THE ULTRAVIOLET IMAGING TELESCOPE - INSTRUMENT AND DATA CHARACTERISTICS

The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) was flown as part of the Astro observatory on the Space Shuttle Columbia in December 1990 and again on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in March 1995. Ultraviolet (1200-3300 An gstrom) images of a variety of astronomical objects, with a 40' field of view and a resolution of about 3'', were recorded on photographic f ilm. The data recorded during the first flight are available to the as tronomical community through the National Space Science Data Center (N SSDC); the data recorded during the second flight will soon be availab le as well. This paper discusses in detail the design, operation, data reduction, and calibration of UIT, providing the user of the data wit h information for understanding and using the data. It also provides g uidelines for analyzing other astronomical imagery made with image int ensifiers and photographic film.