How to Retrieve FUSE Data from the FUSE/MAST Archive

The FUSE archive is hosted by MAST (Multi-mission Archive at Space Telescope). To retrieve your proprietary FUSE data, you must have an STSCI/MAST archive retrieval account and have it authorized for the appropriate programs. If you do not already have a STSCI/MAST account you must first register for one. A new registerant should note in the comment block of this form that he/she is a FUSE user for program number(s) XXX1, XXX2, etc. MAST will then set up an account for access of these proprietary datasets, and will contact the user with an account name and password after verification.

Users can search for and retrieve data using the web interface. You are highly encouraged to first read the How to Retrieve FUSE Data from MAST and MAST search primer pages, before trying to retrieve data.

Helpful hints on retrieving data from the archive are given below:

  1. Go to the FUSE archive web page.

  2. Follow the link "Science Data Search"

  3. You can search for a dataset in many different ways -- by program ID, target name, coordinates, etc. If you choose to search by target name, be wary of the "name resolver". For instance, if you enter the star name SK-67D169, and ask Simbad to resolve the name, it will fail to find anything. It turns out that Simbad will only work on this particular name if you enter SK-67169. If you know the exact name of the target as it was entered on the Phase 2 form (and the way it appears in the FITS header), then enter the target name, and do not use the name resolver at all. It is probably easier to search on progam ID or target coordinates.

    If you decide to search for the dataset using the program ID, then you can search using "Program" or "Observation Name". If, for instance, you want to see all observations from program A001, then just enter A001 in the form under "Program", and hit the search key. If you want to find a specific observation in A001, say A0010101, then in the "Observation Name" field enter A0010101000 (NB. note the 3 trailing 0's appended to the string). Entering A0010101* also works.

  4. When you get to the next page, showing the results of the search, just mark the dataset you want to download. As of January 21, 2000, the links to the "Data Set Names" do not work. The exposure times reported in the the table are not correct for certain datasets that were archived with incorrect exposure times in the co-added (merged) spectra [the true observation time -- sum of all exposures -- should be the value reported divided by 8].

  5. When you finally get to the last step in the process, you must choose the "NET" retrieval option if the data you are retrieving is still proprietary. This is MAST policy. The NET retrieval requires you to provide a password to your computer so that an FTP session can be initiated by MAST. The password is encrypted for transfer across the internet. When entering the path where you want the data delivered on your computer, you can enter any path name that is accessible from the login directory of your FTP account.

  6. Although the MAST manual says that for large retrievals, a tape can be made and mailed to the user, this is not a general option for FUSE data (because of the cost involved).

Questions about the process of retrieving data should be directed to the MAST Archive help desk at archive@stsci.edu or 410-338-4547. If you have questions about the reduction or processing of FUSE data, please send email to fuse_support@pha.jhu.edu.

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