Hitomi Master Catalog: Satellite X-ray Observations of Six Celestial Objects

Hitomi, a JAXA satellite launched on February 17, 2016, collected about one month of high-energy X-ray data before contact was lost on March 27, 2016. The catalog contains 42 observation sequences from six celestial objects, including the Perseus cluster and the Crab Nebula, using four instruments covering 0.3-600 keV. NASA HEASARC ingested this database table in June 2017 to provide access to the mission's data archive.

Use Cases

• Analyze X-ray spectra and imaging based on data from the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) with 7-eV resolution.
• Study extended field-of-view observations based on data from the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) CCD camera.
• Perform sensitive imaging spectroscopy in hard X-rays based on data from the Hard X-ray Imager (HXI).
• Extend energy analysis to soft gamma-rays based on data from the non-imaging Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD).
• Investigate calibration and early mission phase data based on sequences where instruments were sequentially activated.

Strengths

• Data from four complementary instruments covering a wide energy range from 0.3 to 600 keV.
• Observations of six distinct celestial objects, including Perseus and Crab, providing varied astrophysical targets.
• Catalog contains 42 defined observation sequences, organizing data by instrument status and source positioning.

Limitations

• Mission duration was extremely short, providing only about one month of data before failure.
• Early observations lack data from all instruments, and the source was not always at the aim point.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA HEASARC)

Collection Method

Generated at the Hitomi Science Data Center processing site from satellite instrument data.

Time Range

Observations from February to March 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:32:11.327487; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Celestial objects (e.g., Perseus, N132D, Crab) and black sky observations.