CTIO
Published on CTIO (http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao)

CTIO Home > ENR CTIO Blanco 4-m 2013-05-29

ENR CTIO Blanco 4-m 2013-05-29

Date: 
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Telescope: 
CTIO Blanco 4-m
Submitter: 
Eric Mamajek
Submitter Email: 
emamajek@pas.rochester.edu
Observer Support: 
David James
Night Assistant: 
Alberto Alvarez
Also Present: 
Erin Scott (grad student, University of Rochester)
Problems: 

* Technical time lost:
  (1) 30 minutes at beginning of night due to TCS problems (apparently
  due to communication error between cRIOs and kernal; quickly
  resolved by Alberto, Hernan, and Javier).
  (2) 15 minutes due to SISPI restart. Data transport system (DTS)
  problem  (attributed to reboot of DTS system in Tucson; quickly
  resolved by Klaus H, Rob Seaman & Mike Fitzpatrick in Tucson).
  (3) 15 minutes due to DECal problem (power lost to top ring telescope
  control box of DECal; quickly resolved by David James).

RASICAM appears to have significant structure in the images unrelated to
clouds. Features are at NW ~40-50 deg from zenith, and NE ~60-75 deg from zenith.
May be helpful for RASICAM to not
only show an updated image, but a difference image (subtracting
current image from most recent image) - real clouds move.  Indeed, we
were unable to discern *any* clouds moving over the site on the
RASICAM images - which was a bit suspicious as there were scattered
thin cirrus clouds at the beginning and end of the night. I'm
wondering if some bright (nonmoving) spots on the RASICAM images are
affecting the scaling in the updated RASICAM images, and perhaps we
are missing faint structures passing through the field.

Comments: 

Open 11hr45min, lost 1h to technical problems (listed under problems),
0h to weather.  Probably not quite photometric - likely thin wispy
cirrus most of the night (however not obvious with well-illuminated
moon). Relative photometry should be good.

SISPI suggestions: when exposure queue is empty - a bell should
ring. Accidently lost 10 minutes (we inadvertantly hadn't loaded in
the next .json files in time). Perhaps the sound was turned down?

Successful (unscheduled) test of Moon avoidance. We tried to observe a
SDSS Stripe82 calibration field that was coincidently within 10 deg of
the Moon.  SISPI correctly gave us a useful error and kindly told us
not to do that.

Thanks for excellent support from David, Alberto, Javier, and Hernan!
Special thanks especially to Alberto for keeping track of, and adjusting, the
wind screen height.

Conditions: 
General Conditions
Comment: 
None.
1st Quarter
Clouds: 
Thin Clouds
Wind: 
Low
Seeing Value: 
0.80
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
CTIO Seeing monitor
Sky : 
1
2nd Quarter
Clouds: 
Thin Clouds
Wind: 
Medium
Seeing Value: 
1.20
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
CTIO Seeing monitor
Sky: 
1
3rd Quarter
Clouds: 
Thin Clouds
Wind: 
Medium
Seeing Value: 
1.50
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
CTIO Seeing monitor
Sky: 
0
4th Quarter
Clouds: 
Thin Clouds
Wind: 
Medium
Seeing Value: 
1.50
Seeing Variability: 
0.2
Seeing Source: 
CTIO Seeing monitor
Sky: 
1
  • Delete
  • Edit
Program: 
Proposal: 
2013A-0723
Target of Oportunity: 
No
Time Observed: 
10.75
Time Engineering: 
0.0
Time lost technical: 
1.0
Time lost weather: 
0.0
Time lost other: 
0.0
Description: 
DECam Survey for Benchmark Substellar Objects in the Nearest OB Association
Primary Investigator: 
Eric Mamajek
Email: 
emamajek@pas.rochester.edu [1]
Institution: 
University of Rochester
Instrument: 
CTIO 4m DECam
Organization: 
NOAO
Total Program Time: 
11.75
  • Delete [2]
  • Edit [3]
  • Add [4]
Total Times Time Observed Time Engineering Time lost technical Time lost weather Time lost other Total Program Time
2013-05-29 10.75 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 11.75

Source URL (modified on 05/30/2013 - 07:10): http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/node/3795

Links
[1] mailto:emamajek@pas.rochester.edu
[2] http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/field-collection/field-nr-prog/915/delete?destination=print/content/enr-ctio-blanco-4-m-2013-05-29
[3] http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/field-collection/field-nr-prog/915/edit?destination=print/content/enr-ctio-blanco-4-m-2013-05-29
[4] http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/field-collection/field-nr-prog/add/node/3795?destination=print/content/enr-ctio-blanco-4-m-2013-05-29