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The International Halley Watch (IHW) Archive
The original IHW archive consisted of a set of CDROMs and supplementary material including:
- 18 disks of compressed image data, 1 volume of uncompressed image data (published as "Addenda")
- 5 disks of text data from various ground-based observers, organized by date of observation
- 1 disk containing the data on comets Giacobini-Zinner and Crommelin, which were observed by the IHW as practice targets prior to the Halley encounter
- 2 disks containing the data collected by the various spacecraft sent to intercept Halley, organized by mission. These disks were first distributed in late 1995.
- Errata noted in the original 26 volumes of the archive
- Addenda: additional volumes prepared after publication of the original archive
IHW Nets
The observations contributed to the archive were divided among several networks, each concentrating on a specific type or source of data. All of these observers were ground-based:
- Amateur Observations [AMSN] - Amateur astronomers made significant contributions to the IHW archive using various techniques
- Astrometry [ASTR] - Precise measurements of the comet's position
- Infrared Studies [IRSN] - Images and spectra at infrared wavelengths
- Large-Scale Phenomena [LSPN] - Images of the comet including coma and tails
- Near Nucleus Studies [NNSN] - Images of the comet nucleus
- Photometry and Polarimetry [PPN] - Narrow and broadband photometry, polarimetry and derived properties
- Radio Science [RSN] - Continuum, occultation, OH line and radar observations
- Spectroscopy and Spectrophotometry [SSN]
- Meteor Studies [MSN] - Visual and radar meteor counts for showers associated with the target comets
Target Comets
Three different comets were observed by the IHW members:
- 27P/Crommelin 1 (1928 W1) - A comet used as an early practice target
- 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 1 (1900 Y1) - The comet used as a "dry-run" rehearsal target for the full IHW
- 1P/Halley 1 (1682 Q1) - The primary target
Usage Notes: These data were prepared when PDS standards were in their earliest stages and the FITS TABLE extension had not yet reached its final state. Expect to encounter unsupported keywords, extensions and formats in any and all files. A restoration effort is underway as a long-term task by personnel at the Small Bodies node, to convert these data into forms and organizations more in line with current PDS and FITS standards and use, starting with the Comet Halley data. While none of the version 2.0 data sets have been officially archived, the development versions have been linked in to the tables below, where they exist, in the last column. All users would be well-advised to seek out any errata in an errata.txt file, which appears in the root directory of the data set. Additional documentation can also be found in the aareadme.txt file in the root directory, and in the files of the document/ subdirectory.
Observations of 27P/Crommelin 1 (1928 W1)
These data sets were submitted for Comet Crommelin. Note that as the first practice target for the IHW members, these data are in very primitive forms. They do not have PDS labels, and come with very little documentation.
Observations of 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 1 (1900 W1)
Many more members contributed observations to the IHW for this "dry-run" target.
| IHW Net | Archived Data Set |
| AMSN | Drawings. The drawings are not included, but the circumstances and general observations are supplied in the form of a data header |
| AMSN | Visual Magnitude Estimates |
| AMSN | Analog Photography. The photos are not included, but headers provide circumstances and general observations regarding the images. |
| ASTR | Astrometry |
| IRSN | Infrared Filter Parameters |
| IRSN | Infrared Images |
| IRSN | Attempted IR Imaging that returned no data |
| IRSN | Infrared Photometry |
| IRSN | Infrared Polarimetry |
| IRSN | Infrared Spectra |
| LSPN | Large-Scale Images |
| LSPN | Attempts at large-scale imaging that returned no data |
| NNSN | Near-Nucleus Images |
| PPN | Photometric Fluxes |
| PPN | Photometric Magnitudes |
| PPN | Polarimetry |
| RSN | Attempted radio continuum observations that returned no data |
| RSN | Radio Occultation Observations |
| RSN | Radio OH Observations |
| RSN | Attempted radio spectral line observations that returned no data |
| SSN | 1-D Spectra |
| SSN | Raw 2-D Spectra |
| SSN | Reduced 2-D Spectra |
The International Cometary Explorer (ICE, formerly ISEE) also observed Comet Giacobini-Zinner with the instruments listed:
| Spacecraft | Archived Data Set |
| ICE | Energetic Particle Anisotropy Spectrometer |
| ICE | Ion Composition Instrument |
| ICE | Magnetometer |
| ICE | Plasma Wave Experiment - Electronic Field Measurement |
| ICE | Plasma Wave Experiment - Magnetic Field Measurement |
| ICE | Radio Wave Detector |
| ICE | Solar Wind Plasma Experiment |
| ICE | Ultra-Low Energy Charge Analyzer |
Observations of 1P/Halley 1 (1682 Q1)
The IHW members contributed the following observations:
A number of spacecraft, dubbed the "Halley Armada", also observed the comet at the same time as the IHW Net members. The following data sets are included in the IHW archive:
Comet Halley experienced an outburst event in 1988-1992. These ground-based observatories submitted data covering that event:
| Observatory | Data Set |
| Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory | Halley Outburst Images |
| European Southern Observatory | Halley Outburst Images |
| University of Hawaii | Halley Outburst Images |
Related Datasets
Use the Small Bodies Data Ferret to find other datasets for this mission/target.
