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INES Frequently Asked Questions |
For further questions and/or comments, please contact us at the INES HelpDesk
How can I read INES files? Is it necessary any special software?
No special purpose software is necessary to read INES files. Click
here
for a description of how to read INES data under
different environments.
Which is the format of the INES files?
INES files are written in standard
FITS format. The data are stored as FITS
binary tables, with a primary header and en extension header.
Why the INES spectrum looks different from the MXLO
spectrum?
Low resolution INES spectra are extracted from the Final
Archive bi-dimensional SILO files, but using modified software and noise
models.
Differences with respect to the MXLO files are generally small, but
there are specific cases in which both spectra may differ substantially. Large
differences can occur in weak extended or miscentered spectra, or in spectra
with weak continuum and strong emission lines.
Why the wavelength scales of INES and NEWSIPS high resolution spectra are different?
NEWSIPS SWP and LWP/R
high resolution spectra present a systematic difference in the wavelength
scale, in the sense that velocities measured in short wavelength spectra are
more negative. In order to provide an internally consistent wavelength scale, a
correction of +17.7 km/s has been applied to INES SWP Large and Small aperture
high resolution spectra. For the same reason, a smaller correction, +13.7 km/s,
has been applied also to LWP/R Small aperture spectra.
I have measured the velocity of the MgII lines in
INES high resolution spectra, and I get different values for both
lines.
That is true. There is a problem in the NEWSIPS LWP high resolution
wavelength calibration that makes that the velocities measured on both lines
of the MgII doublet at 2800 A differ systematically by 9 km/s, with
the K line given the lowest value. The correct value is the one given by the K
line. Note that this problem does not exist in the LWR camera, where both
lines give velocities which differ on average by only 1 km/s.
Where can I get more information about the INES System?
The INES server installed in the National Hosts includes
a documentation section in which you can find papers dealing with different
aspects of the INES System, as well as other information such as the NEWSIPS
Manual and the IUE Spacecraft Operations Final Report.
INES papers have also been published in the Proceedings of the
Conference "Ultraviolet Astrophysics Beyond the IUE Final Archive", 1998, eds. W. Wamsteker,
R. Gonzalez-Riestra and R. Harris, ESA SP-413.
INES related papers published
in refereed journals are listed here.