XMM Users' Handbook

   
Structure and contents of the Users' Handbook

This document contains, in the order listed here:

1.

A concise summary of XMM's properties and the instruments onboard, intended for use as a guideline for observers writing XMM proposals, and a short description of how to conduct observations with XMM. Most of the information needed for this purpose is contained in § 3 and § 4 and some of the appendices (the necessary links are provided in §§ 3 and 4).

2.

The next chapter (§ 5) describes the XMM Guest Observer (GO) program.

3.

A brief description of the XMM Data Archive (XMM Data Archive; § 7) and of the data calibration and analysis, (§ 6), which also introduces the XMM Science Analysis Subsystem (SAS) software. Only users whose observations have been conducted successfully will need to read these chapters.

4.

Appendices on related issues, like e.g., the XMM Science Simulator (SciSim; Appendix A) and the XMM Survey Science Centre (SSC; Appendix B), and lists of XMM Calibration & Performance Verification (Cal/PV) targets (Appendix C) and the XMM Guaranteed Time (GT) programme (Appendix D).

CAVEAT: The information contained in this document represents the best current understanding of XMM at the time of release. Since no in-flight data (and no in-flight calibration) are available yet, no guarantee can be given for the correctness of the information provided below. Updates, if necessary, will be made as soon as possible after evaluation of incoming new information.

The information contained in §§ 3, 4 and 5 and appendices A, C and D should supply sufficient detail to enable the reader to prepare the submission of an XMM observing proposal via the XMM Remote Proposal Submission software (XRPS). Note: The XRPS Users' Manual will be available on 1999 January 4.