This is a description and user guide for version 3.0 of the Spitzer Heritage Archive (SHA) interface. The SHA website can be found at: http://sha.ipac.caltech.edu/applications/Spitzer/SHA/. It currently provides access to all Spitzer data, those from the Cryogenic and Warm Mission eras; passwords are needed for access to data that are still proprietary. The SHA has replaced Leopard as the interface to all Spitzer data as of Fall 2010.
Please note: the website may be down for regular maintenance, which is typically Thursday mornings, 8-10AM Pacific time.
The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility), was launched into an earth-trailing orbit on 25 August 2003. Consisting of a 0.85-meter telescope and three science instruments, at the time of its launch, Spitzer was the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space. During the cryogenic mission, the instruments aboard Spitzer (IRAC, IRS and MIPS) obtained images and spectra at wavelengths between 3 and 180 microns, with spatial resolution ranging from 2 arcseconds at the shortest wavelengths to 40 arcseconds at the longest. Spitzer is still currently taking data with IRAC at 3.6 and 4.5 during the Warm Mission Era. More information on Spitzer from both the cryogenic and warm missions can be found at http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/data/SPITZER/docs/.
IRSA and the Spitzer Heritage Archive utilize technology developed for the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO), funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Cooperative Agreement AST-0834235.
3.2 Major Tasks
Searching, Results, and Filters
Several search options are provided, which are documented in more detail below. Searching by position is the most popular search.
The search results appear in up to five tabs: AORs, Level 1, Level 2, IRS Enhanced (shorthand for "SSC-generated enhanced products for IRS"), and Contributed Products (shorthand for "Contributed Enhanced Products"). Each tab provides a different look at data retrieved by your search. (See Chapter 6 on understanding your search results for more information.)
Filters, either imposed on your initial search or via your results page, can provide a powerful tool for weeding down search results to the observations you want. For example, you can restrict your search to just one instrument or wavelength range, or you can restrict the entries in the tabs to be just the data products pertaining to one AOR. This same filtering mechanism can be imposed on the entire set of IRS enhanced products.
Visualization
Powerful visualization tools were important to the original Spitzer observation planning and archive tools (Spot and Leopard), and the descendents of these tools are included in the SHA. FITS images from Spitzer or other bands (or your computer) can be loaded into the viewer. The footprint of the observation can be overlaid on an image of your choice. Individual Level 1 or Level 2 products can be viewed interactively. The coverage map (e.g., how many times a given portion of sky was observed) can be overlaid on a FITS image of your choice. See Chapter 8 for more information.
Downloading Data
After deciding what data to download, click on the corresponding checkbox on the left side, and click "Prepare Download" to begin the packaging and data download process -- the download then gets passed to the Background Monitor for packaging. See Chapter 9 on Downloading Data for more information.
Tagging and User Preferences
There are tools here to help you re-create a search from before (that you or someone else did), called "tagging," or have the SHA remember you and your preferences when you return. See the user registration section below for more information.
