SDAC BATSE Solar Flare Data Catalog Help File

SDAC BATSE Solar Flare Data Catalog Help File

Instructions


Welcome to the SDAC BATSE Solar Flare Data Catalog Search Form. To search the SDAC BATSE Solar Flare Data Catalog of Events:

  1. Select any combination of parameters to search by (ALL TIMES ARE UT).
    The search works like a Boolean AND search, the more parameters you pick, the narrower the search gets
  2. You can specify automatic e-mail of the results from this form or you can view/download the results after the search has run
  3. You may also specify whether you want hyptertext links to our archived flare plots in GIF or PS format (or no links for a cleaner listing)
  4. Push the "Run Search" button when ready

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Overview


		      BATSE SOLAR FLARE CATALOG
                              Kim Tolbert
                             May 29, 1991
                      Revised February 10, 1992
                      Revised July 22, 1992
                      Revised September 24, 1992

The BATSE Solar Flare Catalog contains parameters characterizing the solar 
flares observed by the BATSE Large Area Discriminators (DISCLA).  For 
every flare, the catalog contains start time, duration, peak rate and time, 
total counts, and burst trigger time (if any), and may be expanded in the 
future to include additional parameters.

On a daily basis, a data technician scans the quicklook orbital plots for
count rate increases due to solar flares.  She examines potential flares by
studying the time profile, the correlation between intensity and angle from 
the sun, and the correlation with events observed by the GOES satellite.  
If she determines the event to be solar in origin, she enters the flare
parameters in the catalog.  On day n, the catalog is usually complete through day n-3.
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Searching for Flares after a Time/Date


Lower time limit for flare selection.
   Default value is 91/04/19,0000 (the earliest BATSE data available). 
   Example:  STA, 22 April 1991 at 14:00
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Searching for Flares up to a Time/Date


Upper time limit for flare selection.
   Default value is 99/01/01,0000. 
   Example:  END,27 April 1991 at 12:00
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Searching by Peak Time


Restricts the peak time of flares selected to the specified 
   hours of the day.
   Example:  TIM,5,21    Accept flares with peak times between 5:00 and 21:00 (note universal time notation)
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Searching by Flare Number


Restricts flare numbers selected.
   Example:  FLA,10,30   Accept flares with numbers between 10 and 30
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Searching by BATSE Burst Trigger Number


The BATSE data on solar flares collected in our archive includes both flares
that were associated with a BATSE "TRIGGER" (which put BATSE into a special
data collecting mode), while many others were not associated with a
"TRIGGER."  Thus, we currently show some 4500 flares in our archive, while
there are some 3880 BATSE TRIGGERS.  In our archive all flares not
associated with a TRIGGER are given the Trigger number 0.  Thus you may
specify a search for only flares with a corresponding TRIGGER, by using
1 as your minimum trigger to search for. 
   Example:  BUR,1,100   Accept only flares associated with burst triggers
 	     between 1 and 100 (note that BUR,0,100 would have gotten
	     all flares not associated with a trigger, AND, those flares
	     associated with triggers 1-100!)
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Searching by Duration of Event


Restricts duration of flares selected.  You may
 enter your parameters in decimal or scientific notation.
   Example:  DUR,0,40   Accept flares with durations less than 40 seconds
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Searching by Peak Rates


Restricts peak count rate of flares selected.  You may
 enter your parameters in decimal or scientific notation.
   Example:  PEA,100,200 Accept flares with peak rates between 100 and 200
                         counts/second

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Searching by Total Counts

 

Restricts total counts of flares selected.  You may
 enter your parameters in decimal or scientific notation.
   Example:  TOT,0,1.e3  Accept flares with less than 1000 counts total
     
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Selecting a Range of Flares to Apply Search Parameters On

 

The search criterion you have selected will only be applied to flares   flares in the list that you provide in this option box.  For instance,
if you check this box and enter the range 1,5-10,150, while specifying
about to search for flares with peak counts of 100 to 1000, the resulting
search will be applied only to flares 1, 5-10, and 150.

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Sending Email to Yourself 

 

Select this button to receive an email of the TEXT or HTML output from your search (see Including Hyptertext Links).  Please use a standard internet address specification. 
   Example:  user@site.usa.gov 

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Sorting Output

 

The result of your search will be sorted in ascending order.  You can 
choose to sort by:  
    

  1. Start time

  2. Flare Number

  3. Burst Trigger Number

  4. Peak Rate

  5. Duration

  6. Total Counts

 

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Including Hypertext Links in the Search Output

 

You may specify that your output contains hypertext links to the 
corresponding GIF, PS, or both GIF and PS plots from the SDAC archive.  Additionally, you may elect to have no hypertext links for a cleaner
listing.

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Reset Button

 

DEFAULTPARAMS - Reset all selection criteria to accept all flares.  For
   example, PEAK RATE minimum and maximum are set to the lowest and highest
   peak rates in the Catalog.

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