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LIGO/Virgo Public Alerts User Guide
===================================
.. image:: _static/banner.png
:alt: GW170817/GRB170817A discovery images
Welcome to the LIGO/Virgo Public Alerts User Guide! This document is intended
for both professional astronomers and science enthusiasts who are interested in
receiving alerts and real-time data products related to gravitational-wave (GW)
events.
.. warning::
Some technical details of LIGO/Virgo public alerts may change before the
start of Observing Run 3 (O3) in 2019. In particular, details of the alert
format and the :term:`GraceDb` public portal may evolve. Please check this
document regularly for announcements and updates.
Three sites (:term:`LHO`, :term:`LLO`, :term:`Virgo`) together form a global
network of ground-based GW detectors. The `LIGO Scientific Collaboration
`_ and the `Virgo Collaboration
`_ jointly analyze the data
in real time to detect and localize transients from compact binary mergers and
other sources. When a signal candidate is found, an alert is sent to
astronomers in order to search for counterparts (electromagnetic waves or
neutrinos).
Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo are preparing for their third observing run
(O3) in early 2019. For the first time, **LIGO/Virgo alerts will be public**.
Alerts will be distributed through NASA's Gamma-ray Coordinates Network
(:term:`GCN`). There are two types of alerts: human-readable :term:`GCN
Circulars ` and machine-readable :term:`GCN Notices `. This document provides a brief overview of the procedures for vetting
and sending GW alerts, describes their contents and format, and includes
instructions and sample code for receiving GCN Notices and decoding GW sky maps.
Contents
--------
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 2
quickstart
capabilities
procedures/index
content
tutorial/index
Appendix
--------
.. toctree::
:hidden:
changes
glossary
* :doc:`changes`
* :doc:`glossary`
* :ref:`search`
* `Report issues `_
.. _Virgo: http://www.virgo-gw.eu