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The Planck Legacy Explanatory Supplement (https://wiki.cosmos.esa.int/planck-legacy-archive) contains the descriptions of all the Planck products, including the 2013, 2015 and 2018 data releases. Previous instances of the Explanatory Supplement (2013 and 2015) are not fully up-to-date and will be discontinued during 2018.

Explanatory Supplement for the 2015 data release

By the Planck Collaboration

The Explanatory Supplement is a reference text accompanying the public data delivered from the operations of the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite during its mission.

1. Introduction
   1. The Planck mission
   2. The spacecraft
   3. Ground segment and operations
   4. Survey scanning and performance
   5. Q&A
2. The Instruments
   1. HFI design, qualification, and performance
      1. Cryogenics
      2. Cold optics
      3. Detection chain
      4. Operations
      5. Performance summary
      6. Annexes
   2. LFI design, qualification, and performance
      1. Instrument description
      2. Ground tests
      3. In-flight calibration
      4. Performance summary
      5. Systematic effects
      6. Sorption cooler
      7. Annexes
3. Data processing
   1. HFI Data Processing
      1. Pre-processing
      2. TOI processing
      3. ADC correction
      4. Beams
      5. Mapmaking
      6. Spectral response
      7. Internal overall validation
      8. Summary of HFI data characteristics
   2. LFI data processing
      1. Pre-processing
      2. TOI processing
      3. Beams
      4. Galactic stray light removal
      5. Mapmaking
      6. Systematic effects uncertainties
      7. Internal overall validation
      8. Summary of LFI data characteristics
   3. HFI/LFI joint data processing
      1. Detector pointing
      2. Compact Source Catalogues
      3. Astrophysical component separation
      4. CMB Power spectra and Planck likelihood code
4. Mission products
   1. Time-ordered data
   2. Sky temperature and polarization maps
   3. Instrument model
   4. Scanning Beams
   5. Effective beams
   6. Catalogues: PCCS • PSZ • PGCC • PHZ
   7. CMB and astrophysical component maps
   8. CMB spectrum & Likelihood Code
   9. Cosmological parameters and MC chains
   10. Additional maps:
       1. 2015 Lensing map
       2. 2015 Compton parameter map
       3. 2015 Lensing-induced B-mode map
       4. 2015 Integrated Sachs Wolfe effect map
   11. Simulation data
   12. Planet-related data
   13. Dates of observations
5. Software utilities
   1. Unit conversion and Colour correction
   2. Planck Added Value Tools
6. Operational data
   1. Survey history data
   2. Planck operational state history
   3. Space radiation environment monitor
7. Appendix
   1. Glossary
   2. List of acronyms