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THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR OBSERVERS AT THE 0.9M
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WHO ARE OBSERVING FOR CTIOPI
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(version 28 FEB 2011)
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The most recent version of this document can be found on the GSU
CTIOPI website at
http://www.chara.gsu.edu/~thenry/CTIOPI/ctiopi.observing.YYYY.MMDD
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WE HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A STABLE ACCOUNT FOR CTIOPI, v12
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ALWAYS USE THAT ACCOUNT!
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(password can be found inside the CTIOPI notebooks)
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________________________________________________________________________
CTIOPI HELP FOR THE 0.9M
________________________________________________________________________
Todd Henry
[email protected]
John Subasavage
[email protected]
Adric Riedel
[email protected]
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FIRST STOP, LA SERENA
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Upon arrival at the La Serena airport, you will most likely be met by
someone arranged by CTIO to whisk you to the dorms in the AURA
complex. If not, you can catch a cab, and ask them to take you to the
"AURA/CTIO Recinto." It should cost about 5000 pesos or $10.
Make sure to enjoy La Serena while you are there. Say hello to folks
at CTIO you know, and make new friends with those you don't (yet)
know. Always be sure to stop by to thank Ximena Herreros for her help
coordinating your trip.
Go to the beach! Have pisco sours! Buy souvenirs at La Recova!
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NEXT STOP, CTIO
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After checking in and having lunch, go up to the telescope and find
the large plastic PIBOX (with a red top), which is kept in the 0.9m
observing room.
In the PIBOX, you should find three 0.9m setup notebooks for CTIOPI
targets (0h-7h, 8h-15h, 16h-23h), the 0.9m logbook, a photometry
notebook, DVDs, (obsolete) DAT tapes, DVDs, as well as other useful
items. Please return all items to the PIBOX after your run, as the
next observer will need them.
After your observing run, just leave the PIBOX in the 0.9m observing
room.
________________________________________________________________________
HELP ON THE MOUNTAIN
________________________________________________________________________
Observer Support
dial 421
Electronics Support
dial 417
Computer Support
dial 422
Medical Center
dial 454
________________________________________________________________________
WEATHER
________________________________________________________________________
To look at recent pictures of the sky, access the SASCA (SOAR All Sky
Camera) website by typing 139.229.3.224 into the browser address line.
To check weather in Chile and the rest of South America go to
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/site/environment.html
or
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/environ/environ.html
To check recent weather history values for temperature, seeing, etc.,
type "weat" or look at the website http://www.ctio.noao.edu/htbin/wwweat.
________________________________________________________________________
RADIO
________________________________________________________________________
As of AUG 2009, good radio stations (at least by Todd's standards)
include 88.9, 100.9, 101.5 and 102.1 (Horizonte). The second one has
been known to play the Pet Shop Boys, so listen at your own risk.
________________________________________________________________________
COMPUTER ADDRESSES AT THE TELESCOPES
________________________________________________________________________
0.9m
ctioa4
/ua41/v12
/ua44/v12
/ua45/v12
observer's computer with ARCON
home directory on ctioa4
alternate home directory on ctioa4
alternate home directory on ctioa4
ctio36
additional computer
/usr/u361/v12 home directory on ctio36
or /home/u361/v12
/usr/u363/v12 storage location for CTIOPI data
You can rlogin from anywhere on the mountain to another computer. I
have a file of tricks called .alias where I keep some of my favorite
quick commands. You can make your own such file and activate it by
typing "source .alias" to make your commands work.
If a machine locks up, you can try rebooting by holding the [STOP] and
[a] buttons down simultaneously. Then, answer "sync" at the prompt.
________________________________________________________________________
REMOTE ACCESS
________________________________________________________________________
La Serena
ssh -l v12 ctio.noao.edu
0.9m
ssh -l v12 ctio36.ctio.noao.edu
cd /ua41/v12 to get to the files from ctioa4
cd /ua44/v12 to get to the files from ctioa4
cd /ua45/v12 to get to the files from ctioa4
cd /u363/v12 to get to the files from ctio36
du /ua45/* to find out where space is being used
________________________________________________________________________
TAPEDRIVE INFORMATION
________________________________________________________________________
0.9m
from ctio36 workstation (not ctioa4!)
DAT is /dev/nst0
________________________________________________________________________
GETTING STARTED, AND IRAF COMMANDS
________________________________________________________________________
A quick list of how to get information about the telescope and
instrument setup:
lpar telpars
lpar detpars
lpar instrpars
lpar wheel1
lpar wheel2
lpar obspars
telescope parameters, e.g. focus
detector setup parameters, e.g. pixels used, gain
instrument parameters, e.g. current filter positions
assignments for filters in wheel 1
assignments for filters in wheel 2
observing parameters, e.g. observers, frame #
A fairly comprehensive list of commands you can use for observing is
given here:
ccdinfo
ctiopi
detpars
tells you how the detector is currently set up, but
does not allow you to change anything --- to change a
parameter, use [detpars].
loads useful scripts for CTIOPI (note: smarts loads
similar scripts for SMARTS observing, e.g. finishsmarts)
allows you to change parameters on the detector. You
must use this if you are changing setups during the night.
You must type "setdet force+" after using this.
display
is the command that puts the image in the ximtool box.
It is best to [epar display] and make sure that the
parameter "fill" is set to "yes" so that the image
fills the ximtool (or saoimage) box. There are a
million subtleties to [display] that you can pretty
much ignore for data-taking purposes. To fit Ximtool
display box, use "set stdimage=imt800" and stretch the
box so that it barely exceeds the edges of the frame
when the frame is displayed.
***** need to check stdimage=imt800 command --- Jen
used stdimage=imt2048 typed into both the red and blue
windows in AUG 2010 *****
doobs
is used to set up a series of observations and is very
useful for flats (take 11 exposures each in the filter
sequence "v,r,i").
epar
is the command you type to get inside each package to
change parameters. You keep the changes and exit the
package by typing <CTRL> d.
filter
in blue window, changes the current filters
finishctiopi
when observing for CTIOPI, makes .fits files, generates
header files, and emails them.
flpr
resets window commands after aborting or stopping.
Type it three times to be sure.
focus
is used to focus the telescope at the 0.9m. The charge
is transferred along the CCD so that you get several
star images in a line to inspect for focus. All you
have to do is adjust the focus between each exposure
and hit <RETURN> when you are ready for the next one.
Remember to delete the file and 'epar obspars' to reset
the frame count when you are done.
hedit
is useful if you misname the file -- use it to change
the title to one of the following formats:
STAR0088 at R for pi
STAR0088 at R for phot
STAR0088 at R for refraction
STAR0088 at R for pi, phot, refraction
STAR0088 at R --- bad frame
imarith
is used to add/subtract/multiply/divide images, i.e.
basic arithmetic.
imexamine
is very useful when taking data. Type [imexamine] to
get a cursor on the image in the imtool box. Type "r"
to get a radial profile to see if a star is saturated
(64,000 counts) or has enough counts, and to check the
FWHM/seeing. Type "e" to get a contour plot to see if
the focus is ok. Type "a" to get a readout of the
peak value. Type "m" to get counts in a 5x5 box to
get a sky noise estimate. Type "v" twice to get a
plot along a vector where you mark the two ends. Type
"s" to get a surface plot. NOTE THAT YOU MUST HAVE A
SQUARE BOX FOR THE IMEXAMINE WINDOW TO LOOK AT THE
SHAPE OF THE IMAGE --- A RECTANGULAR BOX WILL FLATTEN
THE IMAGE AND MAKE IT LOOK OUT OF FOCUS WHEN IT IS
NOT!!!
imhead
imrename
typed alone, this will give you short header names for
each file taken and show them on the screen. Typed as
"imhead f* > look" will make a file called look that
lists all of the frames taken. If you [epar imhead]
you can change "longhead" to "yes", <CTRL> d out of
it, and then get all the details of the observation.
Or, just type "imhead f001 long+" to see the full
header of a single file.
renames the specified image.
imstat
is useful to see what the mean is in a flat/bias/image.
lpar
can be used to list the parameters without going
inside the package.
mkdir
creates a directory.
more
repeat the previous observation.
motor init
in blue window, this reinitializes the motor controller;
do this when you get a message that says "SMC not
responding"
motor stat
in blue window, returns location of the two filter
wheels
observe
is the command used to take data. Use "object" for a
target, "dflat" for a dome flat, and "zero" for a bias.
Use filter "cb" for dome flats and "dia" for objects.
obspars
gives basic observing parameters. Use to set the file
name for the night or adjust the incremental number of
the frame being taken. File names should simply be "f"
offset
displays the last image taken and computes the offset
necessary to move a star selected by the cursor to a
specified X,Y. "offset" first puts you in "imexam",
then put the cursor on the star of choice, hit q, and it
will then prompt you for the X,Y to move to. Type "q"
to get out.
pause
allows you to stop integrating to let clouds pass,
recapture guide star, etc. Use "resume" to start again.
qlook
displays the last image and puts you in "imexam" in quick
look mode.
resume
to start integrating again after pause.
setdet force+
locks in the setup of the CCD. You need to type this
after using "detpars"
stop
to get out of a sequence of exposures.
tchange
can be used to adjust the length of the integration once
you have already begun integrating. "tchange -30" would
shorten the exposure by 30 sec, "tchange 30" (no + sign!)
would add 30 sec to the exposure.
tcs info (must be typed in the Arcon Console window, NOT the Arcon
Acquisition window) tells you if the TCS (telescope
control system) is talking to the observing computer.
temp
sets the telescope temperature.
test
lets you take a frame but does not increment the frame
number. This is useful for centering an image, testing
integration time, etc. (i.e. any frame that you are
likely to throw away).
weat
gives a weather update on the mountain.
zero
takes a bias frame with exposure of zero seconds.
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TIME TO OBSERVE
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________________________________________________________________________
BEFORE OPENING
________________________________________________________________________
You will not have a night assistant at the 0.9m. So, you are on you
own for most of each night, although Telops can provide support when
needed (Arturo Gomez).
Instruction on how to open/close the dome, move the telescope,
etc. can be found in the black notebook "0.9M TEL. MANUAL". The
directions are given on the white pages covered with plastic near the
front.
________________________________________________________________________
A FEW TIPS ABOUT THE ARCON ACQUISITION WINDOW AT THE 0.9M
________________________________________________________________________
cl> <CTRL> d
TO SAVE ANY CHANGED PARAMETERS IN IRAF
cl> flpr
cl> ctiopi
3 TIMES TO CLEAR ANY ERRORS THAT MAY SCREW UP
ARCON
ANY TIME YOU REBOOTED ARCON, TO RELOAD THE
SCRIPTS FOR CTIOPI OBSERVING
If you lose the TCS header information, you can type "tcs info" in the
blue ARCON Console window (NOT in the ARCON Acquistion window). If
you get a bunch of numbers, you are ok --- only the last frame had a
problem. It is wise to take a test frame after any TCS problem to
make sure the TCS header is being written. Login in/out of ARCON is
the usual solution. The definitive method involves turning off/on the
entire TCS using the switches below the guider.
________________________________________________________________________
GETTING STARTED, CCD CAMERA SETUP
________________________________________________________________________
First things first --- it is usually quite dry at CTIO, so TURN ON THE
HUMIDIFIER (high setting) in the observing room. This will help
prevent ARCON crashes due to static charge.
As soon as you login, you should load various observing commands you
will need. You must be in the home directory (the "top" directory).
If you are using the v12 account for CTIOPI observing, type "ctiopi".
Make sure the chip is setup correctly by typing "ccdinfo" in the ARCON
Acquisition window. You should get the following parameters:
gain
= 2 (gain 1 saturates at 40K as of March 2009)
xstart
= 513
ystart
= 513
xsize
= 1024
ysize
= 1024
amplifiers = ul
detname
= Tek2K_3
This gives us one quarter of the array, which equals 6.8 arcmin on the
sky, centered on chip center. The "ul" amplifier reads out in 45
seconds via two amplifiers (it is 30 seconds for one amplifier), and
provides low noise. To change the parameters, type "detpars", fill
out the correct settings, followed by "setdet force+" to activate the
new chip settings.
________________________________________________________________________
DIRECTORIES AND FILENAMES
________________________________________________________________________
Each night has a separate directory. For working through the night,
you can name the directory "n1" for the first night, etc. Eventually,
the name of the directory should be YYYYMMDD-09, i.e. 20060201-09 for
01 FEB 06. At the end of the night, the directory name MUST match the
local date at the BEGINNING of the night. To move into the desired
directory to take data for the night, type "cd n1".
The name of the files MUST have the single letter name "f". Type
"epar obspars" to setup the file name and number 1 (at the start of
the night). Once you have entered this, type "<CTRL> d" to save the
parameters in IRAF. Numbers will be appended during the night, so
that the first frame will be f001, the second will be f002, etc.
________________________________________________________________________
CALIBRATION FRAMES --- BIASES AND DOME FLATS
________________________________________________________________________
Only one set of calibration frames is taken each night. The set of
calibration frames should be for either the full-chip or quarter-chip
mode, BUT NOT BOTH. Science images may still be taken in both setups
during one night, but calibration frames from a different night will
be used during data reduction.
BEFORE taking the biases and flats, repeat three times the command
"preview 1". This takes a frame of 1 sec exposure, but does not save
the image. This "flushes" the CCD from any remaining charge traps or
electronic noise accumulated during the CCD idle time.
For both the full-chip and quarter-chip setups, bias frames and VRI
dome flats should be done. You should take 17 bias frames, 11 V dome
flats, 11 R dome flats, and 11 I dome flats. This makes a total of 50
calibration frames. Before taking any type of calibration frame, it
is best to take a test frame to see if everything is working as
expected. Type "imstat f*" to get the number of counts in frames to
see if everything is ok, or load them in qlook and use the v command
to look at the counts.
BIAS FRAMES
Take bias frames before flat frames because the flats take a long
time, during which you can go to dinner. To take the bias frames, go
upstairs to the telescope and push the dark slides in --- there are
two of them and they have gold-colored "handles". Then, back in the
computer room, type the following into the ARCON acquisition window:
> observe
Exposure type (|zero|dark|object|comp|pflat|dflat|sflat|focus): zero
Number of exposures to take: 17
Title of picture: bias
************************************************************************
*
*
*
FOR THE BIAS FRAMES, YOU SHOULD GET ~1500 COUNTS.
*
*
*
*
WE USED TO GET 500-600 COUNTS, BUT BECAUSE OF THE HASSLE OF
*
*
SWITCHING ELECTRONICS CARDS, WE HAVE ADOPTED THE ONE USUALLY
*
USED FOR QUAD READOUT.
*
*
*
*
THE DATA ARE FINE, BUT WE HAVE LOST 1000 COUNTS OF WELL DEPTH
*
*
*
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DOME FLATS
*
Typically, the Telops folks will point the telescope to the white spot
for you to take dome flats. If for some reason you want to take flats
on your own (in the morning, for example), you can do so by setting
the telescope to zenith, then turning off the auto dome, dome
tracking, and telescope tracking (but leave the drives on). Then, set
the slew position to be hour angle 02H 28M west by subtracting that
amount from the ST (sidereal time), and set the DEC = -28 00 00. That
should point the telescope at the white spot. Go upstairs and check.
As of August 2009, we will be using only the oV = old V = Tek#2 V =
cracked V filter. However, the nV = new V = Tek#1 V = replacement V
filter will be the standard one used for SMARTS programs because most
people (a) don't care which V filter is used and (b) we don't know for
sure if the crack in the corner affects FULL CHIP observations.
The filter wheel that holds the standard optical filters should
therefore be in the following configuration for the 8 available slots:
slot1 slot2 slot3 slot4 slot5 slot6 slot7 slot8
named
u
U
b
B
nv
r
nV
R
Tek1 Tek2
i
ov
I
oV
Tek2 Tek2
cracked
-
-
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*
*
* ASK THE TELOPS FOLKS TO CLEAN THE FILTERS AND DEWAR WINDOW, AND
*
* WATCH THEM DO IT SO YOU CAN BE SURE WHERE THE CRACKED V FILTER IS ! *
*
*
************************************************************************
For dome flats choose an exposure time that gives about 30000 counts
in each filter (a range from 20000 to 40000 counts is acceptable).
Integrations of 120-180 sec are usually fine, giving about 30000
counts in the flats (highest in V, lowest in I). To take dome flats,
turn on the lamps with the switch in the computer room, then go back
upstairs and pull the dark slides out. While you are up there, check
that all three lamps are on. If they aren't, call the the Telops
folks.
************************************************************************
*
*
*
USE THE COLOR BALANCE FILTER "cb" IN FILTER WHEEL #1 TO BALANCE *
*
THE QUARTZ LAMP EMISSION TO SKY COLOR
*
*
*
************************************************************************
*
*
*
CAREFULLY CHECK THE DOME FLAT COUNTS FROM THE oV,R,I FILTERS
*
*
TO BE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT FILTERS.
*
* FOR 120 SEC ON 2009.0817, THE FOLLOWING WERE MEANS FOR 5 FRAMES EACH *
*
*
*
U
2018
5.5 %
*
*
B
20247
55.4 %
*
*
nV
35417
97.0 %
*
*
R
31931
87.4 %
*
*
I
27694
75.8 %
*
*
oV
36517
100.0 %
*
*
*
* SO, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DOUBLECHECK WITH THE TELOPS FOLKS TO SEE THAT *
* THE oV FILTER IS WHERE YOU THINK IT IS BECAUSE IT WILL BE DIFFICULT *
*
TO TELL FROM FLAT FIELD COUNTS ALONE
*
*
*
************************************************************************
Back in the computer room, use the command "doobs" to take the flats.
> doobs
Exposure type (|object|dflat|sflat|): dflat
Number of exposures to take in each filter: 11
Title for pictures: dflats
List of filters in wheel1: cb
List of filters in wheel2: ov,r,i
List of exposure times: 120,120,120
For both full-chip and quarter-chip setups a set of 33 dome flats at
VRI takes about 2 hours. If ARCON crashes during the dome flats, you
can restart just the parts you missed (remember to "epar obspars" to
reset the frame counter)
DON'T FORGET TO TURN THE LAMPS OFF WHEN YOU ARE DONE.
________________________________________________________________________
WRITING DOWN THE OBSERVATIONS
________________________________________________________________________
For CTIOPI observations, keep the log in the logbook from the CTIOPI
box, as has been done since 1999.
________________________________________________________________________
AFTER OPENING --- REAL OBSERVING!
________________________________________________________________________
1. Turn on the fans over the primary mirror using the green
cylindrical knob in the observing room (turn it to the vertical
mark on the dial).
2. Make sure that the large fan that ventilates the dome is on (and
the door to upstairs is open). The switch for the large fan is in
the electrical control box in the northeast corner of the first
floor. It is noted with a piece of tape.
3. Make sure the dome lights are off, the windscreen is down, the slit
is open, and the platform has been lowered.
4. Back in the control room, make sure the UTs are synched between the
DFM controller (Windows machine) and the red digital display at the
top of the white metal tower.
5. Turn Tracking, Drives, Auto dome, and Dome Track on. Make sure
Track/Aux Track (green) is set to Track (it has tape on it to keep
it there).
6. Zero the pointing of the telescope by setting up on a bright star.
You can either choose a star from the The Astronomical Almanac book
in the observing room, or use the zenith file on the TCS computer.
To get to the zenith file, click on the yellow folder icon in the
Movement window (click on the Mark/Move Table tab to bring that
window up), then Shared Documents, then the file called zenith.
Take exposures and center the star on the chip, using "offset" as
needed.
7. Initialize the telescope using the pull-down on "Telescope" in the
Telescope Control System window. Adjust three things, as needed:
(a) time, (b), zero point (fixes the pointing of the telescope --be sure you are using the correct epochs!), and (c) dome
initialization.
8. To see if all is well with the telescope pointing, choose a second
bright star, slew to it, and take a frame. You can skip this step
and go to the next one if you are confident that the telescope is
pointing properly.
9. Reset the Epoch readout on the TCS to 2000.0 by clicking on the
Telescope tab, pulling down to Misc. and use the Display Epoch /
Side of Pier tab to set to 2000.0.
10. Go to the first target star.
11. Focus using [focus], which relocates a star image on the CCD so
that you get a series of several star images at different focus
values. Choose seven integrations of 10 seconds in the filter of
choice with focus increment 50 (30 for seeing of 1.2 arc-sec or
better). You have to change the focus by hand at the 0.9m, so
change the focus value and then hit <RETURN> to take the next
exposure. V and R are expected to have the same focus at the
0.9m. The focus in I is approximately 35 units to larger numbers.
When you change focus from a larger value to a smaller value,
remember to offset the focus some 400 units "in" (e.g. 21000) and
then go "out" (e.g. 21400) to the desired focus value. This way
you move the secondary mirror against gravity, and prevent backlash
problems that are known to be present in the focusing mechanism.
The focus is a function of temperature and telescope pointing. It
is therefore best to check the focus for each target before taking
observations that you plan to keep. To check the image shape, type
[ql], put the cursor on a non-saturated but well-exposed single
star, and type "e" --- this will display a contour plot on the
graphics window, look for elongations in X or Y. Take special care
to be sure that the focus is excellent --- the parallax reductions
are much better with round images!
************************************************************************
*
*
*
DELETE ALL FOCUS FRAMES TO MAKE DATA ORGANIZATION EASIER
*
*
************************************************************************
*
************************************************************************
*
*
*
0.9m TARGETS HAVE R = 9 to 16
*
*
*
*
MAXIMUM ASTROMETRY INTEGRATION TIME SHOULD BE 600 SEC
*
MINIMUM ASTROMETRY INTEGRATION TIME SHOULD BE 30 SEC
*
*
*
MAXIMUM PHOTOMETRY INTEGRATION TIME SHOULD BE 1200 SEC
*
MINIMUM PHOTOMETRY INTEGRATION TIME SHOULD BE
5 SEC
*
*
************************************************************************
*
*
*
*
________________________________________________________________________
GOLDEN RULES FOR ASTROMETRY OBSERVING
________________________________________________________________________
MAKE SURE FILTER 1 IS dia, NOT cb
MAKE SURE FILTER 2 IS ALWAYS ov, r, OR i
1. Plan your observing strategy, depending on the quality of the
night. We typically throw out frames with seeing > 2.5".
CONDITIONS
< 1" seeing, clear
1-3" seeing, clear
> 3" seeing, clear
< 1" seeing, cloudy
1-3" seeing, cloudy
> 3" seeing, cloudy
SPECIAL CONCENTRATION
faintest targets, close binaries
regular targets
photometry
regular targets, close binaries
regular targets
sleep!
High humidity often comes with poor seeing.
2. In general, use the hours between 10pm and 2am for ASPENS stars,
source investigation, or binary star programs, and the rest of the
night for parallaxes. Middle of the night parallax frames are
useful for high declination targets, proper motion determination,
and perturbation searches (e.g. ASPENS stars).
3. Stay within 30 minutes of the meridian for parallax frames. This
reduces the need for differential refraction corrections. Choose
the next target when it is 20-60 minutes to the east to allow time
to set up.
4. Choose an object. Make sure to check the observing list to see if
more frames are needed, and what kind of frames are needed --evening or morning. The goal is to have at least 30 evening frames
and 30 morning frames on each target, and to keep the number
balanced. There will be few "golden opportunities" to observe a
target. These are times when the star is at high parallax factor
and crosses the meridian within an hour of opening or closing. Try
to take at least 5 frames when you get a chance like this.
Consider observing it again several nights later if you have a long
observing run.
5. Check the notes on individual objects (ctiopi.objectlog) to see if
there are any special observations needed for that object. For
example, close doubles may require some special short integration
frames. Plan your set of observations accordingly.
************************************************************************
*
*
* FROM HERE ON OUT, YOU CAN USE THE FFF RULE --- "FORMATION" TO GET *
* THE PROPER POSITIONING ON THE CHIP, "FOCUS" TO GET GOOD IMAGES,
*
* "FLUX" TO MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF COUNTS IN THE STAR THAT SETS THE *
* EXPOSURE.
*
*
*
************************************************************************
6. If it is the first observation of a star, take short integrations
to find the target and set up a reasonable reference star field.
Choose a set up that has at least 5 reference stars. You can use
the IRAF task [test] instead of [observe] to take frames but not
increment the frame number. Remember that the astrometry is best
with the target near the frame center. If this is a new setup for
a star, write down the name and PI filter on a piece of scrap paper
--- you'll need it later.
************************************************************************
*
*
*
IF THIS IS A NEW SETUP FOR A STAR, SEE SECTION BELOW ENTITLED
*
"NEW SETUPS AND HOW TO MAKE SETUP SHEETS FOR BINDERS"
*
*
************************************************************************
*
*
7. If it is not the first observation of a star, place the parallax
star within 5 pixels (2.0 arcsec). In the red Arcon window, use
[offset] to calculate the offsets needed to put it in the final
location.
8. Estimate an appropriate filter/integration time to reach about
55,000 counts for the target star or brightest useful reference
star. 64,000 counts is saturated (use imexam and "r" to get the
peak value). The star that sets the exposure should be marked on
the finder, or a comment at the top stating "pi star sets the
exposure." R is the first choice of filter, although V might be
used for bright stars and I for faint red stars. If the star has
already been observed, the filter choice should be clearly marked
on the setup frame, as well as a guideline for the integration
time. USE THAT FILTER ONLY, UNLESS DOING PHOTOMETRY. IN GENERAL,
30 SECONDS IS THE MINIMUM INTEGRATION ALLOWED, IN ORDER TO PREVENT
ASTROMETRIC ERRORS CAUSED BY SEEING EFFECTS ON THE STAR IMAGES. We
have a few bright stars that require shorter integrations that are
important enough for us to try anyway.
9. Check the positioning, focus, and counts. Using [imexamine], type
"r" for a radial plot to check the counts. Remember that you must
choose the integration time so that the faintest useful reference
star has SNR > 100, while the brightest useful star (target or
reference) is not saturated, but has about 55,000 counts at the
peak. To estimate the noise level type "m" in imexamine on a part
of the image with no sources --- the standard deviation of the
pixel values is an estimate of at least the sky noise. Maximize
the counts in the target star or the brightest useful reference
star. Be willing to let possible reference stars saturate and be
discarded because the final error in the parallax is dominated by
the SNR of the target star.
************************************************************************
*
*
* NOTE THAT YOU MUST HAVE A SQUARE BOX FOR THE IMEXAMINE WINDOW TO
* LOOK AT THE SHAPE OF THE IMAGE --- A RECTANGULAR BOX WILL FLATTEN *
* THE IMAGE AND MAKE IT LOOK OUT OF FOCUS WHEN IT IS NOT!!!
*
*
*
************************************************************************
10. If the exposure is longer than 300 sec, find an appropriate guide
star on the AUTOGUIDER. If the exposure is shorter, you typically
don't need a guide star. If you are having problems with the
AUTOGUIDER, you can reboot it using
login:
camera2000
password: ev500gate
The autoguider controls are simple. Use the arrow keys to move the
white box around a bright guide star, hit F9 to start guiding, and
F8 to stop guiding. The 0.9m's tracking is usually perfect for
exposures of 300 seconds or less.
The 'Camera Head Controller' window is useful for the following
items. It is accessible from the CTIO PC GUIDER 5.0.1' window,
under the 'Window' menu.
If the arrow keys control the mouse, click the 'snap' button.
If you cannot see stars in the autoguider, set 'Erase' to 'off'.
Alternately, try LOWERING the gain on the guider camera.
Try to avoid integration times longer than 1000 ms.
11. Sometimes you need to change the display parameters in IRAF in
order to see, e.g., a faint source next to a really bright star.
You can do this by typing "display xxx 1 zr- zs- z1=aaa, z2=bbb" in
the red Arcon window, where xxx is the frame name. You get aaa and
bbb by setting them, typically, to the z1 and z2 values displayed
when doing a normal "display xxx 1" (i.e., you have to do this
first in order to get the approximate values for aaa and bbb).
This will help supress the large wings from a nearby bright star,
while keeping the target visible. For more info on controlling z1
and z2 do "help display" in IRAF.
12. Take a series of parallax frames, typically 5. Name the star in
the frame header with all capital letters and no blanks EXACTLY AS
IT IS GIVEN ON THE OBSERVING LIST, i.e. WT0001, GJ0752B, LHS4009,
*
G041-014AB, CE207-061, SCR0000-0000. CONSISTENCY HERE IS
ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL FOR CATALOG GENERATION SOFTWARE! The maximum
number of characters for target names is 16.
*********************************************************************
*
*
*
ALL FRAMES SHOULD HAVE NAMES IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT:
*
*
*
STAR0088 at R for pi
*
*
STAR0088 at R for phot
*
*
STAR0088 at R for refraction
*
*
STAR0088 at R for pi, phot, refraction
*
*
STAR0088 at R --- bad frame
*
*
note that you should really have ZERO of that last type
*
*
it is better to just delete those frames during the night
*
*
*
*********************************************************************
*
13. IF THE SEEING IS CONSISTENTLY MUCH WORSE THAN 2" IT IS PROBABLY
BETTER TO BEGIN DOING PHOTOMETRY INSTEAD OF ASTROMETRY, IF IT IS
CLEAR. See the photometry directions in the next section.
14. Unless otherwise specified in the observing list or on the setup
finder (fainter targets often specify only two or three frames),
you'll take 5 frames. Try to time the observations so that the
target passes through the meridian some time during the sequence.
Check for saturated stars in the raw frames using [imexamine].
Note any saturated target or reference stars in the logbook. Keep
all frames that have the parallax star near the correct position,
even if it's just a setup frame more than one hour from the
meridian, or if a reference star is saturated.
************************************************************************
*
*
*
NEW SETUPS AND HOW TO MAKE SETUP SHEETS FOR BINDERS
*
*
************************************************************************
You should have a list of stars needing setup sheets for the
binders that you dutifully kept on a piece of scrap paper during
the night.
1. After running finishctiopi, you should have .fits files for all
stars observed. Copy the .fits files to the ctio36 machine (this
has to be done at some point anyway to write data to DVD). The
directory for these data is at /u363/v12/ctiopi/. Make a new
directory for each night using format YYYYMMDD and place the data
in there. Then, go to bed.
2. The following afternoon, once the calibration frames for that
evening are happily under way, you're ready to generate digital
pointing setups. We have decided to use accurate, proper motion
adjusted, epoch and equinox J2000.0 coordinates for the pointing
setups. In some cases, these are not the values in the observing
list (though, ultimately we hope to populate the observing lists
with only these values). If you are so inclined, you could search
*
the various lists on the protected website for good coordinates.
This is easiest done by ssh'ing into GSU and going to the protected
directory and doing a grep (e.g., grep LHS0123 *). Jot down the
coordinates on your scratch sheet next to the star name and setup
filter.
3. On ctio36, open a terminal window via the Fedora icon (blue button
f) and select ... System Tools ... Terminal
4. Type 'xg' (not xgterm) to open an xgterm window.
5. Type 'ctiocl' to start an iraf session that includes all of the
ctiopi packages. Note: there is no need to open a ds9 window --the script will do that for you and size it just right.
6. cd to the directory that has the night with the data you want to
use for the new setup, e.g. /u363/v12/ctiopi/20100303 in your iraf
window. Using the logbook, select a frame that you would like to
use as the setup frame for a given object (perhaps the one that was
best exposed or had better seeing - typically the one whose
representative exposure times and seeing you plan to quote).
7. Type 'setpoint' in the IRAF window. This will launch a ds9 window
(you can move it if need be but don't resize it). If you cannot
see the entire field in the ds9 display, it means the screen
resolution is not set properly. You will probably have to reset
the screen resolution --- go to the Fedora icon (blue button F) and
select ... System ... Preferences ... NVIDIA X Server Settings. In
there select 'X Server Display Configuration' on the left-hand
side. On the right hand side, you'll see a drop-down menu next to
'Resolution'. Select 1400x1050 and click 'Apply' and 'Quit'. This
should stick as long as you don't log out of the machine.
8. The script will prompt you for a number of different pieces,
outlined here:
A. "Choose the setup frame ...", this is the .fits file you have
chosen to use as a setup.
B. "Evaluate possible reference stars ...", this executes 'imexam'
so you can cycle through all possible reference stars by using
routine commands (e.g., r for radial plot, e for contour plot).
At this stage, you'll want to make a mental note of the exposure
setter if not the PI star. You can make a printout of the field
to mark up as you draft the field.
C. When you know which stars you want, type 'q' to quit.
D. "Tag reference stars ...", here you will tag the reference stars
that you selected using the space bar --- TAG THE PI STAR(S)
LAST. It's good to tag the exposure setter (if not the PI star)
first so you don't forget. When done tagging, type 'ctrl-z' to
exit.
E. "Enter size of circular star marker ...", use option 2 as a
default. Only in the cases where there are a number of
reference stars (or more importantly, the PI star very near
reference stars) would you select option '1'. Option '3'
produces obnoxiously large circles, so I don't imagine it will
be necessary (but a "feature" nonetheless). If you don't like
option 2, don't worry, you will immediately have the option to
change your mind (just type 'y' when prompted for "Do you want
to change ..."). When you are happy with the apertures, type 'n'
to continue.
F. "How many resolved pi stars ...", in most cases, this will be 1.
For multiple systems (that are resolved, i.e., each received an
aperture), enter the number of apertures assigned. If more than
1, read below. Otherwise proceed to step F.
I. If your system has two components, each with an aperture in
your field, select 2. "Enter number corresponding to
primary ...", select the aperture number that belongs to
your primary component(s). "Enter label of primary ...",
enter the label you want, i.e., A, AC, etc. "Enter number
corresponding to secondary ...", select the aperture number
that belongs to your secondary component(s). "Enter label
of secondary ...", enter the label you want, i.e., B, BC,
etc.
II. "X position of PI component labels", this is the pixel
offset for the A, B, AC, BC label with respect to the center
of the aperture you tagged. You can change the offset after
looking at a draft that will appear. "Y position of PI...",
same thing as above. For example, if you enter '18' and
'18' for X and Y, respectively, your labels will be
diagonally up and to the right of the stars. Find a
position where the labels do not interfere with other
reference stars (don't worry about the aperture numbers,
they are not printed out in the final setup, they're just
there to identify important stars). When you're happy with
the placement of the labels, type 'n' to continue.
G. "Enter number of exposure ...", here you enter the aperture
number of the star that sets the exposure (typically, either the
value of the PI star or number 1, if you tagged the exposure
star first.
H. "Enter number of star for pointing ...", because we are no
longer using the PI star (which almost always has a proper
motion) as our pointing reference, we need to select a reference
star to act as our pointing reference. It is best to pick a
star near the center (and near the PI star) so that it shows up
when you first point the telescope at the field. It also helps
to choose a star for which the label for the (X,Y) position fit
cleanly without covering other reference stars or landing on the
bad column. This will become instinct after the first few
setups so don't worry if you don't get it right the first time
(unfortunately for this step, if you select a bad star, you will
have to start from the top).
I. "Enter X pixel coordinate...", drag the cursor over the center
of your pointing reference star and take the X (and Y) value
from the ds9 window (at the top, labeled 'Image'). Enter the X
value then press enter. Do the same for the Y pixel value when
prompted.
J. "X position of pointing star label...", again here, as with the
labels for a multiple system, there is a lot of flexibility as
to where you can place the actual label in the image. Just as a
reference, the following values work great for the four cardinal
positions around the aperture center (assuming both x and y are
pixels numbered in the 100s, e.g., not '37'). Again, if you
don't like the position, there is the option to change it as
many times as you like. When you are happy with the label's
position, type 'n'
Position
X
------------------------Above
-55
Below
-55
Right
18
Left
-125
Y
20
-32
-7
-7
K. Now the ds9 window will close and you'll be prompted for details
that will be printed on the page outside of the setup image.
These are outlined below.
I. "Enter star/system...", enter the star name, as it appears
on the observing list.
II. "Enter accurate J2000.0 coordinates...", as mentioned
above, this should be accurate, proper motion adjusted,
coordinate - NOT the ones from the TCS that you have
written down in the logbook.
III. "In which filter...", enter the filter used for the setup
(capital letter).
IV. "What is the exposure time...", enter a representative
exposure time (only numbers, don't type 'seconds').
V.
"What is the seeing...", enter a representative seeing
(again, only numbers, no '"').
VI. "Enter any short notes...", this is useful for setups that
require, for example, only "3 Frames at 600 sec". Also, if
the exposure setter does not reach ~50K counts(i.e., very
faint targets), it is helpful to state what the peak counts
one can expect are. This can be done by typing, for
example, "PI star counts $\\sim$30K" without the quotes.
You need two backslashes for the '~' character to work
because bash script uses one backslash as a special
character. If you have no notes, just hit enter.
9. You should now have a pair of files in the directory called
'starname'.point.ps and 'starname'.ps. The important file is the
.point.ps file (the other one is just the marked up image). Print
out each of the .point.ps files to be filed into the setup binders,
using the command "lpr -Pnp36 filename.point.ps".
10. The setup files are being stored on the ctio36 machine at
/u361/v12/ctiopi/Setups. Type 'mv *.point.ps
/u361/v12/ctiopi/Setups/' to transfer those over. The rest of the
.ps files can then be deleted (i.e., 'del *.ps). Also, the
tempfile* can be deleted (del tempfile*). All that should be left
in the data directory are the fits files (ready to be burned to DVD
and/or ftp'd to GSU). When all of your setup .point.ps files are
in the Setups directory, it is a good idea to ftp those back to
GSU. This can be done in the terminal window (in directory
/u361/v12/ctiopi/Setups/) using rsync. Type 'rsync -avz *.ps
'yourname'@joy.chara.gsu.edu:/nfs/recons2/setups.dir/'.
11. At the end of the run, an e-mail should be sent to Todd outlining
all of the new setup frames that are now in
/nfs/recons2/setups.dir/ and need to be printed to add to the
setups binders at GSU.
OLD WAY OF MAKING SETUP FRAME FOR BINDER:
XX. If it is the first observation of a star, print out a finder of
the final setup for other observers to use. To make a printout,
configure the Ximtool window so that there is very little black
around the edges of the frame --- when you print out the setup
frame there will then be lots of room to write at the top and
bottom. Use the drop-down menu on the File button on the Ximtool
window and choose Print Setup. Change the Image Scale from 100% o
85%. Then, in the top box, type lpr -Pnp36 (for the 0.9m printer)
and hit the Print button in the lower left. Once it's printed,
write the necessary information on the setup chart. An example is
given in the front of the 0.9m notebook. Most important are the
pixel coordinates for the target star and the filter selection.
________________________________________________________________________
GOLDEN RULES FOR PHOTOMETRY OBSERVING
________________________________________________________________________
MAKE SURE FILTER 1 IS dia, NOT cb
1. It must be clear! No clouds of any kind are tolerated. This is
the most anxiety-ridden decision of observing. Don't forget to use
weather maps on the web to try to predict the future. Also, don't
be afraid to ask around at dinner to see what others think. Best
of luck!
2. Photometry should be done all night when it is photometric. You
might do a few parallax frames at the beginning and end of the
night, when you're already pointed at a star that also needs
photometry.
3. There is a separate PHOTOMETRY binder that gives setup charts,
finder charts, and magnitudes for standard stars. The setup charts
for the standard stars are useful to see how to arrange fields on
the 0.9m chip. There is also a PHOTOMETRY WORKSHEET that will help
in planning observations. Use it to make your life easier. In the
same binder there is a cookbook of observing methods to get good
photometry.
4. In the TCS directory called "Shared Folders" there is a folder
called "ctiopi" that includes a list of coordinates for our
photometric standard stars. This file has been write protected to
prevent other users from modifying the file. If you are observing
for CTIOPI and want to update the coordinates (perhaps to avoid an
offset every time you slew to that standard), you'll need to click
on the Start Menu -> My Computer. From there, go to the Shared
Documents -> ctiopi folder. The file is called CTIOPI_standards,
right click on it and go to Properties. In Properties at the
bottom (labeled Attributes), unclick the Read-only box. Please
remember to click it back to Read-only before you leave.
5. You must take at least 20 total observations of standards each
photometry night in each of the VRI bands. These 20 observations
must include one or two very red stars done 3 times each for the
color transformations. The red standards are marked on the
standard star observing list. One way to easily get the 20 total
observations is to do a Landolt field that has several stars in it,
e.g. one Landolt field with 5 stars done at three different
airmasses = 15 observations.
6. We MUST do extinction curves every night we want to do photometry.
Arlo Landolt has data illustrating that the CTIO extinction at 2.00
airmasses changes from 10% to 33% regularly. So, we cannot assume
a standard extinction curve for a given night. For extinction
corrections, observe standard stars from airmass about 2.00 up to
as close to 1.00 as possible. Do each field at least 3 times and
preferably 4 times as it moves up in the sky during the night.
************************************************************************
*
*
*
YOU MUST OBSERVE EACH FIELD AT LEAST THREE TIMES FOR THE STARS
*
THE FIELD TO BE TRULY USEFUL FOR EXTINCTION CURVES.
*
*
*
************************************************************************
7. THE PLAN FOR 0.9M ASTROMETRY TARGETS IS TO DO VRI PHOTOMETRY FOR
ALL STARS AT THE 0.9M. In all cases, you must position the
telescope carefully to be sure that the target and all reference
stars are on the chip. You must also be sure that neither the
target star nor any of the reference stars saturate! The counts
should be at least 30,000 for the target star or brightest useful
reference star. There are some rather faint stars for which it
would take hours to get that many counts. The longest integration
in any filter for a photometry frame should be 1200 seconds --- we
will take whatever counts we can get for these faint stars, but
integrate no longer.
8. If you are doing photometry of a star that's already been set up
for parallax, align the field according to that setup, so the
relevant frame can also be used for parallax.
*
________________________________________________________________________
GOLDEN RULES FOR REFRACTION OBSERVING (RARELY DONE)
________________________________________________________________________
MAKE SURE FILTER 1 IS dia, NOT cb
1. The seeing must be better than 2.0 arcsec.
2. It works best if a series of refraction frames on a field is done
in a single night. You can probably do only one to three fields in
one night. It is a very time-consuming process because you have to
do refraction frames at VRI and and photometry (VRI), including
standards, in the same night.
3. Observe each star 4 or 5 times for a series. One observation
should be made about 4 hours east, 3 hours east, 2 hours east, 1
hour east and on the meridian. Each observation should be done as
if it were a parallax frame --- properly positioned, focused, and
with about 55,000 counts in the target star or brightest useful
reference star. A complete sequence of frames on a field would be:
VRI at 4 hours east, VRI at 3 hours east, VRI at 2 hours east, VRI
at 1 hour east, VRI on the meridian --- the last meridian set is
crucial, so plan accordingly.
4. It is possible to use the refraction frames taken in the parallax
filter for parallax, as well as doing photometry for the field
because you must do standards as well.
5. There is a refraction worksheet in the notebook that will help in
planning observations. Use it to make your life easier.
________________________________________________________________________
TROUBLESHOOTING
________________________________________________________________________
--- WHEN ARCON CRASHES (and it will):
Symptoms of an ARCON crash are:
* a painful zap
* the CCD preview monitor has gone completely black
* the countdown timer freezes
* trying to take pictures spits out endless errors.
The solution is to right click, exit from windowing system, and log
out of ctioa4. When you log back in as v12 (password can be found
inside the CTIOPI notebooks), choose option 2 (IRAF with ARCON
acquisition) and once OpenWindows starts, answer yes when it asks if
you want to synchronize parameters. From there, run ctiopi in both
iraf windows to load the ctiopi tools, and move into the current
night's directories in both iraf windows.
--- IF YOU HEAR A SOUND LIKE A CIRCUIT BREAKER SLAMMING
This is the auto-dome controller not quite moving the dome. It
happens most often when pointing near the horizon, or while the
telescope is parked. Move the dome manually with the dome L/R
controls on the telescope control hand paddle (in either the dome or
the telescope control room) so the dome error is reduced. Dome error
is displayed on the DFM controller.
--- IF THE DOME STOPS MOVING
If the dome stops rotating, (1) use the hand paddle to figure out
which way the dome is trying to spin (it will stop moving when you hit
the button for the OTHER direction), (2) stop dome tracking, then (3)
use the hand paddle to spin it the other way.
--- IF THE FOCUS STOPS WORKING
If you can't get the focus mechanism to change numbers, it is likely
stuck. If it is, you should not hear any sound when pressing the
buttons. You can sometimes unstick the focus mechanism by moving the
telescope away from your current position to change the weight-bearing
vectors on the secondary. Slew away, then slew back and see if it
starts working.
--- IF YOU RUN OUT OF LIQUID NITROGEN
Full tanks can be found on the bottom floor of the 1.5m dome. Grab
one and head back to the 0.9m to fill the dewar.
________________________________________________________________________
AT THE END OF THE NIGHT
________________________________________________________________________
THERE ARE THREE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE AT THE END OF THE NIGHT:
1. *** SHUT DOWN THE TELESCOPE ***
In the computer room:
* Turn track and dome track off (TCS black box below guider)
IF YOU DO NOT, THE TELESCOPE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE WHILE YOU'RE
FILLING THE DEWAR.
* Turn down the fans over the mirror (dial above ARCON)
In the hallway:
* Turn off dome fans (in the circuit breaker box)
In the dome:
* Slew to the cover position (button on Windows computer),
replace the cover.
* Close the slit and windscreen (old console, or hand paddle)
* Slew to Zenith position (button on Windows computer)
* Fill the dewar
* Push in the two dark slides
* Make sure the platform is down.
* Turn off master power
* Turn off all the lights
In the computer room:
* Turn off drives, autodome, and hit red button Halt Motors
* Fill out end-of-night report
* Log out of ARCON
* Turn off all the lights
2. *** CHECK HEADERS ***
Check header titles using [imhead f*] to make sure they are correct
--- use IRAF task [hedit] to change titles, just type "title" when
it asks which fields you want to edit. In particular, make sure that
the names of the objects are perfect --- the software that does the
catalog requires exact matches. Delete unwanted frames, such as
focus frames. To make it easy to identify what kind of frames were
taken (pi, photometry, refraction) or bad frames (bad) during
reduction, make sure all frame titles have the following format:
STAR0088 at R for pi
STAR0088 at R for phot
STAR0088 at R for pi and phot
STAR0088 at R for refraction
STAR0088 at R --- bad frame
3. *** MAKE .FITS FILES, SEND HEADERS ***
If needed, in the home directory for CTIOPI on the v12 account,
type "ctiopi" to load the CTIOPI scripts (originally written by Pat
Seitzer).
First, rename the directory so it has the format YYYYMMDD-09
i.e. 20060201-09. Then, move into that directory. Type "df" to
check that there is enough room to write .fits files for all the
frames you took. Each .fits file on the 0.9m takes up 2301120
bytes.
Type du /ua45/* to find out where space is being used on the disk.
Type "finishctiopi". Enter your name, hours observed/lost and the
number of parallax fields you setup. Enter the name(s) of the
star(s) and their PI filters, using your list that you dutifully
kept on a piece of scrap paper during the night.
You will be asked for a file name --- USE THE EXACT FORMAT OF THE
DATE AND TELESCOPE, USING THE LOCAL DATE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
NIGHT, i.e. "20060201.09" (note there is a period not a dash in
this name). The "finishctiopi" task makes .fits files (takes about
2 seconds/file on ctioa4, about 16 seconds/file on ctio36),
generates header files and emails them automatically to GSU. The
only questions you will have to answer are about who was observing,
and how many hours were observed/lost due to the weather and the
telescope. The files will be renamed with the date and telescope
so that they will be 20060201.09.001.fits, etc. Therefore, the
first file taken on 01 FEB 06 is found in directory 20060201-09,
has the name f001.imh during the night, but has the name
20060201.09.001.fits when written to DVD. THE FINAL NAME MUST BE
IN THE FORMAT 20060201.09.001.fits !!!
Once the .fits files have been written to DVD, DO NOT IMMEDIATELY
DELETE THEM. The GSU folks will get the headers via email
automatically, and will then rsync the data back to GSU. Do not
delete the files until someone from GSU confirms that the .fits
files have been rsync'd.
If you wish to rsync them yourself (not recommended):
* Open up a terminal on ctio36 and cd to your folder
(should be /ua41/v12/YYYYMMDD-09)
* type the following:
rsync -avz *.fits <your name>@ssh.chara.gsu.edu:/nfs/recons/disk3/SMARTS/YYYY.MMDD/
This will only work if you have permission to write there as a
member of the RECONS group. It is also prone to hanging, so if no
file has transferred for a while, <CTRL> c and retry the command.
It will pick up where it left off.
You will probably want to go to bed rather than wait for it to finish.
Note that if you do this, GSU people will not be able to restart it
for you.
________________________________________________________________________
AT THE END OF THE RUN
________________________________________________________________________
*** BURN A DVD OF ALL YOUR DATA FROM THE ctio36 COMPUTER ***
1. On the ctio36 computer, login as v12 and move to /u363/v12/ctiopi.
Create a directory for the night you observed and copy over the
.fits files from the ctioa4 computer:
copy /ua45/v12/20101021-09/*fits .
Verify that all files are there to write to DVD.
2. On ctio36, open the Fedora start menu (blue button with f in it in
lower left corner), go to 'Places', slide right to CD/DVD Creator,
open it.
3. on the Fedora start menu pull down on Places ... Computer ... and a
new window pops up
4. click on Filesystem ... click on u363 ... click on v12 ... click on ctiopi
5. click on folder name ... drag it to CD/DVD Creator window
6. Put a blank DVD in the top of the ctio36 computer in the back room.
It's the tower with a black mesh front that says "Cooler Master" at
the top. The DVD tray button is near the top.
7. click on Write to Disk once data all there and DVD loaded
8. click on the CD/DVDW SH-S182M
9. name disk for the format "CTIOPI 11-17 MAR 2010".
10. Verify that your data volume does not exceed disk size of 4.7 GB.
11. click on Write
12. Label the DVD with a felt-tip pen (ex. CTIOPI 11-17 MAR 2010). If
you are not with GSU, put the finished DVD in a case, and leave it
in the PIBOX. Someone at GSU will collect it. If you are from
GSU, check the PIBOX for burned and labeled DVDs to bring home with
you.
************************************************************************
*
*
*
DETAILS FOR WRITING TO TAPE --- AS OF 2009, WE USE DVDS
*
*
************************************************************************
*
X. *** MAKE ONE COPY OF DATA TO DAT TAPE ***
First, clean the tape drive!
In the PIBOX there is a DAT cleaning cartridge. It has a green
strip on the side, brand name Imation, and it says "Head Cleaning
Cartridge" on it. Prior to backing up the first night of data, use
the cartridge to clean the DAT drive. You just put it in, it
cleans the heads automatically, and then it is ejected. The whole
process takes about 30 seconds. It lasts for 50 cleanings, so make
sure that when you use it, you put a date on the cartridge so we
know when to get a new one.
Write one copy of data to DAT tape using the ctio36 workstation.
Move to the disk where the data resides (for example, cd
/ua41/v12/20060201-09), then
get into an xterm window
mt -f /dev/nst0 status
tar -cvf /dev/nst0 *.fits
mt -f /dev/nst0 rewind
(to check status)
(to write, watch it start writing)
(to rewind)
note 1: if you get a "write protected" message, go to IRAF and
allocate the device [allocate mtd] and then go back to
UNIX and proceed
note 2: it takes about 12 seconds per file to write data to tape
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIT SEVERAL NIGHTS OF DATA ON ONE DAT TAPE AT
THE 0.9M BECAUSE YOU CAN FIT A TOTAL OF 869 REGULAR SIZED CTIOPI
FRAMES ONTO A SINGLE TAPE. If you took any full chip frames, a
lower number of frames will fit on a tape.
To add files to a tape that already has data on it:
mt -f /dev/nst0 eof
tar -cvf /dev/nst0 *.fits
(eof = end of files)
or, if you are writing more than one night at a time to tape,
don't remove the tape from the drive, move to the directory
for the next night's data, and just type again:
tar -cvf /dev/nst0 *.fits
To check that data has been written to tape:
tar -tvf /dev/nst0
mt -f /dev/nst0 fsf
tar -tvf /dev/nst0
mt -f /dev/nst0 fsf
tar -tvf /dev/nst0
mt -f /dev/nst0 rewind
(for night 1 data)
(to get to night 2 data)
(for night 2 data)
(to get to night 3 data)
(for night 3 data)
(to rewind)
If for some reason you want to unload data from a tape:
tar -xvf /dev/nst0
(for night 1 data)
Label the tapes using the following concise format. DO NOT WRITE
ANYTHING ELSE ON THE TAPE LABEL. If you are observing on the night
with the local start date of 01 FEB 2006, write 01 FEB 2006 on the
tape, NOT 01-02 FEB 2006! Examples:
For one night of CTIOPI
For three nights of CTIOPI
CTIOPI 0.9m
CTIOPI 0.9m
01 FEB 2006
01-03 FEB 2006
We are writing one copy of data to tape. The tape should be left in a
tapebox in the PIBOX labeled "TO GSU ..." for pickup by someone from
GSU --- it does NOT need to be mailed. If YOU are from GSU, please
pick up all the tapes that belong at GSU and haul them back. We are
ftp-ing the data back to GSU from the telescope, but still want to
have tape copy, just in case.
________________________________________________________________________
NON-SIDEREAL TRACKING
________________________________________________________________________
Non-sidereal tracking is a three-step process.
1.) Confirm whether you have the non-sidereal tracking rate, or the
CORRECTION to sidereal tracking rate.
2.) The tracking rates are controlled on the DFM control window
(Windows computer) under the Telescope -> Rates menu option.
The entire non-sidereal rate should be entered in the bottom
set of boxes, not just the correction. Hit apply.
For reference, the sidereal tracking rate is 15.0411 arcsec/sec (RA)
and 0 arcsec/sec (DEC)
3.) On the black TCS control box, flip the green tracking switch to
'Aux Track'
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OBSOLETE BITS
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X. You may want to check the chip alignment as follows, although we
don't do this any more --- the chip rotation has been minimal
throughout CTIOPI.
Check the CCD alignment to be sure it is oriented properly. Simply
turn off the tracking and take a ~60 sec image to check. [display]
and [imexam] the image. Go to one extreme of the trail. Position
the cursor in the middle of the trail and type "k". This will plot
a cut through the trail, and give you the center of the intensity
profile on the trail. In order for the command "i" to work
properly, zoom the image until you see individual pixels on the
frame. Write down the center of the trail. Then go to the other
extreme of the trail on the CCD, and type "k" again. Take the
difference between the two values for the intensity center of the
trail. If you are within ~5 pixels of directly aligned (i.e., if
the above difference is smaller than 5 pixels), that is good
because 5 pixels corresponds to 0.28 degrees at the 0.9m (1024
pixels). We probably can't rotate the instrument to better
precision.