NIRSPEC Data Reduction

No standard procedures exist at Keck for reducing NIRSPEC data. Reductions of grating spectra are relatively straightforward, requiring rectification of the frames and extraction of those rows containing signal. Reductions of echelle spectra are complex, because each data frame contains several non-parallel sections of a spectrum and the sections do not adjoin in wavelength, except below 1.04µm. Final echelle spectra will have to be stitched together from extracted and wavelength-calibrated segments, usually obtained from more than one data frame.

Rudimentary scripts are being developed at Gemini to extract, calibrate, and examine both grating and echelle spectra (the latter spectra will be handled piece by piece) while at the telescope, to enable us to evaluate the data quality. These scripts will be made available upon request to members of the Gemini community. Gemini does not guarantee the performance of these scripts. It will be the responsibility of the authors of the successful proposals to reduce their NIRSPEC data.

Questions relating to data reduction should be addressed to the Gemini HelpDesk (follow this link to the request submission web page).

Last update November 30, 1999; Tom Geballe