From: sjnk@apo.nmsu.edu Subject: 2.5m obslog 20000930 (51818) Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 06:57:50 -0600 (MDT) Saturday Sep 30 2000 Apache Point Observatory SDSS 2.5m Observing Log (MJD 51818) OBSERVING TEAM: =============== Atsuko Nitta Kleinman (APO) Scot Kleinman (APO) Eric Neilsen (JHU) PT VISITORS: ========= Michael Strauss (PU) THE PLAN: ========= Science! SYNOPSIS FOR NIGHT: =================== Lots of rotator abort events made spectroscopy or normal imaging pretty much useless, so we scanned the equator, both in and out of survey limits. PT down all night with a warm CCD. We did finish two plates, though and took one exposure in twilight we'd like feedback on. Are we happy with imaging without the PT the next few nights? TELESCOPE STATUS: ================= At 30deg in enclosure with imager mounted. Opened: ~19:30 with exhaust fan turned on Closed: 06:00 with AC turned on DIMM: ===== Not running. INTERLOCKS: =========== None bypassed SOFTWARE USED: ============== IOP/SOP: v3_18_4_1 Watcher: v2_8_6 MCP: v4_3_8 TPM: v2_1_2 AstroDa: 14_34 TCC: 2.4.0b2 WEATHER SYNOPSIS (see below for hourly data): ============================================= Mostly clear, but occasional passing clouds - mostly low on the horizon. Seeing variable, but good towards the second half of the night. GENERAL COMMENTS (see Problems below for details): ================================================== We started out with spectroscopy while the moon was up. Our first plate (cart 4 plate 358) required an fk5InFiber with the resulting offsets: CalAzOff 0.006659 CalAltOff 0.000360 CalAngOff 0.000000 (This was around 19:45.) We set up before twilight and started exposing right about 10 minutes before twilight to see if the data are good. We will make sure we do enough exposures outside of twilight to reach the S/N criterion. We had a rotator abort at ~20:22. Repeated axis inits did not recover things. We finally got control again by getting the mcpMenu and doing a few amp resets etc. We then slewed the rotator around since we forgot to do that during pre-flight. We re-fiducialized the rotator while we were there - just in case. The first f resulted in a 7" correction. When we then went back to the field and re-started the guider, it read in one image, I think, then stopped. A stopGuider and startGuider got things going again. This plate also required a 0.016% scale change, which we implemented during exposure #6810, forgetting to do it in between exposures. Cart 3 plate 383 next. Had to fk5InFiber with the following offsets: CalAzOff 0.002509 CalAltOff 0.002343 (~22:02) Another rot abort ~22:30. We did about the same as last time, except we didn't re-swing around the rotator nor reset the fiducials. We did wake up Robert which resulted in the mcpMenu dehanging itself right when he picked up the phone. Thanks Robert. (Incidentally, I checked and the 14000 limit was still in place in the MCP.) At 23:14, we noted blurred guide stars and noticed the rotator error was 13000 or so. It then got better on its own. We noticed the same thing around 23:20 which then recovered, only to abort at 23:21. This happened right as the last exposure was reading out, so to get smear, we cleared the abort (multiple axis inits and mcpMenu stuff), then wentToField, guided to get things going again, then did smear. At one point, while trying to recover, the Menu lost authority, then hung for a while before coming back. Even the TCC, during this time, complained about timing out on LTA19:. It seems each time I had to stop the guider (stopGuider) in SOP during one of these abort events, then stat it again (startGuider X) when we were back on field, it would take one image, then stop. I had to do a second stop and startGuider for things to start working again. Next up: cart 5 plate 429. On gotoField, we had all 11 stars in the guide fibers! Whoopee! I don't know if I've ever seen this before. We aborted again at 00:23 rotator: 227:26 (last time, BTW, it was around 206:56). While trying to recover things in the Menu, Atsuko noticed once things were clear (****), as soon as she started a move (via j), the voltage immediately went to -13953 or so. Movement in the positive direction (k) was ok. After a successful k outing, it then responded OK to a j movement. Another abort at 00:42 at 222:46. We counted 15 minutes for each exposure that had an abort in it towards Telescope Problems in Titrax and removed the 15 minutes from the Spectro On Sky category. Another abort at 00:59 at 217:14. We then did an endStare -abort which seemed to work. PostCalib was next. It (the abort) didn't actually work, though (we didn't think it would) and the attempt to postCalib failed since it could not do a goStare because another exposure was in progress, even though it wasn't. We gave up and went to scan on the equator. The rotator again aborted while going to the inst change position. We mounted the imager around 01:30 and the 3.5m reports the seeing jumped from 0.8 to 2.0". It quickly went back to 0.9 or so for them and 1.0 or so for us! In the 2:09 to 2:14, we saw clouds in the cloud camera. They passed through and exited around 2:36. Around 03:30, clouds were scurrying by in the South. We may have gone outside the survey limits, but there wasn't much else we could do.... Exiting SOP at the end of the night caused it to hang and a flurry of messages to be sent to the murmur log: Oct 01 06:02:25 sdsshost IDA 360760 TEXTONLY Can not find camHandler_maybe in the event loop, so can not delete it Oct 01 06:02:25 sdsshost IDA 360760 TEXTONLY Stopping camHandler_maybe Oct 01 06:02:25 sdsshost IDA 360760 TEXTONLY Can not find daHandler_maybe in the event loop, so can not delete it Oct 01 06:02:25 sdsshost IDA 360760 TEXTONLY Stopping daHandler_maybe ... We ended up deleting the window. A result of the bad -abort? endNight ran successfully and we rejoiced. DATA ACQUISITION (see IOP/SOP output below): =========================================== IMAGING: -------- Run Type --- ---- 1750 bias (doghouse) 1751 bias (on telescope) 1752 science 86N -startLambda -165 good data start around frame 29 First iteration of skippy reported: THETAF = 0.0145 degrees, 52.18 arcsec CT = 0.39590 arcsec/pixel SCALEF = 16.5697 arcsec/mm AMU0 = 23.2933 degrees ANU0 = 0.0007 degrees raBoreErr: -2.8", decBoreErr: 2.4" azErr: 5.3", elErr: 2.3" muErr: -2.8", nuErr: 2.4" Correct idReport boresight values: xBore = -22.88 mm, yBore = 0.17 mm. After making the calculated rotator change, skippy then said: THETAF = 0.0011 degrees, 3.81 arcsec CT = 0.39604 arcsec/pixel SCALEF = 16.5700 arcsec/mm AMU0 = 24.6406 degrees ANU0 = 0.0007 degrees raBoreErr: -2.6", decBoreErr: 2.4" azErr: 4.9", elErr: 2.3" muErr: -2.6", nuErr: 2.4" Correct idReport boresight values: xBore = -22.89 mm, yBore = 0.16 mm. ~frame 381 twilight 384-385 focus -300 from nominal 389-390 focus +300 from nominal 391 endDrift SPECTROSCOPY: ------------- Exposure Type -------- ---- Cart 4 plate 358 6804 bias -init 6805 flat 6806 arc 6807 science 900s (first 10 minutes in twilight) 6808 science 900s BAD DO NOT REDUCE ROTATOR ABORTED NEAR START OF EXP 6809 science 900s (first one we are relying on) 6810 science 900s 6811 science 900s 6812 smear 6813 flat 6814 arc Cart 3 plate 383 6815 flat 6816 arc 6817 science 900s 6818 science 900s - partially bad with rotator abort 6819 science 900s 6820 science 900s 6821 smear 6822 flat 6823 arc Cart 5 plate 429 6824 flat 6825 arc 6826 science 900s 6827 science 900s (with an abort in it) 6828 science 900s (with an abort in it) MIRRORS: ======== PRIMARY: -------- MIGS SHOULD BE Axial A= 1.9305 1.9300 Axial B= 0.5590 0.5580 Axial C= 0.5559 0.5555 Transverse D= 0.3939 0.3940 Lateral E= 1.9155 1.9150 Lateral F= 0.4165 0.4165 GALILS Commanded: 5150., -2950., 400., -5850., 14600., 14100. Actual: 5150., -2950., 400., -5850., 14600., 14100. SETMIR VALUES primDesOrient: 0.00, -8.00, 11.70, 640.50, 439.70; primOrient: 0.00, -8.36, 11.84, 640.32, 439.52 SECONDARY: ---------- Focus: -250 Temp: 15 Altitude: 354 MIGS Axial A= -1.0169 Axial B= -0.9079 Axial C= -0.9670 Transverse D= 0.1759 GALILS Commanded:1146500., 1107900., 1178500., -50., -4850. Actual: 1146500., 1107900., 1178500., -50., -4850 SETMIR VALUES secDesOrient: 908.23, -20.00, -8.00, 50.00, -53.18 secOrient:908.32, -20.04, -8.05, 49.80, -53.18 FOCUS LOG: ========== M1 Piston M2 Piston Temp Wind Time Inst setmir TCC setmir Az Alt C Dir MPH filt FWHM " (rel) (abs) 22:20 spec 591 -300 385 209 52 14 195 8 gdr 1.6 03:03 IM 0 -442 -682 -3 57 14 225 3 23i' 1.06 04:42 IM 0 -472 -713 -3 57 14 250 1 23i' 1.13 LN2 SCHEDULE: ============= spectro dewars filled ~19:30 and 06:00. about 220 lbs left in Imager dewar. PROBLEMS: ========= rotator rotator rotator pt pt pt WEATHER DATA: ============= Wind Time Temp F Dewp F MPH Direction Dust DIMM Sky Precip. 20:01 60 25 8 2 (N) 397 21:01 59 25 5 292 (WNW) 339 22:01 59 25 7 257 (WSW) 354 23:01 58 26 7 193 (SSW) 437 00:01 56 26 4 195 (SSW) 417 01:01 57 27 4 180 (S) 760 02:01 58 26 2 195 (SSW) 453 03:01 58 26 2 243 (WSW) 381 04:01 58 26 1 257 (WSW) 392 05:01 58 27 1 204 (SSW) 398 [pmt]cl = partly, mostly, totally cloudy