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ENR CTIO Blanco 4-m 2024-02-28

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Date: 
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Telescope: 
CTIO Blanco 4-m
Submitter: 
Guillermo Damke
Submitter Email: 
Observer Support: 
Rodrigo Hernandez
Night Assistant: 
Rodrigo Hinojosa
Also Present: 
Marco Bonati, Dustin Lang
Problems: 

This was an engineering night used to test storing and transfering the guider images from lreadout2 to observer4. We had an initial crash due the RAM disk filling up with images, but Diego fixed the script remotely. We had to restart SISPI once to recover from this, but image transfer worked well with the solution implemented by Diego and Marco after. We collected a large dataset of guider images for Dustin Lang.

After, we started testing the reliability of the "Stop" button to interrupt exposures safely. We stoped images around the 60-sec mark. In all 8 attempts, starting at image 1278653, there was a SISPI interlock from the GCS that required to press "configure". Additionally, the readout failed with a "IB.IB3 missing CCD extensions" warning message and images 1278656 down to 1278662 had missing extensions, even after letting the exposures to finish on their own. We restarted SISPI again, but the system was unstable. Finally, we called Marco because the exposures were not starting, and found out that the guider was on "Pause" (I think I tried once "Pause" and then "Stop"). After this, the system was back again. Marco and I tested if the interlock was actually from the GCS by doing short exposures (no guider by default) and longer exposures with the guider disabled, which worked fine in both cases. In conclussion, we will need to find out why the GCS produces an interlock when Stop is used. Marco already has some idea on this, and we may need Diego to check the SISPI side.

The seeing monitor did not start in the whole night. Sara's seeing monitor worked well though.

Comments: 

Asteroid 2021PH27 observed during morning twilight sucessfully. Some vignetting from the lower shutter at the beginning, but the object wasclearly visible in the images. Thanks to Rodrigo Hernandez and Rodrigo Hinojosa for helping on how to observe in non-sidereal tracking :) It looks like we do not have this information for DECam in the webpage?

 

Conditions: 
General Conditions
Comment: 
None.
1st Quarter
Clouds: 
Clear
Seeing Value: 
1.00
Seeing Variability: 
0
Seeing Source: 
The Telescope I used
Sky : 
0
2nd Quarter
Clouds: 
Clear
Seeing Value: 
1.00
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
The Telescope I used
Sky: 
0
3rd Quarter
Clouds: 
Clear
Seeing Value: 
1.00
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
The Telescope I used
Sky: 
0
4th Quarter
Clouds: 
Clear
Seeing Value: 
1.20
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
The Telescope I used
Sky: 
0
Program: 
Proposal: 
2014B-0404
Target of Oportunity: 
No
Time Observed: 
0.0
Time Engineering: 
9.5
Time lost technical: 
0.0
Time lost weather: 
0.0
Time lost other: 
0.0
Primary Investigator: 
Schlegel
Instrument: 
CTIO 4m DECam
Organization: 
NOAO
Total Program Time: 
9.5
Total Times Time Observed Time Engineering Time lost technical Time lost weather Time lost other Total Program Time
2024-02-28 0.0 9.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.5