The International Halley Watch (IHW) CDROM Archive

The archive consists of a set of CDROMs and supplementary material including:

• 18 disks of compressed image data, 1 volume of uncompressed image data (also available in Addenda)
• 5 disks of text data from various ground-based observers, organized by date of observation
• 1 disk containing the data on comets Giacobini-Zinner and Crommelin, which were observed by the IHW as practice targets prior to the Halley encounter
• 2 disks containing the data collected by the various spacecraft sent to intercept Halley, organized by mission. These disks were first distributed in late 1995.
• Errata noted in the original 26 volumes of the archive
• Addenda: additional volumes prepared after publication of the original archive

On-line Browsing

The entire archive contents, including additions - some of them still in preparation - to the original 26 disks are available for online browsing below.

At the top level of each disk you will find a directory called index, which contains indices, in the form of PDS ASCII Tables, to the various image and binary file datasets, each in a separate directory. The associated label ("*.lbl") files describe the contents of each column of the index file. Note: The IHW disks tend to contain many small files, which can result in long download times for directory listings - comparable to those for very large data files.

Complete copies of the archive may be requested from the SBN using the form at the bottom of this page.

Note: These data were prepared when PDS standards were in their earliest stages and the FITS TABLE extension had not yet reached its final state. Expect to encounter unsupported keywords, extensions and formats in any and all files. A restoration effort is underway at the Small Bodies Node to decompress and convert the entire archive to current standard FITS and PDS form. When these data are available, they will be posted through this web site.

Image disks, Volumes HAL_0001 to HAL_0018 and HAL_1006 (Addenda)

Disks HAL_0001 to HAL_0018 contain compressed image and calibration data and browse data for the time span indicated. Source code for decompression software is supplied in the software directory of each volume. See the aareadme.txt file and document subdirectory for documentation and explanations. The data are located under a root-level directory with a name of the form "cYYmmmDD", where YY is the two-digit year, mmm is the three-letter month abbreviation, and DD is the day within the month for the start of the data.

Volume HAL_1006 contains supplemental, uncompressed image data of Halley. These data are stored under the data directory. The index.tab file in the index directory contains the UTC start and stop times for each image. The lspnindx.tab file in the index directory contains scientifically useful keyword values for each image, such as exposure duration, filter, and field-of-view. Calibration data, browse images, and ephemeris data, reside on the original volumes HAL_0001 through HAL_0018.

Ground-Based, Non-image Data

These disk volumes contain all the tabular data collected from ground-based observatories during the time span indicated. See the aareadme.txt file and document subdirectory for documentation and explanations. The data are sorted chronologically, regardless of discipline or type of observation. The data files are located under root-level directories with names of the form "yYYYY", where YYYY is the four-digit year of observation.

Selected data from the ground-based observations have been collected into these ASCII tables for ready reference.

Trial Run and Spacecraft Data

The first volume contains the results of the IHW trial-runs on comets Crommelin and Giacobini-Zinner, sorted chronologically. The remaining volumes contain the data obtained by spacecraft. Note that HAL_0026 contains ICE observations of comet Giacobini-Zinner as well as of comet Halley. See the aareadme.txt file and document subdirectory for documentation and explanations.

Errata

Many errata which were discovered during the preparation of the CDs are discussed on the last CD of the ground-based data (Volume 23) in the directory /summary/errata. Additional errata have been compiled from many sources, particularly from users of the IHW Archive. These are available by clicking on the relevant data set prefix:

• Infrared Imaging (IRIM)
• Infrared Photometry (IRPH)
• Infrared Spectrometry (IRSP)
• Meteor Studies Net - Radar (MSNRDR)
• Near-Nucleus Studies Net (NNSN)
• Narrow-Band Photometry (PFLX)
• Radio Studies - Continuum (RSCN)
• Radio Studies - OH (RSOH)
• Radio Studies - Spectral Limits (RSSL)
• Spectrophotometry (SPEC)

Any user who discovers additional problems with the CDs should notify us at the Small Bodies Node, care of our Archive Administrator, Ludmilla Kolokolova, userid ludmilla at a s t r o . u m d . e d u.

Addenda

These volumes were prepared after the initial archiving effort. They extend, supplement or improve on the original observations of comets 1P/Halley and 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Organization varies depending on the content of each volume. See the aareadme.txt file and document subdirectory for documentation and explanations. The table below provides a direct link into each major data subdivision, but documentation and indexing are in the communal directories located at the volume root level.

To Request a Copy of the Archive

Researchers and educators who would like to receive a copy of the full archive should submit a request through the form, below.

HTML form, (requires Forms support).

ASCII form

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Last update: 23 December 2004, sam.