TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The GCN system has been modified to incorporate the distribution
of positions of GRBs detected by the Fermi spacecraft
(from both the GBM and LAT instruments).
GBM: About 20 times per month, there will be a GRB in the FOV (field of view)
of the GBM instrument that is bright enough to be localized.
Fermi transmits these localizations through the TDRS system (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite)
to the ground starting within ~5 sec after the GBM trigger.
The GBM location uncertainties range from 5-15deg (1 sigma).
LAT: Independantly, the LAT will also detect ~5 bursts per year
and will also send localization messages down TDRSS.
The LAT location uncertainties range from 20-100acrmin (1 sigma).
The LAT detections can be the same bursts detected by GBM,
and there can be bursts detected only by LAT.
Like all the other sources of GRB information within the GCN system,
users can elect to receive (or not) each of these Fermi Notice types.
The site's dis/enabling on Notice types and the other filter criteria determines
if the given site gets (or not) each specific notice that comes from the mission.
The GCN/Fermi Notices are archived within the GCN website in the Table of Fermi GRBs.
Notice Types, Content, and Purpose
There are 11 (8 burst-related + 3 misc) GCN/Fermi Notice types. They are:
1) GBM_Alert Notice starts the sequence of GBM messages.
It occurs when the GBM instrument first triggers.
It does NOT contain an RA,Dec location of a burst;
only a date, time, and trigger criteria and trigger detection significance,
and the algorithm used to make the detection.
It is issued only once per trigger, (but may not be present for all triggers
if there is TDRSS bit/frame sync-up delay -- that's the reason the Alerts exist,
to start the TDRSS sync-up process so it's ready by the time
the GBM_Pos Notice comes along).
2) GBM_Flight_Position Notice contains the RA,Dec location for the burst detected by GBM.
The positions are calculated by the on-board Flight software.
They are issued 1 to 5 times per burst.
The Flight Position Notice comes second in the sequence of Notices on the triggers/bursts.
Since the position is based on the least-possible amount of data in the processing
(just a small initial portion of the burst's lightcurve),
it has the lowest significance in the localization process. Even so,
the uncertainty in the position is ~20 deg (1-sigma, radius) for the at-threshold bursts
and ~10 deg for the bright bursts. (Both the 'at-threshold' and 'bright'
refer to only the amount of photons in the time interval of the trigger-sampling interval
of the burst lightcurve, not to the total burst duration.)
It should be noted that even though this Notice type is called the
GBM_FLT_POSITION, it contains detections of both GRBs and hard x-ray transients.
There is both flight- and ground-software in place to correctly identify
bursts from transients, but this identification is not 100% perfect.
3) GBM_Ground_Position Notice contains the RA,Dec location for the burst detected by GBM.
The positions are calculated by ground software.
More sophisticated algorithms can be applied to the data to improve the location accuracy.
Also, more data from the on-going progresion of the burst lightcurve is used in this calculation.
There can be 0, 1, of more instances of this Notice Type per trigger.
4) LAT_Position_Initial Notice (NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC)
contains an RA,Dec location for the burst/afterglow detected by LAT.
It starts the sequence of LAT Notices.
It is issued only once per burst.
It has the shortest integration of source and background photons.
The position comes from the LAT flight software
scanning the time and spatial domains.
The position uncertainty is 20-100 arcmin (it depends on the number of photons detected and their energies).
5) LAT_Position_Update Notice contains an RA,Dec location for the burst/afterglow detected by LAT.
They are issued six times per burst,
but only the second issuance is available to the public. The choice of the second issuance is a trade
between accumulating source photons without accumulating too much background photons.
The position in this notice type comes from the LAT flight software.
The position uncertainty is 20-100 arcmin (it depends on the number of photons detected and their energies).
6) LAT_Position_Diagnostic Notice (NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC)
contains an RA,Dec location for the burst/afterglow detected by LAT.
They are issued only once per burst.
It has the longest integration of source and background photons.
The position comes from the LAT flight software.
The position uncertainty is 20-100 arcmin (it depends on the number of photons detected and their energies).
7) LAT_Position_Ground_Refined Notice (NOT YET AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC)
contains an RA,Dec location for burst/afterglow detected by LAT.
The position comes from the LAT ground processing where more sophisticated algorithms and data are used.
The position uncertainty is 5-30 arcmin (it depends on the number of photons detected and their energies).
8) LAT_Position_Ground_Trigger Notice (NOT YET AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC)
contains an RA,Dec location for a burst detected by LAT.
The position comes from the LAT ground-processing software.
These are for ground-detected bursts (ie there was no initial on-board detection and notice).
The position uncertainty is 5-30 arcmin (it depends on the number of photons detected and their energies).
They are issued only once (rarely twice) per ground-detected burst.
9) SC_Slew Notice indicates whether or not the spacecraft determined
if it will slew to this burst.
This notice contains the RA,Dec of the slew distination
and a flag indicating if the spacecraft will actually slew (or not) to this location.
These notices will be issued about 1-2 times per month.
Obviously, not all GBM (or LAT) detections will be slewed to.
The newly triggered burst must pass some on-board criteria to determine slew worthiness.
And some times Automated-Repointing will be disabled (for critical planned observations, etc).
The next 3 Notices are in the miscellaneous category:
GBM_Pos_Test and LAT_Pos_Test Notices are identical in format and content
to the GBM_FLT_POS and LAT_POS_UPD Notices, resp.,
except that they contain a computer-generated RA,Dec location and all the other fields.
These "test" Notices are generated by the GCN computer every ~3.6 hrs.
They allow the receiving site to "practice" on the GBM_FLT_POS and LAT_POS _UPD Notices.
Fermi Pointing Direction Notice gives the current pointing direction of the spacecraft and
the pointing direction at 2-minute intervals for the next 60 minutes.
This extrapolation into the future is based on the s/c ephemerise published by the Fermi MOC.
This notice type is issued every 60 minutes.
The Fermi spacrecraft is zenith-pointing oriented, but so as to increase the sky coverage,
the spacecraft nods (slews) +/- ~30 deg north-n-south once every orbit. These 'nods' show up
as discontinuities in the RA,Dec samples every 96 minutes.
On rare occaisions the actual spacecraft pointing direction will deviate
from the planned pointing direction because of a TOO or when the spacecraft repoints
in response to a GBM burst detection.
The automated on-board Fermi flight software will generate GRB position notifications in real time.
(In addition, human-involved analyses of the data may sometimes result
in a revised position within a few hours after the burst.)
The timescales and localization precisions of the various Notice types are as follows:
TIME SINCE LOCATION
TYPE BURST PRECISION COMMENTS
========= ============ ========== ========
GBM_Alert ~5sec n/a First GBM Notice, Timestamp Alert
GBM_Flt_Pos ~10sec 15deg(1 sigma) First (of a series) Position Notice, Flight-calculated
GBM_Gnd_Pos 10-300sec 15deg(tbr) First (of a series) Position Notice, Ground-calculated
LAT_Pos_Ini 2-4 sec 10-100' LAT burst-andor-afterglow location, Initial (Not public)
LAT_Pos_Upd 2-32 sec 10-100' LAT burst-andor-afterglow location, Updated (Public)
LAT_Pos_Diag ~100 sec 10-100' LAT burst-andor-afterglow location, Diagnostic (Not public)
LAT_Pos_GndRef 2-6 hr 5-30' LAT location after refined ground processing (Not yet public)
LAT_Pos_GndTrig 2-6 hr 5-30' LAT location of a ground-found burst (Not yet public)
The sequence of activities for a typical burst follows:
1) The GBM and/or LAT instruments has a "trigger" (a rate increase and/or temporal-spatial clustering).
2) An Alert message is generated and transmitted via TDRSS.
3) The GBM and/or LAT positions are calculated (on board) and the messages are generated and transmitted.
4) Sometimes there will be a SC_SLEW notice indicating the s/c will slew.
5) Zero or more "updated" positions are calculated and messages are transmitted.
6) Most of the time there will be automated ground-calculated improved locations
and these will be generated (and distributed) within 20-300 sec.
The Fermi-to-GCN-to-World Procedure:
GCN receives the Fermi messages directly from the Burst Alert Processor (BAP) from Whitesands from the Fermi spacecraft,
reformats the messages into the standard GCN_Notice formats, and
distributes them to the sites using the usual distribution methods and filtering.
The total amount of time from the TDRSS transmitter on the s/c to the output port
on the GCN system is in the 1-3 sec range (~0.3 sec is the GCN contribution).
Samples of the E-mail, Pager, Short-form Pager, and Subject-only
distribution methods of the 5 GCN/Fermi Notice types are included below.
The format is very similar to the other spacecraft-instrument sources
of GRB locations -- the GCN-standard "TOKEN: value" format.
(Also available in XML format via email.)
The socket packet contents and format are similar to the other mission-specific packet types
and are described in detail in the socket packet definition document.
This document also has explanations of the various fields in the packet
(their content, values, and implications for use),
and those same fields are manifested in the email and pager formats.
(Therefore, it is useful for email/pager recipients to read the
socket packet definition document
to understand the contents of the email/pager notifications are.)
The GBM_Alert Notice is type=110;
the GBM_Flt_Position Notice is type=111;
the GBM_Gnd_Position Notice is type=112;
the LAT_Position_Initial/Update/Diagnostic Notices are type=120/121/122, respectively;
the LAT_Position_GndRefined/GndDetected Notices are type=127/128, respectively;
The 4 miscelaneous Notices are:
the SC_Slew Notice is type=126,
the GBM_Position_Test Notice is type=119,
the LAT_Position_Test Notice is type=124,
the spacecraft Pointing Direction Notice is type=129.
It is important to understand the two "test statistic" values in the LAT Notices.
They are metrics dealing with the time-dependant (temporal) and spatial-dependant (iamge)
aspects of the data analysis. The larger the number, the more confident that
tha the trigger is the result a real astrophysical point source.
The LAT Team has required that only LAT_Update Notices with the sum
of the Temporal and Image Test Statistics greater than 120 be distributed to the world community.
The percentage of real bursts is essentially 100%.
NUM TYPE SOCKET FullFmt_EMAIL PAGER/CELL XML COMMENTS
w/Txt (all 4 variants)
110 GBM_Alert P B B B&A
111 GBM_Flt_Pos P B B B&A
112 GBM_Gnd_Pos P B B B&A
120 LAT_Pos_Ini P B B B&A Fermi_Team only
121 LAT_Pos_Upd P B B B&A
122 LAT_Pos_Diag P B B B&A Fermi_Team only
127 LAT_Pos_GndRef P B B B&A
128 LAT_Pos_GndTrig P B B B&A
126 SC_SLEW P B B B&A
119 GBM_Pos_Test P B B B&A
124 LAT_Pos_Test P B B B&A
129 Point_Dir P B B B&A
where:
P = Packet (the GCN-standard 40 longword socket packet format)
B = Body of email (the GCN-standard "TOKEN: value" format)
A = As an attachment to a full-format email.
Sites can elect to receive each of the 11 Fermi Notice types on a Notice-by-Notice basis.
There is a separate dis/enable bit for each type.
This filtering applies to all the existing distribution methods/media.
The uncertainty in the location will depend on:
(a) the burst_intensity and the instrumental background rate,
(b) the burst's position in the FOV, and
(c) the relative locations and intensities of other sources in the GBM FOV (GBM positions only).
The typical error is:
15 deg (radius, 1-sigma) for the GBM_Position Notice,
~30-100 arcmin (radius, 1-sigma) for LAT_Position Notices, and
The systematic uncertainty depends on the satellite attitude knowledge
and varies from 0 arcsec to TBD arcsec (radius) in the worst situations.
The errors quoted in the GBM_FLIGHT Position Notices includes both the statistical and systematic contributions.
The errors quoted in the other GBM and LAT Position Notices includes only the statistical contribution.
Statement from the GBM Team:
GBM FSW Location Algorithms 1 and 2 (FSW 2.1 and 2.2) produced unreliable estimates
of the location error. Ground-produced locations should be used for estimates
of location uncertainty.
GBM FSW Location Algorithm 3 has a revised error calculation which has several terms,
including a systematic error of 2 degrees.
To allow sites to "practice" on Fermi Notices, there are two Fermi Test Notice types.
The GBM_POS_TEST Notice duplicates the GBM_FLT_POS Notice.
The LAT_POS_TEST Notice duplicates the LAT_POS_UPD Notice.
(Socket packet, email, and cell/page formats are all available).
Sites can elect to receive each of these Test Notices.
These Test Notices are issued every ~3.6 hours.
The RA,Dec positions rotate through a grid on the Northern and Southern celestial skies.
The Fermi spacecraft pointing direction (ie FOV) is known via the POINTDIR Notices.
It is therefore possible to minimize the slewing time of a ground-based telescope
by having it looking at the RA,Dec listed in the POINTDIR Notices.
This is most suitable for automated systems.
Sites are encouraged to acknowledge Fermi and GCN in their publications
based on follow-up observations using these GCN/Fermi locations.
Very Brief Instrument Descriptions:
GBM (Gamma-ray Burst Monitor):
Purpose:
(a) Extend the spectra of LAT-detected bursts down the 10 keV, and
(b) Alert LAT that a burst has happened.
Detectors:
12 NaI 5-inch diameter by 0.5 inch thick
2 BGO 5-inch diameter by 5 inch thick
FOV: more than 2*pi sr
Energy Range: 10 keV to 30 MeV
Trigger: 50-300 keV; 16, 64, 256, 1024, 4096, 16,384 msec; >4.5 sigma in 2 detectors.
LAT (Large Area Telescope):
Si strip tracking detectors with gamma-to-pair converter plates and a calorimeter.
FOV: ~100 deg diameter
Energy Range: 100 MeV to 300 GeV
For further information on this, please contact
Scott Barthelmy (for GCN issues),
or see the
Fermi (main/US site), and
Fermi (NASA site), and
Fermi (SSC site), and
and
these GCN web pages, and
GCN/Fermi GRB table.
Examples of the 11 Notice types of the e-mail formats are shown below.[[BR]] The "/////" divider bars are NOT part of the messages.
Do not take the actual values shown in these examples as real GRBs. While based on ground-test data from the mission, they have been adjusted to provide a broader representation of the various combinations of fields and value ranges.
For those sites/people that use demons and/or incoming e-mail filters,
the "Subject" lines for the all notice types are constant.
The subject-line strings are (respectively):
The 'raw' versions:
GCN/FERMI_GBM_ALERT
GCN/FERMI_GBM_FLT_POSITION (same for both the GBM_Pos and GBM_Pos_Test Notices)
GCN/FERMI_GBM_GND_POSITION
GCN/FERMI_LAT_POSITION (same for Ini, Upd, Diag, GndRef, GndTrig, and Test Notices)
The 'misc' notices:
GCN/FERMI_GBM_POS_TEST
GCN/FERMI_LAT_POS_TEST
GCN/FERMI_POINTDIR
/////////////////////////GBM_Alert e-mail format////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Fri 17 Oct 08 11:22:45 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-GBM Alert
RECORD_NUM: 1
TRIGGER_NUM: 245935358
GRB_DATE: 14756 TJD; 291 DOY; 08/10/17
GRB_TIME: 40957.44 SOD {11:22:37.44} UT
TRIGGER_SIGNIF: 4.7 [sigma]
TRIGGER_DUR: 1.024 [sec]
E_RANGE: 3-4 [chan] 47-291 [keV]
ALGORITHM: 13
DETECTORS: 0,1,1, 0,0,0, 0,0,0, 0,0,0, 0,0,
COMMENTS: Fermi-GBM Trigger Alert.
COMMENTS: This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 197.00,-13.83 [deg].
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////GBM_Flight_Pos e-mail format//////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Fri 11 Dec 08 11:22:55 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-GBM Flight Position
RECORD_NUM: 49
TRIGGER_NUM: 245935358
GRB_RA: 106.783d {+07h 07m 08s} (J2000),
106.884d {+07h 07m 32s} (current),
106.211d {+07h 04m 51s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: -14.450d {-14d 26' 59"} (J2000),
-14.464d {-14d 27' 50"} (current),
-14.371d {-14d 22' 14"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 27.33 [deg radius, statistical plus systematic]
GRB_INTEN: 76 [cnts/sec]
DATA_SIGNIF: 5.50 [sigma]
INTEG_TIME: 2.048 [sec]
GRB_DATE: 14796 TJD; 344 DOY; 08/12/11
GRB_TIME: 40957.44 SOD {11:22:37.44} UT
GRB_PHI: 87.00 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 80.00 [deg]
HARD_RATIO: 1.02
LOC_ALGORITHM: 3 (version number of)
MOST_LIKELY: 50% GRB
2nd_MOST_LIKELY: 29% Generic SGR
DETECTORS: 0,1,1, 0,0,0, 0,0,0, 0,0,0, 0,0,
SUN_POSTN: 202.66d {+13h 30m 37s} -9.48d {-09d 28' 46"}
SUN_DIST: 93.15 [deg] Sun_angle= 6.4 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 57.03d {+03h 48m 08s} +25.00d {+24d 59' 59"}
MOON_DIST: 62.59 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 91 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 227.57, -3.14 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 110.41,-36.71 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-GBM Flight-calculated Coordinates.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////GBM Ground Position e-mail format//////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Thu 09 Oct 08 16:34:33 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-GBM Ground Position
RECORD_NUM: 58
TRIGGER_NUM: 245262818
GRB_RA: 75.900d {+05h 03m 36s} (J2000),
76.024d {+05h 04m 06s} (current),
75.194d {+05h 00m 46s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +13.780d {+13d 46' 48"} (J2000),
+13.792d {+13d 47' 31"} (current),
+13.711d {+13d 42' 38"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 3.40 [deg radius, statistical only]
DATA_SIGNIF: 26.30 [sigma]
DATA_INTERVAL: 4.096 [sec]
GRB_DATE: 14748 TJD; 283 DOY; 08/10/09
GRB_TIME: 59617.00 SOD {16:33:37.00} UT
GRB_PHI: 236.00 [deg]
GRB_ZENITH: 99.00 [deg]
E_RANGE: 44.032 - 279.965 [keV]
LOC_ALGORITHM: 1 (Gnd S/W Version number)
SUN_POSTN: 195.44d {+13h 01m 46s} -6.58d {-06d 34' 59"}
SUN_DIST: 120.08 [deg] Sun_angle= 8.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 315.10d {+21h 00m 23s} -17.41d {-17d 24' 31"}
MOON_DIST: 123.20 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 72 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 187.44,-16.45 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 76.14, -8.98 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-GBM Ground-calculated Coordinates.
COMMENTS: This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////GBM_Trans e-mail format//////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Thu 09 Oct 08 16:34:33 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-GBM Transient Position
RECORD_NUM: 58
TRIGGER_NUM: 245262818
GRB_RA: 75.900d {+05h 03m 36s} (J2000),
76.024d {+05h 04m 06s} (current),
75.194d {+05h 00m 46s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +13.780d {+13d 46' 48"} (J2000),
+13.792d {+13d 47' 31"} (current),
+13.711d {+13d 42' 38"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 3.40 [deg radius, statistical only]
DATA_SIGNIF: 26.30 [sigma]
DATA_INTERVAL: 4.096 [sec]
GRB_DATE: 14748 TJD; 283 DOY; 08/10/09
GRB_TIME: 59617.00 SOD {16:33:37.00} UT
GRB_PHI: 236.00 [deg]
GRB_ZENITH: 99.00 [deg]
E_RANGE: 44.032 - 279.965 [keV]
LOC_ALGORITHM: 1 (Gnd S/W Version number)
SUN_POSTN: 195.44d {+13h 01m 46s} -6.58d {-06d 34' 59"}
SUN_DIST: 120.08 [deg] Sun_angle= 8.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 315.10d {+21h 00m 23s} -17.41d {-17d 24' 31"}
MOON_DIST: 123.20 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 72 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 187.44,-16.45 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 76.14, -8.98 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-GBM Transient Coordinates.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////LAT_Pos Init e-mail format//////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Fri 06 Feb 09 14:52:49 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-LAT Initial Position
RECORD_NUM: 0
TRIGGER_NUM: 255624764
GRB_RA: 161.233d {+10h 44m 56s} (J2000),
161.355d {+10h 45m 25s} (current),
160.565d {+10h 42m 16s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +16.917d {+16d 54' 60"} (J2000),
+16.869d {+16d 52' 07"} (current),
+17.180d {+17d 10' 47"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 60.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN_TOT: 5 [cnts]
GRB_INTEN1: 2 [cnts] (0-100 MeV)
GRB_INTEN2: 2 [cnts] (0.1-1 GeV)
GRB_INTEN3: 0 [cnts] ( 1-10 GeV)
GRB_INTEN4: 1 [cnts] (10-up GeV)
INTEG_DUR: 2.275 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 0
GRB_DATE: 14868 TJD; 37 DOY; 09/02/06
GRB_TIME: 53564.60 SOD {14:52:44.60} UT
SOLN_STATUS: 0x3
TEMP_TEST_STAT: 83.25 (log(prob), time domain)
IMAGE_TEST_STAT: 42.75 (log(prob), image domain)
SUN_POSTN: 320.40d {+21h 21m 35s} -15.45d {-15d 26' 57"}
SUN_DIST: 159.83 [deg] Sun_angle= 10.6 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 97.63d {+06h 30m 30s} +25.97d {+25d 58' 03"}
MOON_DIST: 59.48 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 88 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 225.57, 59.06 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 156.27, 8.31 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-LAT Coordinates.
COMMENTS: The BurstID came from GBM.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////LAT_Pos Update e-mail format//////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Fri 06 Feb 09 14:53:16 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-LAT Update Position
RECORD_NUM: 6
TRIGGER_NUM: 255624764
GRB_RA: 159.350d {+10h 37m 24s} (J2000),
159.471d {+10h 37m 53s} (current),
158.684d {+10h 34m 44s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +14.000d {+14d 00' 00"} (J2000),
+13.953d {+13d 57' 09"} (current),
+14.260d {+14d 15' 36"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 44.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN_TOT: 38 [cnts]
GRB_INTEN1: 13 [cnts] (0-100 MeV)
GRB_INTEN2: 9 [cnts] (0.1-1 GeV)
GRB_INTEN3: 2 [cnts] ( 1-10 GeV)
GRB_INTEN4: 14 [cnts] (10-up GeV)
INTEG_DUR: 30.797 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 0
GRB_DATE: 14868 TJD; 37 DOY; 09/02/06
GRB_TIME: 53594.27 SOD {14:53:14.27} UT
SOLN_STATUS: 0x20000003
TEMP_TEST_STAT: 83.25 (log(prob), time domain)
IMAGE_TEST_STAT: 42.75 (log(prob), image domain)
SUN_POSTN: 320.40d {+21h 21m 35s} -15.45d {-15d 26' 56"}
SUN_DIST: 161.49 [deg] Sun_angle= 10.7 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 97.63d {+06h 30m 32s} +25.97d {+25d 58' 01"}
MOON_DIST: 58.84 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 88 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 228.93, 56.13 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 155.69, 4.92 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-LAT Coordinates.
COMMENTS: The BurstID came from GBM.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////LAT_Pos Diagnostic e-mail format/////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Fri 06 Feb 09 15:02:47 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-LAT Diagnostic Position
RECORD_NUM: 7
TRIGGER_NUM: 255624764
GRB_RA: 153.450d {+10h 13m 48s} (J2000),
153.573d {+10h 14m 18s} (current),
152.772d {+10h 11m 05s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +16.467d {+16d 27' 60"} (J2000),
+16.421d {+16d 25' 17"} (current),
+16.715d {+16d 42' 54"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 7.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN_TOT: 1921 [cnts]
GRB_INTEN1: 217 [cnts] (0-100 MeV)
GRB_INTEN2: 172 [cnts] (0.1-1 GeV)
GRB_INTEN3: 26 [cnts] ( 1-10 GeV)
GRB_INTEN4: 226 [cnts] (10-up GeV)
INTEG_DUR: 596.972 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 0
GRB_DATE: 14868 TJD; 37 DOY; 09/02/06
GRB_TIME: 54160.43 SOD {15:02:40.43} UT
SOLN_STATUS: 0x3
TEMP_TEST_STAT: 83.25 (log(prob), time domain)
IMAGE_TEST_STAT: 42.75 (log(prob), image domain)
SUN_POSTN: 320.40d {+21h 21m 37s} -15.45d {-15d 26' 49"}
SUN_DIST: 167.30 [deg] Sun_angle= 11.1 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 97.74d {+06h 30m 58s} +25.95d {+25d 57' 15"}
MOON_DIST: 52.55 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 88 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 220.93, 52.06 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 149.46, 5.14 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-LAT Coordinates.
COMMENTS: The BurstID came from GBM.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////LAT_Pos Ground-Refined e-mail format/////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 19 Oct 09 14:16:48 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-LAT Ground-Refined Position
TRIGGER_NUM: 276237346
GRB_RA: 250.760d {+16h 43m 02s} (J2000),
250.844d {+16h 43m 23s} (current),
250.327d {+16h 41m 18s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +38.230d {+38d 13' 48"} (J2000),
+38.212d {+38d 12' 43"} (current),
+38.323d {+38d 19' 21"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 60.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN2: 10.3 [cnts] (0.1-1 GeV)
GRB_INTEN3: 0.2 [cnts] ( 1-10 GeV)
GRB_INTEN4: 0.0 [cnts] (10-up GeV)
GRB_DATE: 15107 TJD; 276 DOY; 09/10/03
GRB_TIME: 16543.00 SOD {04:35:43.00} UT
GRB_PHI: -95.16 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 13.86 [deg]
SIGNIFICANCE: 5.90 [sqrt(TS) 2 dof]
SUN_POSTN: 204.42d {+13h 37m 40s} -10.16d {-10d 09' 35"}
SUN_DIST: 64.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -3.1 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 219.36d {+14h 37m 26s} -20.34d {-20d 20' 16"}
MOON_DIST: 65.59 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 2 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 61.37, 40.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 239.20, 59.63 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi LAT Ground-Analysis position.
COMMENTS: This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////LAT_Pos Ground-Triggered e-mail format///////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Fri 06 Feb 09 15:55:04 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-LAT Ground-Trigger Position
TRIGGER_NUM: 254280393
GRB_RA: 257.426d {+17h 09m 42s} (J2000),
257.581d {+17h 10m 19s} (current),
256.573d {+17h 06m 17s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: -38.114d {-38d 06' 49"} (J2000),
-38.125d {-38d 07' 28"} (current),
-38.051d {-38d 03' 04"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 60.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_DATE: 14853 TJD; 22 DOY; 09/01/22
GRB_TIME: 5191.78 SOD {01:26:31.78} UT
GRB_PHI: 90.00 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 4.53 [deg]
TRIGGER_ID: 0x0
TRIG_SIGNIF: 12.09 [sigma]
SUN_POSTN: 320.44d {+21h 21m 45s} -15.44d {-15d 26' 08"}
SUN_DIST: 59.32 [deg] Sun_angle= 4.2 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 98.33d {+06h 33m 20s} +25.88d {+25d 52' 56"}
MOON_DIST: 158.65 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 88 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 348.22, 1.10 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 259.78,-15.12 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi LAT Ground-Trigger position.
COMMENTS: This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.
COMMENTS: The spectrum is very hard.
COMMENTS: The lightcurve shows the event to be ~100 sec long.
COMMENTS: This is AGN 1234.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////LAT_Trans e-mail format////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////SC_SLEW e-mail format////////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Wed 17 Jun 09 05:00:19 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi Will_Slew
RECORD_NUM: 0
TRIGGER_NUM: 0 Sequence: 0
POINT_RA: 86.833d {+05h 47m 20s} (J2000),
87.024d {+05h 48m 06s} (current),
85.824d {+05h 43m 18s} (1950)
POINT_DEC: +53.017d {+53d 00' 60"} (J2000),
+53.019d {+53d 01' 10"} (current),
+52.999d {+52d 59' 56"} (1950)
POINT_DATE: 14999 TJD; 168 DOY; 09/06/17
POINT_TIME: 18001.68 SOD {05:00:01.68} UT
OBS_TIME: 18000.00 [sec] (=300.0 [min]) dwell
SUN_POSTN: 85.80d {+05h 43m 13s} +23.38d {+23d 22' 54"}
SUN_DIST: 29.65 [deg] Sun_angle= -0.1 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 8.31d {+00h 33m 13s} +8.97d {+08d 58' 24"}
MOON_DIST: 76.06 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 37 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 159.25, 12.50 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 87.81, 29.60 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi SC Slew decision.
COMMENTS: The spacecraft accepted the repoint request.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Examples of the (regular) pager formats are shown below. There are no "Subject" lines for these e-mails sent to the pager companies because the Subject line would use up valuable character counts from the maximum displayable for the body of the message.
/////////////////////////GBM_Alert Pager format//////////////////////////// /////////////////////////GBM_Pos Pager format////////////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Ini Pager format////////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Upd Pager format////////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Diag Pager format///////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Gnd_Ref Pager format////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Gnd_Trig Pager format///////////////////// GCN/FERMI-LAT Gnd-Trigger Position RA=257.5806d DEC=-38.1248d ERR=60.00arcmin T=01:26:31.78 UT I=0 [cnts] ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Examples of the short-form pager format are shown below. There are no "Subject" lines for these e-mails sent to the pager companies, because the Subject-line would use up valuable character counts from the maximum displayable for the body of the message. And it was the very limited display character count of some companies that motivated the short-form pager method in the first place.
[i need to fill in the rest of these examples!!!] /////////////////////////GBM_Alert Short-Pager format/////////////////////// /////////////////////////GBM_Pos Short-Pager format///////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Ini Short-Pager format///////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Upd Short-Pager format///////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Diag Short-Pager format//////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Gnd_Ref Short-Pager format///////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Gnd_Trig Short-Pager format//////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There are two variations of the Subject-only format: decimal degrees and RA=hh:mm:ss Dec=DDdMMmSSs format. The two variations are shown below:
[i need to fill in more of these examples!!!] /////////////////////////GBM_Alert Subject-only format/////////////////////// /////////////////////////GBM_Pos Subject-only format///////////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Ini Subject-only format///////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Upd Subject-only format///////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Diag Subject-only format//////////////////// /////////////////////////LAT_Gnd_Trig_Pos Subject-only format//////////////// Subject: Fermi-LAT Gnd-Trigger RA=257.581 DEC=-38.125d Subject: Fermi LAT Gnd-Triggered RA=+17:09:42 DEC=-38:06:49 E=60.0arcmin T=01:26:31.78 I=0.00 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Here is an example of the Fermi GBM Position Test Notice (e_mail format).
//////////////////////////////GBM_Pos_Test////////////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Sun 24 Oct 04 16:14:37 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-GBM Test Position
TRIGGER_NUM: 99999, Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA: 252.000d {+16h 47m 60s} (J2000),
252.044d {+16h 48m 11s} (current),
251.545d {+16h 46m 11s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +35.000d {+34d 59' 60"} (J2000),
+34.992d {+34d 59' 30"} (current),
+35.087d {+35d 05' 13"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN: 1000 [cnts/sec]
DATA_SIGNIF: 12.31 [sigma]
GRB_DATE: 13302 TJD; 298 DOY; 04/10/24
GRB_TIME: 58477.00 SOD {16:14:37.00} UT
GRB_PHI: 123.54 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 12.34 [deg]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 10027
SOLN_STATUS: 3
SUN_POSTN: 209.44d {+13h 57m 45s} -12.03d {-12d 01' 40"}
SUN_DIST: 61.95 [deg]
MOON_POSTN: 352.11d {+23h 28m 27s} -7.26d {-07d 15' 46"}
MOON_DIST: 102.39 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 87 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 57.33,39.46 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS: 242.52,56.73 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS: FERMI-GBM GRB TEST Coordinates.
COMMENTS: This is a rate trigger.
COMMENTS: A point_source was found.
COMMENTS: This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.
COMMENTS: This is a GRB.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////////////////LAT_Pos_Test////////////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Thu 05 Feb 09 16:35:20 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi-LAT Test Position
RECORD_NUM: 1
TRIGGER_NUM: 99999
GRB_RA: 252.000d {+16h 48m 00s} (J2000),
252.083d {+16h 48m 20s} (current),
251.545d {+16h 46m 11s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +35.000d {+35d 00' 00"} (J2000),
+34.984d {+34d 59' 04"} (current),
+35.087d {+35d 05' 13"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 25.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN_TOT: 20 [cnts]
GRB_INTEN1: 92 [cnts] (0-100 MeV)
GRB_INTEN2: 18 [cnts] (0.1-1 GeV)
GRB_INTEN3: 0 [cnts] ( 1-10 GeV)
GRB_INTEN4: 0 [cnts] (10-up GeV)
INTEG_DUR: 0.064 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 5
GRB_DATE: 14867 TJD; 36 DOY; 09/02/05
GRB_TIME: 59712.00 SOD {16:35:12.00} UT
SOLN_STATUS: 0x1
TEMP_TEST_STAT: 28.75 (log(prob), time domain)
IMAGE_TEST_STAT: 83.25 (log(prob), image domain)
SUN_POSTN: 319.46d {+21h 17m 51s} -15.74d {-15d 44' 08"}
SUN_DIST: 81.50 [deg] Sun_angle= 4.5 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 82.39d {+05h 29m 32s} +26.96d {+26d 57' 32"}
MOON_DIST: 117.30 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 80 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 57.33, 39.46 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 242.52, 56.73 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: Fermi-LAT TEST Coordinates.
COMMENTS: The BurstID came from GBM.
COMMENTS: All gamma energies were used.
COMMENTS: This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Here is an example of the FERMI Pointing Direction Notice (e_mail format).
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TITLE: GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Thu 19 Feb 09 20:14:49 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Fermi Pointing Direction
CURR_POINT_RA: 155.17d {+10h 20m 41s} (J2000),
155.28d {+10h 21m 08s} (current),
154.55d {+10h 18m 13s} (1950)
CURR_POINT_DEC: -10.85d {-10d 51' 04"} (J2000),
-10.90d {-10d 53' 50"} (current),
-10.60d {-10d 35' 56"} (1950)
CURR_DATE: 14881 TJD; 50 DOY; 09/02/19
CURR_TIME: 72900.00 SOD {20:15:00.00} UT
DELTA_TIME: 120 [sec]
SUN_POSTN: 333.35d {+22h 13m 24s} -11.00d {-11d 00' 15"}
SUN_DIST: 158.01 [deg] Sun_angle= 11.9 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 273.69d {+18h 14m 46s} -26.55d {-26d 32' 44"}
MOON_DIST: 109.48 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 24 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 253.93, 37.29 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 161.20,-19.68 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 161.3d -11.3d (J2000) - 73020.00 SOD {20:17:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 167.4d -12.1d (J2000) - 73140.00 SOD {20:19:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 173.6d -13.3d (J2000) - 73260.00 SOD {20:21:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 179.7d -14.8d (J2000) - 73380.00 SOD {20:23:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 185.7d -16.5d (J2000) - 73500.00 SOD {20:25:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 191.8d -18.6d (J2000) - 73620.00 SOD {20:27:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 197.8d -20.9d (J2000) - 73740.00 SOD {20:29:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 203.9d -23.4d (J2000) - 73860.00 SOD {20:31:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 209.9d -26.1d (J2000) - 73980.00 SOD {20:33:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 216.1d -29.0d (J2000) - 74100.00 SOD {20:35:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 222.3d -32.0d (J2000) - 74220.00 SOD {20:37:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 228.7d -35.1d (J2000) - 74340.00 SOD {20:39:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 235.3d -38.3d (J2000) - 74460.00 SOD {20:41:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 242.2d -41.6d (J2000) - 74580.00 SOD {20:43:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 249.4d -44.8d (J2000) - 74700.00 SOD {20:45:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 257.2d -47.9d (J2000) - 74820.00 SOD {20:47:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 265.5d -50.9d (J2000) - 74940.00 SOD {20:49:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 274.6d -53.7d (J2000) - 75060.00 SOD {20:51:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 284.5d -56.1d (J2000) - 75180.00 SOD {20:53:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 295.3d -58.1d (J2000) - 75300.00 SOD {20:55:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 307.0d -59.6d (J2000) - 75420.00 SOD {20:57:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 319.3d -60.4d (J2000) - 75540.00 SOD {20:59:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 331.8d -60.5d (J2000) - 75660.00 SOD {21:01:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 344.3d -59.9d (J2000) - 75780.00 SOD {21:03:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 356.1d -58.7d (J2000) - 75900.00 SOD {21:05:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 7.2d -56.9d (J2000) - 76020.00 SOD {21:07:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 17.4d -54.6d (J2000) - 76140.00 SOD {21:09:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 26.8d -51.9d (J2000) SAA 76260.00 SOD {21:11:00.00} UT
FUTURE_RA_DEC: 35.3d -49.0d (J2000) SAA 76380.00 SOD {21:13:00.00} UT
COMMENTS: Fermi Pointing Direction.
COMMENTS: The Sun & Moon distances and the GAL/ECL_COORDS are at the time of the CURR_POINT.
COMMENTS: The FUTURE columns are Ra, Dec, SAA_flag, Time (Sec-of-Day and hh:mm:ss.ss UT).
COMMENTS: Most of the discontinuities in the pointing direction are when the s/c 'nods' between hemispheres.
COMMENTS: The LAT FOV is ~100deg diameter.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////