astronomy

Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility

Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility rather than just read about it. In short: The Space Telescope – European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF) was an institution which provided a number of support and service functions primarily for European observers of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It was established in 1984 by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and was located at the ESO headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany.

Key takeaways

Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Space Telescope – European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF) was an institution which provided a number of support and service functions primarily for European observers of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It was established in 1984 by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and was located at the ESO headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany. The ST-ECF ceased operations on 31 December 2010. The ST-ECF provided detailed technical information about the HST and its science instruments, supported European astronomers who were preparing HST observing proposals and coordinated the development of computer software tuned to the specific data analysis needs of HST users. In all these duties the ST-ECF staff maintained close contacts with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, which is charged with the scientific operation of the HST observatory. The ST-ECF was last headed by Robert (Bob) Fosbury. Deputy was Jeremy Walsh.

User support

Founded before the era of the internet and widely available computer resources the ST-ECF was founded with user support for European astronomers as the main goal. When internet connections across the Atlantic and powerful computers became the mainstay, the focus of the organization shifted towards data product and dedicated instrument science support.

Instrument science The ST-ECF was actively engaged in software development in many areas related to HST data calibration, analysis and visualisation for especially the Hubble instruments Faint Object Spectrograph, STIS, and Advanced Camera for Surveys. For example:

aXe – Slitless Spectroscopy Extraction software SLIM: A Slitless Spectroscopy Simulator for ACS Faint Object Spectrograph Post Operational Archives calibration pipeline (included in STSDAS, done by the Instrument Physical Modeling Group) The STIS Spectrograph calibration enhancement project (done by the Instrument Physical Modeling Group) NICMOSlook and Calnic C Lucy-Hook coaddition method

Science archive Together with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) the ST-ECF operated and maintained the ESO/ST-ECF Science Archive Facility from where all the scientific data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope could be accessed by the public. In collaboration with the HST archives at the STScI and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) data products and access methods were continuously improved to assure the best possible science data for astronomers around the world. This includes work on the Virtual Observatory, On-The-Fly Calibration, and B Associations. Earlier work pioneered projects like Astrovirtel and Astrophysical Virtual Observatory. After the closure of ST-ECF the European HST Archive were moved to ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre in Spain, where most of ESA's Space Science Archives are located and operated from.

Public outreach and education One of the groups at the ST-ECF was the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre (HEIC), which, since 1999, has been the leading Hubble outreach activities group in Europe (headed by the science communication specialist Lars Lindberg Christensen and graphic designer Martin Kornmesser). HEIC's mission statement is to fulfill the Hubble Space Telescope outreach and education tasks for the European Space Agency. HEIC became a very distinguished communication office of experts using the newest software and techniques. After the closure of ST-ECF the Outreach component continued on an ESO contract for ESA, as part of ESO's Education and Public Outreach department. The ESA/Hubble office has produced large amounts of astronomical material – press releases, images, brochures, web pages, books etc. – suitable both for educational purposes and wider public consumption. HEIC provided a well-assorted archive that is publicly available on its web page. The work is centred on the production of news and photo releases that highlight interesting Hubble science results and images. These are often European in origin, and so not only increase the awareness of European Space Agency’s Hubble share (15%), but the contribution of European scientists to the observatory. Furthermore the group produces video releases, innovative educational material, CD-ROMs, brochures, posters, as well as DVDs and museum information kiosks, and much more. All publicised material can be found on spacetelescope.org. The group is home to the FITS Liberator project and the "Hubble – 15 Years of Discovery" project that also led to the book Hubble - 15 Years of Discovery.

References

External links STECF website ESO/ST-ECF Science Archive FOS Post Operational Archives and User Support The STIS Spectrograph calibration enhancement project ST-ECF's Public Outreach and education

Illustrations

Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility

In research: Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics European Southern Observatory, European Space Agency facilities, Hubble Space Telescope, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility in simple terms?

Why does Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility.