INTEGRAL Observing Program: Pointed Observations from AO-1 to AO-20

INTEGRAL Observing Program data contains pointed observation targets from the ESA INTEGRAL gamma-ray astronomy mission. The HEASARC database table includes targets from both the Core Program (Guaranteed Time) and the General Program (Open Time) accepted observations, covering Announcement of Opportunity cycles AO-1 through AO-20. NASA's HEASARC maintains the table, which was last revised in August 2007, updated to include AO-20 in November 2022, and is refreshed weekly from the ESA mission website.

Use Cases

• Analyzing target selection trends for the INTEGRAL mission based on program type (Core vs. General).
• Studying the temporal distribution of gamma-ray observations based on the AO cycle timeline.
• Cross-referencing observation programs with other astronomical catalogs based on target identifiers.

Strengths

• Covers a long mission timeline, spanning 20 Announcement of Opportunity (AO) cycles.
• Data is updated automatically on a weekly basis from the primary ESA mission source.
• Distinguishes between Core Program (Guaranteed Time) and General Program (Open Time) observations.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The core table structure was last revised in 2007, though content is updated.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, sourcing data from the ESA INTEGRAL mission website.

Collection Method

Automated weekly updates from the referenced ESA website.

Time Range

Covers observing programs from AO-1 through AO-20.

Freshness

Updated weekly; last metadata update was 2026-03-13.