IRTF Data Release Policy

IRTF Data Release Policy regarding 2016B data and later:

  1. The default proprietary period for all data is 18 months from the date of observation.

  2. Special programs, such as observing campaigns or instrument commissioning, may be subject to shorter proprietary periods.

  3. Any request to extend the proprietary period beyond 18 months must be made in the original observing proposal, and will be judged by the Telescope Allocation Committee during the proposal review process. Proposers will be informed of any approved extension to the proprietary period in the letter announcing that observing time is granted. Requests for extension to the proprietary period made outside of the time allocation process would be considered only for exceptional cases at the discretion of the IRTF Director.

  4. Metadata that includes target IDs and positions, as well as observing circumstances and conditions, are collected as part of the archive and will be released along with the observations at the end of the proprietary period.

  5. All IRTF observations will be immediately available to IRTF staff for the purposes of (1) calibrating and checking the performance of instruments, and (2) improving the software for the instruments. For any other uses, such as educational applications, the IRTF Director will consult the PI of the observing program.

  6. Test data taken with an instrument for engineering purposes may have scientific value. These data may be made publicly available immediately at the discretion of the IRTF Director.

IRTF Data Release Policy regarding Lagacy Date (semesters 2001A through 2016A):


  1. Raw data files obtained at IRTF facility during the interval of February 1, 2001 and July 31, 2016 have been restored from backup tapes. The IRTF will make this legacy data publicly available on June 1, 2019, following an 18-month proprietary "grace" period that began December 1, 2017.

  2. IRTF observations taken prior to February 1, 2001 were not recoverable from the tape media on which they were stored, and requests for these data cannot be fulfilled.

  3. Legacy data will be provided "as is" with no guarantee of quality or associated metadata other than the information contained in the file headers.



For more information contact Bobby Bus.