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SSDC Scientific News

May 30, 2023LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA S230529ay: upper limits from AGILE/MCAL

New GCN issued: GCN #33894 (F. Longo et al.).

May 26, 2023New AGILE Public Data now available up to March 31, 2023

We are pleased to announce the publication of new AGILE gamma-ray data up to March 31, 2023.
The new public AGILE archive now contains all data from December 1, 2007 up to March 31, 2023, i.e. from Observation Block (OB) 4900, start of Cycle-1 up to OB 41200 of the on-going Cycle-16. AGILE-GRID event files (EVT) and spacecraft auxiliary (LOG) files are available from the SSDC Multimission Archive (MMIA) webpage for the AGILE Mission.

Since October 2015 all AGILE-GRID data are published as soon as they are processed and validated. To produce your own maps and run likelihood tasks please download and install the new public AGILE software available here, and follow the User Manual included. The AGILE public scientific software package AGILE_SW_6.0, adapted from the AGILE Science Tools (TAGNAME = BUILD25), was published on Apr 18, 2019. It includes updated scientific software and calibrations, an updated model for the Galactic diffuse gamma-ray emission, a refined procedure for point-like source detection, and the search for extended gamma-ray sources.

An open-source Python package named Agilepy, built on top of the command-line version of the AGILE/GRID Science Tools, has been developed at INAF/OAS Bologna to analyse AGILE/GRID data. Since version 1.5.0, Agilepy has implemented an automated download of public AGILE GRID data using an SSDC REST Api.

For an easy on-line AGILE data analysis, the interested user may also query the entire public AGILE level 3 (LV3) archive through the AGILE-LV3 data analysis tool. The AGILE-LV3 tool is meant to be easily comprehensible, and it does not require any install-on-premises software or calibrations.

NOTE: due to a temporary problem on the AGILE telemetry time stamps, a correction has been implemented in 2022 on the real time ground software. The reprocessing of the consolidated archive for the 6-months period from September 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022 (OBs 37700-38800) is still pending, and the corresponding data are not public yet. The public archive is not affected. All AGILE payload functions are nominal.

May 24, 2023GRB 230524A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33867 (G. Panebianco et al.).

May 19, 2023LIGO/Virgo S230518h: AGILE/MCAL observations

New GCN issued: GCN #33826 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Apr 26, 2023AGILE detection of the gamma-ray source AGL J2114+6249

New ATel issued: ATel #16012 (L. Foffano et al.).

Apr 19, 2023GRB 230418A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33656 (G. Panebianco et al.).

Apr 11, 2023GRB 230410B: AGILE detection of a burst

New GCN issued: GCN #33604 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Apr 07, 2023GRB 230405B: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33585 (C. Casentini et al.).

Apr 06, 2023AGILE detection of the gamma-ray source AGL J1626-3528

New ATel issued: ATel #15979 (C. Pittori et al.).

Apr 04, 2023Fourth Announcement of Opportunity for the CHEOPS Guest Observers programme

The Announcement of Opportunity for the CHEOPS Guest Observers (GO) programme have been released on April 4 2023 and it is the first opportunity in the CHEOPS' first extended mission. The call opened on April 4 and will close on May 25 2023 and will include observing time from 25 September 2023 to 30 September 2024. The science cases may include exomoons, ring structures, stellar activity and more.
Full details on the call, on the Programme and how to apply can be found here.

The main ESA website are the following:

Apr 02, 2023GRB 230402A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33555 (C. Casentini et al.).

Mar 18, 2023Gamma-ray rebrightening of the blazar PKS 0402-362 detected by AGILE

New ATel issued: ATel #15952 (C. Pittori et al.).

Mar 09, 2023GRB 230307A: AGILE/MCAL analysis

New GCN issued: GCN #33444 (C. Casentini et al.).

Mar 09, 2023GRB 230308A: AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33435 (C. Casentini et al.).

Mar 07, 2023Extended CHEOPS mission lifetime

ESA's Science Programme Committee (SPC) has confirmed the continued operations of the science missions including CHEOPS. CHEOPS approved extension will cover 2026 and an indicative extension to 2029 upon ongoing committements from national contributors.
The ESA news is here.

Mar 07, 2023GRB 230307A: AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33412 (C. Casentini et al.).

Feb 18, 2023GRB 230217A: AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33343 (C. Casentini et al.).

Feb 15, 2023Gamma-ray activity of the blazar PKS 0402-362 detected by AGILE

New ATel issued: ATel #15905 (A. Bulgarelli et al.).

Feb 15, 2023GRB 230209B: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33325 (C. Casentini et al.).

Feb 07, 2023GRB 230207B: AGILE detection of a burst

New GCN issued: GCN #33296 (C. Casentini et al.).

Feb 05, 2023GRB 230204B: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33272 (C. Casentini et al.).

Jan 10, 2023AGILE detection of gamma-ray activity from blazar 4C 29.45

New ATel issued: ATel #15853 (A. Di Piano et al.).

Jan 04, 2023GRB 230104A: AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33148 (A. Ursi et al.).

Jan 02, 2023GRB 230102A: AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33138 (A. Ursi et al.).

Dec 27, 2022GRB 221226A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33113 (G. Panebianco et al.).

Dec 22, 2022GRB 221221A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #33093 (C. Casentini et al.).

Dic 21, 2022AGILE detection of increasing gamma-ray activity of blazar PKS 1424-418

New ATel issued: ATel #15818 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Nov 30, 2022AGILE detection of renewed Gamma-ray activity from 3C 454.3

New ATel issued: ATel #15782 (G. Panebianco et al.).

Nov 28, 2022GRB 221126A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32992 (C. Casentini et al.).

Nov 19, 2022Ongoing gamma-ray flare from the PKS 0805-07 detected by AGILE

New ATel issued: ATel #15768 (A. Bulgarelli et al.).

Oct 29, 2022GRB 221028A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32885 (A. Ursi et al.).

Oct 29, 2022GRB 221027A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32884 (A. Ursi et al.).

Oct 26, 2022GRB 221023A: AGILE/GRID analysis

New GCN issued: GCN #32856 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Oct 24, 2022GRB 221023A: AGILE detection of a burst

New GCN issued: GCN #32825 (A. Ursi et al.).

Oct 23, 2022GRB 221022B: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32822 (C. Casentini et al.).

Oct 19, 2022AGILE detection of a burst from SGR J1935+2154 reported by VZLUSAT-2

New GCN issued: GCN #32801 (C. Casentini et al.).

Oct 18, 2022AGILE detection of the 2022 October 17 burst from SGR J1935+2154 reported by Konus-Wind

New GCN issued: GCN #32796 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Oct 18, 2022AGILE detection of short X-ray flaring activity contemporary to SGR J1935+2154 reported bursts

New GCN issued: GCN #32789 (C. Casentini et al.).

Oct 11, 2022GRB 221009A/Swift J1913.1+1946: AGILE-GRID detection

New ATel issued: ATel #15662 (G. Piano et al.).

Oct 10, 2022GRB 221009A (Swift J1913.1+1946): AGILE/GRID detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32657 (A. Ursi et al.).

Oct 10, 2022GRB 221009A (Swift J1913.1+1946): AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32650 (A. Ursi et al.).

Sep 22, 2022SSDC Solar System group at EPSC 2022

This week Edoardo Rognini and Veronica Camplone are at the European Planetary Science Congress in Granada, Spain, with the work "Mercury exploration with MATISSE tool".
The combination of a thermophysical model and the capability of selecting data basing upon geological maps, makes MATISSE a very powerful tool for the study of the first planet of the solar system.
A capability that would become crucial with the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission approximating its scientific phase.

Sep 10, 2022GRB 220910A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32540 (A. Ursi et al.).

Jul 31, 2022Gamma-ray rebrightening of the blazar PKS 1424-418 detected by AGILE

New ATel issued: ATel #15533 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Jul 25, 2022Ongoing gamma-ray flare from the blazar PKS 1424-418 detected by AGILE

New ATel issued: ATel #15527 (G. Piano et al.).

Jul 22, 2022AGILE news

AGILE, PUBLISHED THE FIRST ARTICLE ABOUT THE "NEW YEAR'S BURST"

The first article about the GRB 220101A, the exceptionally energetic "New Year's Burst", has been published by AGILE on July, 15, 2022 (Ursi et al., ApJ 933, 2022).

Few hours after the midnight of January 1, 2022, several satellites devoted to high-energy astrophysics, including AGILE had greeted the beginning of the new year by revealing what is probably the most energetic Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) ever reported in the history of the observations of these phenomena, i.e., the GRB 220101A.

In its 15 years activity, AGILE has already had the opportunity to reveal some particularly intense GRBs, such as the GRB 080916C and the GRB 160625B, but these events are quite rare. GRB 220101A took place more than 12 billion light years away, at the time when the Universe was just about 1.3 billion years old, and its equivalent isotropic energy is the highest ever reconstructed for a GRB.

This record-breaking energy has drawn a great deal of attention from the scientific community in a short time. In the following days, more than twenty GCN communications were released, reporting observations carried out by other space missions and by astronomical ground-based observatories.

AGILE data provide a first characterization of the prompt phase of this GRB, which corresponds to the emission of high-energy radiation in the initial shocks taking place within the central engine. The different detectors onboard the satellite, whose energy coverage ranges from the X-ray (SuperAGILE 20-60 keV) to the gamma-ray (AGILE-MCAL 0.4-100 MeV) band, allowed to provide a first comprehensive overview of the temporal evolution and the energetics of this event. Using AGILE data together with public data from the Swift satellite, it was also possible to study also the so-called "afterglow" emission, that is, the delayed emission at lower energies, produced by the interactions of the initial shocks with the surrounding interstellar medium. This analysis allows to obtain interesting information regarding the environment in which such energetic event took place.


NEW AGILE TGF CATALOG UPDATE UP TO DECEMBER 31, 2021

AGILE confirms itself as an exceptional instrument, not only for the observation of cosmic phenomena, but it continues to give fundamental contribution also for the observation of high-energy phenomena from the Earth, such as the Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) (A. Lindanger et al. 2020; C. Maiorana et al. 20209). Recently all TGFs seen by AGILE up to 31 December 2021 have been published as an interacting SSDC web page, including details and additional information compared to the original publications of the third TGF catalog in 2020.

Additional links:

ASI news (in Italian): https://www.asi.it/2022/07/agile-pubblicato-il-primo-studio-sul-grb-di-capodanno/
ASI news (in English): https://www.asi.it/en/2022/07/agile-published-the-first-article-about-the-new-years-burst/

Jul 15, 2022GRB 220715A: AGILE/MCAL detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32401 (A. Ursi et al.).

Jun 30, 2022GRB 220624A: AGILE/GRID refined analysis

New GCN issued: GCN #32303 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Jun 24, 2022GRB 220624A: AGILE/GRID analysis

New GCN issued: GCN #32261 (F. Verrecchia et al.).

Jun 24, 2022GRB 220624A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32259 (A. Ursi et al.).

Jun 23, 2022GRB 220623A: AGILE detection

New GCN issued: GCN #32247 (A. Ursi et al.).

Jun 06, 2022Paper about SSDC activities for LICIACube published

A paper describing the role of SSDC in the LICIACube mission has been recently published on the Planetary Science Journal.

Led by Angelo Zinzi, coordinator of Solar System Exploration activities in SSDC, the paper focuses on the preparation of the mission Science Operations Center (SOC), hosted and managed by SSDC.

The LICIACube SOC is in charge of processing and archiving the data. Raw images will be calibrated using algorithms developed by INAF. Both raw and calibrated images will be archived following the PDS4 standard, so that, after the proprietary period lasting 9 months from the DART impact on Dimorphos, they can be publicly released straightaway.

The paper also describes how the SSDC MATISSE webtool is being adapted to fully exploit LICIACube images, main changes including new geological functionalities and a new thermophysical model, best suited for small, rubble-pile asteroids.