Dr. Edwin Grayzeck Head, National Space Science Data Center Mail Code 690.1 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, 20771 Edwin.J.Grayzeck@nasa.gov 301-286-7355
PSSB-00049
Comet Halley Data from the International Halley Watch . Twenty-three discs contain data in compressed Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) table format and Planetary Data System (PDS) format along with ASCII text.
This set consists of the data gathered as a result of the International Halley Watch (IHW) effort. The data are available only on CD-ROM. The first 24 volumes make up the entire remote sensing (ground-based, airborne, and Earth-orbiting) component of the effort. Volumes 25 and 26 comprise the in situ observations made by the various spacecraft sent to intercept comets Halley and Giacobini-Zinner. The various IHW disciplines (astrometry, infrared, large-scale phenomena, near-nucleus studies, photometry/polarimetry, radio, spectroscopy/spectrophotometry, amateur observations, and meteor studies) are all represented on the discs.
The data are provided with FITS headers and PDS labels, both separate from the data files. The CD-ROMs can be read on several different platforms, including DEC VAX or MicroVAX under VMS, SUN, Macintosh, and IBM PC computers. The imaging data on the CD-ROMs can be displayed by a number of different utilities (notably IMDISP for IBM PC compatibles and Image4PDS or CD Browser for Macintoshes, all available separately from NSSDC).
Volumes 25-26 of the International Halley Watch CD-ROM Archive detail data on the numerous spacecraft that participated. The spacecraft measurements of comets Halley and Giacobini-Zinner from Giotto, Sakigake, Suisei, Vega1, Vega2, and Ice make up the final two volumes (25 and 26) of the IHW digital Archive. This data was initially collected by the IHW, but as it passed out of existence the final task of completing the volumes has been the work of the Small Bodies Node of the Planetary Data System. A large number of scientists submitted data to this archive project and in the case of the spacecraft data, sometimes from different groups. The final list of 38 unique data sets represents 34 experiments or 75% of the available data. In each case a unique "data set id" has been assigned to the data submission.