batgrbproduct Analysis for Trigger=522656

Analysis Summary

Notes:

======================================================================
                  BAT GRB EVENT DATA PROCESSING REPORT
    Process Script Ver: batgrbproduct v2.46
    Process Start Time (local time): Mon Jan 13 04:14:26 EST 2014
             Host Name: batevent1
   Current Working Dir: /local/data/batevent/batevent_reproc/trigger522656
======================================================================

  Trigger: 00522656      Segment: 000

  BAT Trigger Time: 359335335.936   [s; MET]
      Trigger Stop: 359335336.96   [s; MET]
               UTC: 2012-05-21T23:22:07.703120    [includes UTCF correction] 
       Where From?: TDRSS position message

  BAT 
    RA: 214.28954900101   Dec: 42.1230533213039  [deg; J2000]

     Catalogged Source?: NO
     Point Source?:      YES
     GRB Indicated?:     YES    [ by BAT flight software ]
     Image S/N Ratio:    13.33
     Image Trigger?:     NO
     Rate S/N Ratio:     29.4108823397055  [ if not an image trigger ]
     Image S/N Ratio:    13.33

  Flight Position:   [ source = BAT ]
    RA: 214.28954900101   Dec: 42.1230533213039  [deg; J2000]

  Ground Position:   [ source = BAT pre-slew burst ]
    RA: 214.284194866373   Dec: 42.1443201190508  [deg; J2000]  
        { 14h 17m 08.2s , +42d 08' 39.6" }
         +/- 0.999359830688837 [arcmin] (estimated 90% radius based on SNR)
         +/- 0.370777229086415 [arcmin] (formal 1-sigma fit error)
    SNR: 30.444979184177
 
  Angular difference between Flight and Ground position is 1.298056 arcmin
 
  Partial Coding Fraction: 0.6796875    [ including projection effects ]

  Duration
     T90: 27.067999958992 +/- 4.33578045580033
        Measured from: -0.311999976634979
                   to: 26.755999982357     [s; relative to TRIGTIME]
     T50: 10.4639999270439 +/- 1.244160770219
        Measured from: 1.46000003814697
                   to: 11.9239999651909     [s; relative to TRIGTIME]



  Fluence
     Peak Flux  (peak 1 second)
        Measured from: 0.184000015258789     
                   to: 1.18400001525879     [s; relative to TRIGTIME]
     Total Fluence        
        Measured from: -1.03200000524521     
                   to: 31.8640000224113     [s; relative to TRIGTIME]
     
             Band 1     Band 2     Band 3     Band 4
              15-25      25-50     50-100    100-350     keV
 Total     0.611128   0.824805   0.498147   0.136049
           0.037596   0.039911   0.036022   0.032186 [error]
 Peak      0.062875   0.084671   0.076890   0.030050
           0.007475   0.008273   0.007773   0.006410 [error]

     [ fluence units of on-axis counts / fully illuminated detector ] 

======================================================================
 
=== Fluence/Peak Flux Summary ===
 
              Model    Band1    Band2    Band3    Band4    Band5    Total      
                       15-25    25-50   50-100  100-350   15-150   15-350   keV
Fluence   Power-law 1.91e-07 3.19e-07 4.05e-07 1.03e-06 1.20e-06 1.95e-06   erg/cm2
              Error 1.88e-08 1.92e-08 3.57e-08 1.92e-07 8.33e-08 2.22e-07   erg/cm2
Peak flux Power-law 5.04e-01 6.08e-01 5.31e-01 7.95e-01 1.92e+00 2.44e+00   ph/cm2/s
              Error 9.98e-02 7.09e-02 6.32e-02 2.09e-01 1.94e-01 2.62e-01   ph/cm2/s
 
Fluence   Cutoff-PL 1.83e-07 3.29e-07 4.09e-07 6.37e-07 1.17e-06 1.56e-06   erg/cm2
              Error 2.19e-08 1.81e-08 3.74e-08 4.59e-07 9.64e-08 4.17e-07   erg/cm2
Peak flux Cutoff-PL 5.09e-01 6.10e-01 5.29e-01 7.79e-01 1.92e+00 2.42e+00   ph/cm2/s
              Error 1.02e-01 7.04e-02 6.37e-02 2.05e-01 1.94e-01 3.01e-01   ph/cm2/s
 
Fluence        Band 1.77e-07 3.35e-07 3.97e-07 8.64e-07 1.17e-06 1.79e-06   erg/cm2
              Error -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------   erg/cm2
Peak flux      Band -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------   ph/cm2/s
              Error -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------   ph/cm2/s
 
=== Time-averaged spectral analysis ===
 
Model Ph_index Ph_90err Epeak  Epeak_90err Norm     Nomr_90err chi2   dof
PL    1.656    0.111    -      -           3.93e-03 2.53e-04   70.710 57
CPL   1.363    0.404     103.0  -32.7      5.60e-03 2.94e-03   69.270 56
 
 
=== 1-s peak spectral analysis ===
 
Model Ph_index Ph_90err Epeak  Epeak_90err Norm     Nomr_90err chi2   dof
PL    1.195    0.186    -      -           1.64e-02 1.62e-03   71.270 57
CPL   2.305    0.188     103.7    0.0      3.68e-03 0.00e+00   66.410 56
 
Model      : spectral model: simple power-law (PL) and cutoff power-law (CPL)
Ph_index   : photon index: E^-{Ph_index} (minus sign is not included in the index)
Ph_90err   : 90% error of the photon index
Epeak      : Epeak in keV
Epeak_90err: 90% error of Epeak
Norm       : normalization at 50 keV in PL model and at 1 keV in CPL model
Nomr_90err : 90% error of the normalization
chi2       : Chi-Squared
dof        : degree of freedom
 
=== T90/T50 calculation in the 50-300 keV band (BATSE band) using 64 ms lc ===
 
T90 in the 50-300 keV band: 16.960000 sec.
T50 in the 50-300 keV band: 7.872000 sec.
 
=== Table of the duration information ==
 
        Value   tstart    tstop
T100   32.896   -1.032   31.864
T90    27.068   -0.312   26.756
T50    10.464    1.460   11.924
Peak    1.000    0.184    1.184
  • Click here for the BAT GCN circular template
  • Special notes of this burst

    Image

    Pre-slew 15.0-350.0 keV image (Event data)

    #   RAcent    DECcent   POSerr    Theta     Phi              Peak Cts       SNR   Name
      214.2842    42.1443   0.0063    19.1540    95.4980         1.8104872     30.445 TRIG_00522656                 
     
    Foreground time interval of the image:
     -1.032  17.365 (delta_t =  18.397 [sec])
    Background time interval of the image:
    -180.435  -1.032 (delta_t = 179.403 [sec])
    

    Lightcurves

    Notes:

    1 s binning

    From T0-310 s to T0+310 s
    From T100_start - 20 s to T100_end + 30 s
    Full time interval

    64 ms binning

    Full time interval
    From T100_start to T100_end
    From T0-5 sec to T0+5 sec

    16 ms binning

    From T100_start-5 s to T100_start+5 s
    Blue+Cyan dotted lines: Time interval of the scaled map
    From 0.000000 to 1.024000
    

    8 ms binning

    From T100_start-3 s to T100_start+3 s
    Blue+Cyan dotted lines: Time interval of the scaled map
    From 0.000000 to 1.024000
    

    2 ms binning

    From T100_start-1 s to T100_start+1 s
    Blue+Cyan dotted lines: Time interval of the scaled map
    From 0.000000 to 1.024000
    

    SN=5 or 10 sec. binning (whichever binning is satisfied first)

    SN=5 or 10 sec. binning (T < 200 sec)

    Quad-rate summed light curves (from T0-300s to T0+1000s)

    Spectral Evolution

    Spectra

    Notes:

    Time averaged spectrum fit using the average DRM

    Power-law model
    Time interval is from   -1.032 sec. to   31.864 sec.
     
    Spectral model in power-law:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    Photon index: 1.65555     ( -0.109984   0.111694 )
    Norm@50keV  : 3.93009E-03    ( -0.000253845   0.000251789 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          70.71 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.241 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.047589e-01
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 32.9 sec: 0.514115 ( -0.0308932  0.0309208 ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.20188e-06 ( -8.28902e-08  8.3693e-08 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Cutoff power-law model
    Time interval is from   -1.032 sec. to   31.864 sec.
    Spectral model in the cutoff power-law:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    Photon index: 1.36323     ( -0.457528   0.35144 )
    Epeak [keV] : 103.018      ( -37.6375 -103.018 )
    Norm@50keV  : 5.59703E-03    ( -0.00183484   0.00404213 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          69.27 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.237 for     56 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.095791e-01
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 32.9 sec: 0.505861 ( -0.032945  0.032921 ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.16793e-06 ( -9.63246e-08  9.64167e-08 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Band function
    Time interval is from   -1.032 sec. to   31.864 sec.
     
    Spectral model in the Band function:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    alpha       : -1.36327   ( -0.267637   0.426549 )
    beta        : -10.0000    ( 10   1.06581e-14 )
    Epeak [keV] : 103.000      ( -37.2083 -103 )
    Norm@50keV   : 5.59610E-03    ( -0.00183436   0.00404334 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          69.27 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.260 for     55 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   9.331108e-02
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 32.9 sec: 0.503441 (    ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.17046e-06 ( 0  0 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Single BB
     
    Spectral model blackbody:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value    Lower 90%  Upper 90%
    kT [keV]    : 12.6724  (  )
    R^2/D10^2   : 0.100554  (   )
    (R is the radius in km and D10 is the distance to the source in units of 10 kpc)
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =         129.69 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =         2.2753 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.372105e-07
     
    Energy  Fluence     90% Error
    [keV]   [erg/cm2]   [erg/cm2]
    15- 25  1.127e-07   1.328e-08
    25- 50  3.774e-07   2.829e-08
    50-150  3.773e-07   5.174e-08
    15-150  8.674e-07   6.498e-08
    
    Thermal bremsstrahlung (OTTB)
     
     
    Spectral model: thermal bremsstrahlung
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value         Lower 90%    Upper 90%
    kT [keV]    : 150.724       (-40.0979      -148.932)
    Norm        : 2.10488       (-0.141684     0.172896)
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          69.40 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.218 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.254709e-01
     
    Energy  Fluence     90% Error
    [keV]   [erg/cm2]   [erg/cm2]
    15- 25  1.778e-07   1.525e-08
    25- 50  3.298e-07   3.815e-08
    50-150  6.522e-07   2.350e-07
    15-150  1.160e-06   2.757e-07
    
    Double BB
     
     
    Spectral model: bbodyrad<1> + bbodyrad<2>
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value         Lower 90%    Upper 90%
    kT1 [keV]   : 7.33025        (-1.19279      1.23012)
    R1^2/D10^2  : 0.505385        (-0.200073      0.409831)
    kT2 [keV]   : 27.0689        (-5.50257      9.49443)
    R2^2/D10^2  : 4.91447E-03    (-0.00313336   0.00648997)
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          68.36 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.243 for     55 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.064251e-01
     
    Energy  Fluence     90% Error
    [keV]   [erg/cm2]   [erg/cm2]
    15- 25  1.699e-07   3.731e-08
    25- 50  3.407e-07   7.185e-08
    50-150  6.653e-07   3.005e-07
    15-150  1.176e-06   3.415e-07
    

    Peak spectrum fit

    Power-law model
    Time interval is from    0.184 sec. to    1.184 sec.
     
    Spectral model in power-law:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    Photon index: 1.19519     ( -0.186182   0.18501 )
    Norm@50keV  : 1.63796E-02    ( -0.00161974   0.00161915 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          71.27 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.250 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   9.683678e-02
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 1 sec: 1.92134 ( -0.194156  0.194651 ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.66405e-07 ( -1.88196e-08  1.8972e-08 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Cutoff power-law model
    Time interval is from    0.184 sec. to    1.184 sec.
    Spectral model in the cutoff power-law:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    Photon index: 2.30481     ( -0.194058   0.181171 )
    Epeak [keV] : 103.691      ( -9999.36 -9999.36 )
    Norm@50keV  : 3.67551E-03    (     )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          66.41 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.186 for     56 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.608540e-01
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 1 sec: 1.92310 ( -0.19642  0.19226 ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.66187e-07 ( -1.8515e-08  1.8904e-08 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Band function
    Time interval is from    0.184 sec. to    1.184 sec.
     
    Spectral model in the Band function:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    alpha       : -0.962528   ( 0.963068   0.963068 )
    beta        : -1.19517    ( -0.185213   0.186237 )
    Epeak [keV] : 52.8840      ( -52.2399 -52.2399 )
    Norm@50keV   : 2.88884E-02    ( -0.0141318   2.41738 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          71.27 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.296 for     55 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   6.915878e-02
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 1 sec:  (    ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 0 ( 0  0 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Single BB
     
    Spectral model blackbody:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value    Lower 90%  Upper 90%
    kT [keV]    : 20.5418  (-3.07811  3.75043)
    R^2/D10^2   : 7.92932E-02  (-0.0324951   0.0544436)
    (R is the radius in km and D10 is the distance to the source in units of 10 kpc)
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =         102.69 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =         1.8017 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.977173e-04
     
    Energy  Fluence     90% Error
    [keV]   [erg/cm2]   [erg/cm2]
    15- 25  6.380e-09   1.403e-09
    25- 50  3.234e-08   5.285e-09
    50-150  1.015e-07   1.779e-08
    15-150  1.402e-07   2.260e-08
    
    Thermal bremsstrahlung (OTTB)
     
     
    Spectral model: thermal bremsstrahlung
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value         Lower 90%    Upper 90%
    kT [keV]    : 200.000       (      )
    Norm        : 7.86186       (-0.794417     0.794378)
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          83.38 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.463 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   1.293450e-02
     
    Energy  Fluence     90% Error
    [keV]   [erg/cm2]   [erg/cm2]
    15- 25  1.958e-08   1.078e-08
    25- 50  3.767e-08   2.058e-08
    50-150  8.261e-08   4.470e-08
    15-150  1.398e-07   7.580e-08
    
    Double BB
     
     
    Spectral model: bbodyrad<1> + bbodyrad<2>
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value         Lower 90%    Upper 90%
    kT1 [keV]   : 6.46714        (-3.4674      2.9937)
    R1^2/D10^2  : 2.26982        (-1.55936      10.8604)
    kT2 [keV]   : 33.3732        (-9.75861      18.8168)
    R2^2/D10^2  : 1.54038E-02    (-0.0107097   0.0310537)
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          71.76 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.305 for     55 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   6.405594e-02
     
    Energy  Fluence     90% Error
    [keV]   [erg/cm2]   [erg/cm2]
    15- 25  1.645e-08   8.295e-09
    25- 50  3.242e-08   1.318e-08
    50-150  1.228e-07   5.359e-08
    15-150  1.716e-07   7.191e-08
    

    Pre-slew spectrum (Pre-slew PHA with pre-slew DRM)

    Power-law model
     
    Spectral model in power-law:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    Photon index: 1.61516     ( -0.0997891   0.100906 )
    Norm@50keV  : 6.18901E-03    ( -0.00035492   0.00035272 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          74.55 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.308 for     57 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   5.927526e-02
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 18.4 sec: 0.799097 ( -0.0436574  0.0437021 ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.06309e-06 ( -6.58293e-08  6.63607e-08 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Cutoff power-law model
    Spectral model in the cutoff power-law:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    Photon index: 1.43941     ( -0.392955   0.229221 )
    Epeak [keV] : 152.988      (   )
    Norm@50keV  : 7.63946E-03    (     )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          73.87 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.319 for     56 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   5.502646e-02
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 18.4 sec: 0.791196 ( -0.046428  0.046405 ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 1.04525e-06 ( -7.61797e-08  7.58522e-08 ) ergs/cm2
     
    
    Band function
     
    Spectral model in the Band function:
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Parameters  : value       lower 90%   higher 90%
    alpha       : -0.721257   ( 0.986379   0.986379 )
    beta        : -1.74396    ( 1.74106   0.17337 )
    Epeak [keV] : 50.3732      ( -50.0194 203.174 )
    Norm@50keV   : 2.20811E-02    ( -0.0230031   713.599 )
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    #Fit statistic : Chi-Squared =          72.11 using 59 PHA bins.
    # Reduced chi-squared =          1.311 for     55 degrees of freedom 
    # Null hypothesis probability =   6.062199e-02
     
    Photon flux (15-150 keV)    in 18.4 sec: 0.788574 (    ) ph/cm2/s
    Energy fluence (15-150 keV)             : 0 ( 0  0 ) ergs/cm2
     
    

    S(25-50 keV) vs. S(50-100 keV) plot

    S(25-50 keV)  = 3.19e-07
    S(50-100 keV) = 4.05e-07
    

    T90 vs. Hardness ratio plot

    T90                                   = 27.067999958992 sec.
    Hardness ratio (energy fluence ratio) = 1.26959
    

    Color vs. Color plot

    Count Ratio  (25-50 keV) / (15-25 keV) = 1.34964
    Count Ratio (50-100 keV) / (15-25 keV) = 0.815127
    

    Mask shadow pattern

    IMX = -3.327848078866250E-02, IMY = -3.457392824339013E-01
    

    TIME vs. PHA plot around the trigger time

    Blue+Cyan dotted lines: Time interval of the scaled map
    From 0.000000 to 1.024000
    

    TIME vs. DetID plot around the trigger time

    Blue+Cyan dotted lines: Time interval of the scaled map
    From 0.000000 to 1.024000
    

    100 us light curve (15-350 keV)

    Blue+Cyan dotted lines: Time interval of the scaled map
    From 0.000000 to 1.024000
    

    Spacecraft aspect plot

    Bright source in the pre-burst/pre-slew/post-slew images

    Pre-burst image of 15-350 keV band

    Time interval of the image:
    -180.435400 -1.032000
     
    # RAcent  DECcent POSerr Theta    Phi  PeakCts   SNR AngSep     Name
    #  [deg]    [deg]    ['] [deg]  [deg]                   [']
    254.5310  35.3828    4.3  40.8   44.6   1.1078   2.7    4.3	Her X-1                       
    255.1457  31.6834    3.2  44.2   47.1   2.2271   3.6 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    262.0384  40.0199    2.2  40.9   33.1   1.8389   5.3 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    253.0335  46.7579    3.3  31.5   33.2   0.7756   3.5 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    256.8369  47.5690    2.6  32.9   28.8   1.0896   4.5 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    291.6799  41.8994    3.0  53.9    8.1   2.5165   3.8 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    260.1969  65.7426    2.4  25.6   -6.1   0.8098   4.8 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    136.7865  23.8453    3.7  57.8 -156.8   3.3612   3.1 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    

    Pre-slew background subtracted image of 15-350 keV band

    Time interval of the image:
    -1.032000 17.364600
     
    # RAcent  DECcent POSerr Theta    Phi  PeakCts   SNR AngSep     Name
    #  [deg]    [deg]    ['] [deg]  [deg]                   [']
    254.2424  35.2194    6.0  40.8   45.0   0.2559   1.9   12.9	Her X-1                       
    214.2842  42.1443    0.4  19.2   95.5   1.8106  30.4 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    

    Post-slew image of 15-350 keV band

    Time interval of the image:
    58.364580 962.155200
     
    # RAcent  DECcent POSerr Theta    Phi  PeakCts   SNR AngSep     Name
    #  [deg]    [deg]    ['] [deg]  [deg]                   [']
    254.5710  35.2906    7.7  31.9   24.5  -1.1249  -1.5    6.4	Her X-1                       
    231.2659  38.1436    2.8  13.6   37.2   2.1098   4.1 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    179.9748  14.3254    4.0  40.6  172.7   2.4520   2.9 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    297.9933  46.4136    3.5  57.2   -9.7   7.9817   3.3 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    150.5318  19.2332    3.2  58.0 -156.8  12.4974   3.7 ------	UNKNOWN                       
    
    Plot creation:
    Sat May 30 19:27:14 EDT 2015