Create a Subscription
The modern Subscription creation form allows users to specify parameters for creating subscriptions. If you used our legacy system for managing subscriptions prior to May 2026, please see the Subscriptions Migration Guide to learn more about the differences between these systems.
Figure 1 — The Subscriptions form window for Hubble. Highlighted, numbered sections correspond to various pieces of the form which are explained below.
1. Mission Selection
Subscriptions must be created for a single mission at a time. Here, select which mission you are interested in starting a new subscription for.
2. Subscription Category
Use this field to choose the type of subscription to create. For Hubble and Roman, the options are either all data for a chosen proposal/program or a specific dataset. Examples of formatting are provided within the form for each selection.
JWST Only
For JWST only, there is an option to be notified for the first data from a program. For other missions, a workaround is to subscribe to all data, then delete your subscription after the first notification.
3. Data Specification
What appears here depends on your selection for Subscription Category.
For JWST and Roman Programs, you can optionally provide additional specifications. See the documentation linked in the "Mission" column for more information about terms used in these elements:
| Mission | Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| JWST | Observation | A set of one or more visits of one astronomical field that could be made at the same time. |
| Visit | A set of exposures obtained on the same Guide Star without scheduled interruption. | |
| Roman | Pass | The collection of activities generated from each iteration of a Pass Plan, which contains an ordered sequence of Observations for one Segment of a Pass. |
| Segment | The activities for an iteration of an Observation Sequence, which can include multiple traversals of Mosaic Pattern(s) and filter wheel moves. Segments are the unit of planning. |
For Dataset, the following mission-specific IDs should be used:
| Mission | ID |
|---|---|
| Hubble | IPPPSSOOT |
| JWST | Dataset ID |
| Roman | Dataset ID |
4. Cadence Selection
This field determines how often you will receive emails with subscription updates. Specifics for each cadence are as follows:
| Cadence | Time Emails are Sent |
|---|---|
| Hourly | On the hour |
| Daily | 00:00 UTC |
| Weekly | Monday at 00:00 UTC |
| Monthly | First of the month at 00:00 UTC |
5. Subscription Triggers
Select which types of data you want to receive notifications about. Each option refers to the state of products under your specified Dataset or Program, including catalogs. Use the shortcuts in the upper right to select 'All' (
) or 'None' (
) of the options.
6. Create Subscription
Enter an optional title into the title field; a default title is generated as you update the form with a combination of the mission, metadata, and cadence you've selected. Use the "CLEAR FORM" button to start over, or the "CREATE SUBSCRIPTION" button to submit the form. You must be logged in to your My ST account to create a subscription.
After creating a subscription you will be brought to your subscriptions management page, where you can edit or delete any active subscriptions.
Manage Subscriptions
The subscriptions management page allows you to update and delete existing subscriptions.
At the top right of MAST search and subscription forms, click your name (or "MY ST", if logged out) followed by the "subscriptions" drop-down menu to reveal two options: the first to create a new subscription, and the second to manage existing subscriptions.
Create Subscription on Search Forms
The option to create a subscription appears on all search forms, regardless of whether the corresponding mission is eligible for subscription creation.
Clicking "My Subscriptions" brings you to the subscriptions management page, where you can view details for all of your existing subscriptions. On smaller screens, scroll to the side to see more information including creation and last updated dates. Subscriptions can be deleted by selecting lines to remove and clicking the trash can icon in the top left.
To edit the cadence or type of a subscription, mouse over the field you want to change and click the pencil icon. A new window will open, enabling you to make updates.