aXe is a spectroscopic data extraction software package that was designed to handle large format spectroscopic slitless images such as those from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on HST. aXe is a PyRAF/IRAF package that consists of several tasks and is distributed as part of the Space Telescope Data Analysis System (STSDAS). The various aXe tasks perform specific parts of the extraction and calibration process and are successively used to produce extracted spectra.
A thorough description of aXe is given in a PASP paper. The links below the cookbook and the aXe manual give instructions on how to use it for reducing slitless data.
aXe2web is a tool to produce browsable web pages from reduced spectral data for fast and discerning examination of many hundreds of spectra. aXe2web can be used as a quick look facility or preview in data pipelines, data bases or even for virtual observatories. aXe2web was developed for the aXe spectral extraction software. A deep grism image can contain detectable spectra of hundreds to over a thousand objects. The individual checking of each spectrum is very tedious. Therefore a quick look facility is highly desirable. The aim is to produce an overview of the extracted sources to be able to:
The aXe and related software was originally developed by the Space Telescope - European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF), a unit of the European Space Agency (ESA) hosted by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) headquarters in Garching, Germany. As of January 1, 2011, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has taken over support and distribution of the software.