General Information

This manual serves as a reference guide for the Miriad package. It is assumed that the reader has some familiarity with the underlying operating system. Before proceeding further you need to read Appendix A on how to set up your account in order to use Miriad.

The manual is split into two basic parts. The first part (Chapters 2 to 6) introduces you to the Miriad package and its general concepts. The second part (Chapters 7 to 22), which uses a cookbook approach, takes you through the steps of putting your data on the local disk and reducing them.

The cookbook will describe how to reduce data from both the CABB and pre-CABB correlator eras. By default, it should be assumed that the methods described in the cookbook apply equally well to data from both correlators. However, whenever data from CABB requires extra or different treatment, the manual will clearly present the information as such.

If this is your first encounter with the Miriad package, we recommend that you read through Chapters 2 and 4 carefully.

For those interested, an overview of some of the history and design decisions of Miriad, the `standard reference' is: Sault R.J., Teuben P.J., Wright M.C.H., 1995, ``A retrospective view of Miriad'' in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IV, ed. R. Shaw, H.E. Payne, J.J.E. Hayes, ASP Conf. Ser., 77, 433-436.

Please send any comments or suggestions to
miriad@atnf.csiro.au.