Next: 2.4 Designing the Observations Up: 2. Getting Started Previous: 2.2.4 What is the Contents Index
One of the critical tools we will need to design Spitzer observations is Spot. Let's deal with that next.
The SSC has developed a suite of software tools for designing observing programs. The various stages e.g., determining windows for scheduling, visualizing the observations via an overlay on existing imaging, and submission of the proposal itself are all done through one main tool: Spot. Spot is similar to the Astronomer's Proposal Tool for HST (and it is also somewhat similar to the HST Phase 2 proposal software, RPS2). With Spitzer, the proposal and design phase are linked: to create an observing proposal for Spitzer, observers will use the SSC tools to actually design a program that is `ready-to-fly' on Spitzer, including the determination of visibility windows, constraints, etc. With the Spitzer Space Telescope, this format is created initially using Spot.
In addition to Spot, the SSC has developed Leopard, the Archive Tool, a software package used to download data. Together, these two cats, Spot and Leopard, are referred to as ``Spitzer Pride.''
The Spitzer Pride package is freely available for download from the Spitzer Science Center website ``Proposal Kit'' page:
Look under the section ``Getting the Software'' and follow the links to download the software appropriate for your platform.A few notes about Spot (and Leopard): the software is written in the JAVA programming language, and requires a moderately large memory allocation, and a fast processor, in your computer. See the Spot User's Guide for additional information. The minimum recommended hardware configurations are:
Sun Workstations:
Windows PC:
Linux PC:
Mac PC:
Even with these minimum requirements, some features i.e., visualizing AORs may be unacceptably slow.
Currently, Spot is supported in a number of operating system configurations, including:
UNIX:
Windows:
Linux:
Mac: