All CRIRES raw files carry the FITS keyword 'HIERARCH ESO OBS PROG ID'. Depending on its content, two cases are distinguished concerning the distribution of files in the Service Mode package:

• SCIENCE files: here a strict check on the PROG_ID is made. You will receive all files which carry your PROG_ID, and only those.
• CALIB files: you will receive all the files which carry your PROG_ID, but in most cases your set is dominated by shared files, i.e. those ones which were produced by the observatory as part of the daily calibration plan. In general the selection of calibration files is not driven by the PROG_ID, but by the instrument settings.

• archive file name (FITS keyword: ARCFILE): this is the unique name of a raw file which consists of the parent instrument name and the timestamp of its generation. Raw files always have extension '.fits'. CRIRES ARCFILE names always start with 'CRIRE'.
• original file name (FITS keyword: ORIGFILE): this is the name of a raw file generated by the instrument workstation. In case of CRIRES, it consists of:
  - the name of the parent instruments which is CRIRES,
  - the category (SPEC or ACQ),
  - the type (e.g. OBS, DARK, FLAT),
  - the day sequence number within the year,
  - and a sequence number counted within the night. Original file names are not unique (they will often repeat after one year).
• data product file name (FITS keyword: PIPEFILE): this is the name of any pipeline product. It is composed by the prefix 'r,', the ARCFILE of the parent raw file stripped off by the extension, and a sequence number '_0000' etc. (since there may be multiple pipeline products per raw file). In case that more than one raw file has been used to generate the product, the ARCFILE of the first one is used.
• calibration or science product name: this is a name of a pipeline data product which has been chosen to have explicit information about the type of file, the date of creation, its version and the instrument parameters in the file name. It is generated after the pipeline product has been created. The FITS keyword PIPEFILE is preserved and can be used to map the two naming conventions. Find here more information about the naming scheme of CRIRES product files.

The association of raw files of different types (CALIB and SCIENCE) is a non-trivial task given the many different settings and observing strategies for CRIRES data. To support in this task, we have created list files which you find in each data directory. There is also an association report, as part of the night and OB logs.

The CRIRES association scheme is described here.

General policy of data distribution

Check out here.

Do I have to submit a request to receive my data package?

No. Service Mode (SM) programmes are declared completed by the Users Support Department (USD) (info | mail). This signal is sent to the Quality Control Group which then prepares the data package. The data are copied onto media and sent to the PI as soon as possible. Also, the SM data packages are available on the User Portal for immediate download by the PI (see above).

Visitor Mode (VM) runs are treated in the same way, except that the QC group tracks progress and determines when a run is finished. These data packages are not burnt onto media but available only through the ESO User Portal (see above).

When can I expect to receive my CRIRES data package?

Once a CRIRES SM run has been finished or closed by USD, the following series of steps can be expected:

• CRIRES data are shipped from Paranal to Garching headquarters twice a week.
• They are processed and packed by QC Garching as quickly as possible.
• Once all data for a specific programme have been processed, a signal is sent to the archive group to copy these data on media (presently DVDs).
• The complete set of data is mailed to the PI.

In total this chain of events is finished on average a few weeks after the last frames have been measured. Usually this time span is dominated by the shipping time.

Information about the status of your ServiceMode run can be found here.

General information about ServiceMode Observing can be found here.

What is the fastest way to access my data?

You can download your data incrementally on the ESO User Portal: raw data shortly after acquisition, processed data a couple of days after processing.

When can I expect to receive my data package?

Once a run has been finished (VM) or closed by USD (SM), the following series of steps can be expected:

• Raw data are transfered over the internet and are available in Garching essentially in real time.
• They are processed, quality-checked and packed by QC Garching as quickly as possible.
• Once all data for a specific run have been processed, a signal is sent to the archive group to copy this data package on media (presently DVDs).
• The complete set of data is mailed to the PI.

In total this chain of events is finished on average a few days after the last frames have been measured. Usually this time span is dominated by the shipping time to the PI.

General information about Service Mode Observing can be found here.