Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 06:10:26 -0600 (MDT) From: John Barentine Subject: 3.5m Night Log 20050525 Apache Point Observatory 3.5m Telescope Night Log Wednesday, May 25, 2005 ACTUAL ASTRONOMER OBSERVER(S) INSTRUMENT START FINISH -------------------------------------------------------------------- J.Wray J.Wray Echelle 20:30 00:55 V.Woolf V.Woolf DIS 01:05 06:00 INST SCHED(TWILIGHT) WEATH EQUIP OBS DAY NOT USED I/RO/DN START FINISH D B D B D B USE D B ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PU01/R 20:07 01:00 0.4 0 0 0 1.2 2.3 0 0 0 UW11/R 01:00 05:53 0 0 0 0 0 3.9 0 0 0 note: scheduled times listed include instrument change time ------------- ACTIVITY LOG -------------- Observing Specialist: J.Barentine Skies were mostly cloudy in the late afternoon but had cleared some toward sunset. Radar indicated storms within 100 miles or so, and I elected to stay closed until twilight was almost over. We stayed in the clear for most of the next two hours or so, but toward 23:00 the clouds started to thicken. At 00:10 I went up to the observing level to do a midnight fill of NIC-FPS, which had been degassed earlier in the day. While in the open enclosure I saw flashes of lightning off to the east from a cell which was at least beyond 15 miles, since the lightning warning in the weather display window never triggered. I considered closing but remained open and watched weather info carefully. The storm dissipated over the next hour, but we got wind and cooler temperatures from its outflow. Seeing was poor throughout, characteristic of the east wind. During second half things were a little more calm and predictable. Seeing was still fair with the east wind, but the threat of storms disappeared. We ran right into twilight and closed up shortly thereafter. ------- FAILURE LOG ------- PROG INST FAILURE MODE TIME (SEGDFNVO) TI/SHU START FINISH DESCRIPTION ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- FOCUS LOG --------------- Air/Truss Wind Time Instrument Focus Az El Temp-C Dir MPH filt FWHM --------------------------------------------------------------------- 20:44 Echelle -100(676) 200 74 14.9/18.7 81 12 clear 1.37 22:27 Echelle -50(730) 205 40 14.3/16.3 91 8 clear 1.40 01:05 DISslit -50(1262) 166 75 11.4/12.5 81 19 - 2.05 01:08 NA2gdr 41(23041) 169 75 11.4/12.7 84 13 R 2.24 ------------- WEATHER LOG ---------------- Wind Precip.or Time Temp F Dewp F MPH Direction Dust Sky Conditions ------------------------------------------------------------------ 16:01 66 32 1 90 (E) 1064 MstlyCldy none 17:01 67 27 10 253 (WSW) 943 MstlyCldy none 18:01 66 21 0 230 (SW) 845 MstlyCldy none 19:01 66 20 0 10 (N) 700 PtlyCldy none 20:01 60 32 12 82 (E) 1074 MstlyClr none 21:01 59 32 7 84 (E) 1073 MstlyClr none 22:01 61 32 1 169 (SSE) 1038 PtlyCldy none 23:01 61 32 7 135 (SE) 957 PtlyCldy none 00:01 55 40 20 71 (ENE) 1238 PtlyCldy none 01:01 53 32 18 76 (ENE) 1217 PtlyCldy none 02:01 52 32 16 75 (ENE) 1419 PtlyCldy none 03:01 51 31 15 69 (ENE) 1417 MstlyClr none 04:01 50 31 13 90 (E) 1256 MstlyClr none 05:01 49 31 17 82 (E) 862 PtlyCldy none Note: the wind was coming from the azimuth listed. The convention used is north=0 degrees, east=90 degrees. The dust count is particles > 1u per 0.1 cubic feet. TELESCOPE STATUS Telescope drives operational. Current Remark version: 2.85b Current TCC version: 2.7.2 Current TUI version: TUI 0.94