English (UK)
The PANIC wide-field near-infrared camera features a 4k × 4k detector, generating astronomical data in FITS format. Data acquisition operates in two main saving modes:
- Integrated Mode (Integrated All in the OT): Produces a single 32-bit coadded image per exposure (BITPIX = 32).
- Cube Mode (FITS Cube in the OT): Captures a sequence of N non-integrated images, stored as a FITS cube, with each slice representing a 32-bit image.
With typical total exposure times ranging from 30 to 60 seconds, the data production rate depends on the selected mode and observational strategy.
In Integrated Mode, a typical night generates around 300-500 FITS files, each approximately 64 MB, leading to a total nightly data volume of about 20-32 GB.
In Cube Mode, the total volume scales with the number of integrations per exposure and can significantly exceed this amount.
Data is initially stored on the PANIC computer's local storage, where it remains for at least one month for local processing and archiving. Additionally, at the end of each observing night, all data is transferred to the global CAHA archive system for long-term storage. Observers can later retrieve their data using the secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) over the observatory’s high-speed network infrastructure for transfer to their local systems.
