We are pleased to announce that HESSI is now scheduled to be launched in March, 2001, and the Data Analysis Workshops have been rescheduled accordingly.

The High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) is a mission designed to study high-energy processes in solar flares using high-resolution imaging spectroscopy from 3 keV through 17 MeV.  Analysis of HESSI data will be distinctive in that imaging is based on indirect (Fourier transform) techniques and the imaging spectroscopy will start from a database of time- and energy-tagged photons. Therefore, two data analysis workshops are being planned to familiarize potential users with the relevant techniques and software. Since the two workshops will be nominally identical, you should plan to attend only one of them.

The first workshop will be held at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, February 7, 8, & 9, 2001.

The second workshop will be held at the Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, February 28, and March 1, & 2, 2001.

The workshop format will combine the following three elements:

1. Presentations outlining the principles and practical details for imaging, spectroscopy, and access to and integration of ancillary data.
2. Time for hands-on applications of these techniques using simulated flare data.
3. Opportunities for feedback, questions, and discussions.

Each workshop will last for three days but all of the formal presentations will take place on the first two days. Thus, the third day is optional as a time to try using the software with opportunities for informal discussions with the local experts. Because of space limitations, we will have to restrict the number of participants at each workshop to about 20.  We will give priority to having representatives from as many different institutions as possible.

Please bring your laptop with you to the workshop if possible since only a limited number of workstations will be available for general use at each site. CD's containing the HESSI analysis software and simulated data sets will be available at the workshops.

The latest software is already available on the Solar SoftWare tree (SSW). It requires IDL Version 5.3 running on either a Windows PC or a Unix-based workstation. You are encouraged to install these packages on your computer and try out the software before coming to the workshop. You can find detailed information about how to do this at the following URLs:

If you are interested in attending either workshop, please send the following information, preferably by email, to Brian Dennis at Brian.R.Dennis@nasa.gov or by regular mail to

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Code 682
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Telephone: (301)286-7983

Name:
Nationality:
Institution:
Email Address:
Telephone Number:
Workshop preference (GSFC or UCB):
Will bring my own PC with IDL v. 5.3 (yes or no):
Will need access to a Unix workstation (yes or no):

Space Sciences Laboratory, Annex Conference Room

Wednesday, December 13, 2000