text to the Rings Node to help us to diagnose
the problem.
Summary listing
When the Summary listing type is selected, you see
the typical
Match Count listing followed by a table
of the matching images. This is the most common type of query and
serves as the default. Only the most often used parameters of each
image are listed; if you need more information, repeat the same
query while requesting a
Detailed listing.
The parameters included in a Summary listing are the
query record,
HST file name,
targeted CCD,
target name,
observation date,
exposure time,
filters,
gain,
and
instrument mode.
In a summary listing, you can click on the HST file name to see a preview of the image.
Note that a Summary listing query is limited to 1000 matches.
If more matches are found, only the first 1000 will be shown. The
Match Count
section will list both the number of matches found and the (possibly
smaller) number listed in the table. You can repeat the query with
a number entered into the
Skip the first _____ matches
field in order to see the additional images.
Detailed listing
When the Detailed listing type is selected, you see
the typical
Match Count listing and
Summary listing first.
Following is a list of every database parameter for each matching image.
In addition, the Summary listing section has active links to each
section of the Detailed listing; simply click on the record
number in the summary to jump to the detailed information.
In a detailed listing with the preview option turned on, a 200x200, pre-stretched image appears with each image that has been archived at the Rings Node. With the option turned off, you can click on "[PREVIEW]" following the Query record number to see the preview image. For images not archived at the Rings Node (which can be recognized by PDS Data Set ID = "none"), you can click on "[STScI PREVIEW]" to go to a form at the Space Telescope Science Institute where this image can be previewed.
Note that a Detailed listing query is limited to 10 matches if previews option turned on, or 100 if it is turned off. If more matches are found, only the first 10 or 100 will be shown. The Match Count section will list both the number of matches found and the (possibly smaller) number listed. You can repeat the query with a number entered into the Skip the first _____ matches field in order to see the additional images.
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This option overrides a Summary listing, converting it to a Detailed listing. This option is ignored for Match count listing. With this option, the number of images returned from any query is limited to 10.
If this option is turned off ("No"), thumbnail preview images are still available via links from the summary and detailed listings.
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On the query form, you may select images that match a particular value of Aperture Type. Enter the text to match into the box and select the type of match from the menu. Five different types of matches are permitted.
The value of Aperture Type appears in the detailed listing but not in the summary listing.
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The browse image name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Click on the file name to see the GIF image; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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The calibrated image name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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The calibrated image mask name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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You can select data of a particular quality by chosing the desired value from the list on the query form. The value of the field appears in the detailed listing but not in the summary listing.
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You can select images from a particular PDS data set by chosing its ID on the query form. The ID associated with a data set appears as a field in the detailed listing but not in the summary listing.
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The engineering data field cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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The engineering data mask name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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On the query form, you may enter values for a minimum and a maximum exposure time, and only those images with exposure times between the two values (inclusive) are returned. If the first field is left blank, a minimum of zero is assumed; if the second is left blank, the maximum exposure time is effectively infinite.
On a summary listing, the exposure time is listed under the Texp heading. The value is also included on the detailed listing. Exposure time is also known as "exposure_duration" in the database and on the CDROMs.
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You may select images that match a particular value of Filter Name by entering text into the box on the query form and selecting the type of match from the menu. Five different types of matches are permitted.
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If you select a value of gain mode ID on the query form, only images obtained with that mode will be returned. If you leave the field blank, then the gain mode is unconstrained.
The value of each image's gain mode ID appears as a column in the summary listing and as an entry in the detailed listing.
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You may select images that match a particular value of HST file name by entering text into the box on the query form and selecting the type of match from the menu. Five different types of matches are permitted.
The HST File Name is also known as the source ID in the database and the labels.
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You may select images that match a particular value of HST target name by entering text into the box on the query form and selecting the type of match from the menu. Five different types of matches are permitted.
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You can select images of a particular Instrument Mode by selecting a value from the menu on the query form. The value of this parameter appears as a column in the summary listing and as an entry in the detailed listing.
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On the query form, you may enter a variety of different constraints on the Note field. The common theme is that you use these constraints to match text in the field. For example, if you have reason to believe that "SL-9" appears in the Note field for the images you are interested in, you can select only the images whose notes contain this text. Simply enter the text you wish to match in the field, without quotes. Note that the search is not case-sensitive.
You may select images that match a particular value of the Note field by entering the text to match into the box on the query form and selecting the type of match from the menu. Matches are case-insensitive. Four different types of matches are permitted.
The value of the note appears only in detailed listings. It can contain up to three lines of text.
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The observation header name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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In queries, you can specify a range of observation times, and the query will return any observations that were being carried out during the interval given. Times can be entered in a broad range of formats; click here for the gory details.
The UTC date but not time of an observation is included as a column in the summary listing; the entire date and time are included as a field in the detailed listing.
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Using the Planet field on the query form, you can specify which of the four planets is of interest. This is probably the common field on the form to constrain. If it is left blank, images from all four planets will be listed. The value of this field is included on detailed listings.
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Note that the query record number counts all matching records, regardless of the particular query options selected. For example, if you have chosen to skip the first 100 matches, then query record values on the listing will begin with 101.
Query record values appear as the first column in a summary listing, under the heading #. When a detailed listing is requested, each # in the summary table serves as a hypertext link to the detailed information for the same image. When the previews option is off, "[PREVIEW]" appears following the query record in the detailed listings, and this serves as a link to a 200x200, pre-stretched thumbnail preview of the image.
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The raw image name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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The raw image mask name cannot be constrained as a part of a query. Its value is shown only on a detailed listing, and then only for images archived by the Rings Node. If present, the field value gives the name of the file on the PDS CDROM, in a Unix-style format. Shift-click on the file name to download the data; click on "[label]" following the name to view the PDS label.
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The Ring observation ID cannot be constrained on the query form. All four values associated with a WFPC2 image are shown on a detailed listing.
Any Ring observation ID in an output listing serves as a link to a page containing an image preview and more information about the data, plus links to the data files.
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Last update 8 December 2000