FACILITY...
General Information
Exterior lights for pathways and doors are
supplied by rotary timers and infrared-sensitive fixtures available at
main exterior building entrances. Flashlights are
available.
Exterior doors to buildings are locked
at all times. Ring doorbell if necessary. If keys are lost, notify Site Manager.
The Operations
building and SDSS Support
building house telescope status boards providing information on the
status of enclosure motors and readiness.
While telescope and enclosure drive
motors are "ON," it is dangerous to move about enclosures without
adequate knowledge of safety
features.
3.5-m Telescope
The telescope enclosure consists of three
levels:
- ground
- intermediate
- observing.
The ground level provides access to the
lower telescope pier, cone room, and general storage.
The intermediate level provides access to
instrument racks, enclosure drive motors, and telescope
hydraulics.
The observing level provides access to the
telescope, instruments, and enclosure hoists.
The enclosure is joined to the operations
building by an arcade.
2.5-m Telescope
The telescope and enclosure consist
of:
- a moveable building which rolls away
from the telescope for observing
- a lower level
The pier level consists of the telescope,
enclosure, and hoist.
The lower level contains the cone room and
a rotating instrument platform for amplifiers and coolers.
1.0-m Telescope
The telescope and enclosure consist of a
single dome located south of the 3.5-m
telescope. The telescope is owned
and operated by New
Mexico State University (NMSU).
Please contact NMSU
Observing Specialist for
access.
ARC 0.5-m Small Aperture Telescope
The ARCSAT telescope and enclosure consist of a
single dome located north of the 2.5-m
telescope. Please contact
Site Manager for access.
Dormitories
Dormitories occupy two separate buildings
with a total of 9 rooms. Dormitories are quiet communal areas. When
you are entering or leaving be aware that people may be
sleeping.
Dormitory assignments are listed on the
housing information board located in the Operations building's
kitchen. Do
not change room assignments.
When a dormitory room is occupied,
housekeeping
is limited to the common kitchen areas and the lavatories. For
longterm stays housekeeping will make arrangements to clean the
sleeping rooms.
- Rooms #1 -
#3/Dorm A
- These rooms are located in the
closest building east of the Operations
building. Cleaning supplies and incoming utilities are located in
the hallway closets. Additional linens and towels are located
in bathroom cabinets. Each room is supplied with a
phone
and alarm clock. Kitchen
facilities are located in the dormitory
building containing rooms #4-9.
- Rooms #4 -
#9/Dorm B
- These rooms are located in the
building farthest east of the Operations
building. A first
aid kit is located in the
common hallway. The dormitory has two kitchens, a laundry, and
three sleeping suites--each with two sleeping rooms and a non-private vanity area and shared shower
with lavatory. Additional towels and linens are located in
bathroom cabinets.
- Housing/NSO
- APO provides furnished and
completely stocked housing located at the National Solar
Observatory. Arrangements to use these facilities are made by
completing a housing reservation.
Garage/Shop Building
The building consists of:
- equipped machine shop with restricted
access.
- safety
storage for hazardous chemicals and flammables
- lavatory
- snow
removal equipment
- fire
fighting equipment
- water pump
- facility vehicles
- metal working equipment
- air compressor
Contact Observatory
Engineer for access.
Operations Building
Most of the observatory daytime work occurs
in the Operations building. This constant activity means lots of
people using this area and there is potential for conflict. Please
contact Site
Manager to arrange for work space
and support. Please keep all areas of the Operations building
clean.
If you are not running a software
program, please leave computers in a passive state (logged
out).
3.5-m
Control Room
Monitors and controls operations of the 3.5m telescope
and is located off the main hallway of the Operations building.
3.5-m
work area
Used for 3.5-m general projects and located at the
north end of the main hallway. Also included in this area are:
conference area
library
numerically-indexed technical drawings
Return all borrowed tools and equipment to their storage
areas. Contact Site
Manager to remove any equipment.
Library
The library is limited to general reference books
and publications. Additional volumes can be found in the flat files. Do not
reshelve books. A more extensive library is available at NSO.
Contact the Technical
Writer for assistance.
Conference Space
A small conference area is available for meetings.
To reserve the conference area for meetings, contact Technical
Writer.
2.5-m Control Room
Monitor and controls operations for 2.5-m is located off the main hallway.
2.5-m Work Area
Used for 2.5-m and 0.5-m general projects and located
between the computer room and the service
area. Return all borrowed tools or equipment. Contact the SDSS
Engineer to remove any equipment from this area.
Clean Room
Provides for electronic work on projects and is
adjacent to the 2.5-m work area. Contact SDSS
Engineer to use this area.
1.0-m Control Room
Monitors operations of NMSU's 1.0-m telescope and
is located adjacent to the service area. Contact NMSU
Observing Specialist for access.
Computer Room
Houses observatory computers, as well as instrument
racks and is located between the supply area and the
2.5-m work area. There is an air temperature overheat
alarm in this room. If the alarm sounds, follow these procedures: 1) open
the door; 2) contact any APO staff.
Individual offices and
work stations
Located throughout the facility. Contact Site
Manager to set up work areas for projects.
Kitchen
Located at the main entrance. Please keep all surfaces
clean. The dishwasher is available; soap supplies are under the sink. A microwave,
trash compactor, and toaster are available. This kitchen is used by APO staff
and visitors.
Meals and food purchases are the responsibility
of the user. A cafe is available at NSO
for lunch (11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) weekdays only.
Cabinets, refrigerators, and drawer spaces are identified
for food storage; we are unable to provide long-term storage. Items in cabinets
or refrigerators marked "House" are reserved for emergencies. When needed,
please use them.
Exhaust fans are to be used to reduce cooking odors
throughout the building. One is located on the microwave, the other has an
"On/Off" switch on the wall to the left of the stove.
Lavatories
Located off the main hallway and in the 3.5-m
work area, please keep them clean and orderly.
Lounge
Located adjacent to the kitchen,
the area contains a housing information board and entertainment
system. The housing information board lists current occupants of dormitories,
length of stay, and purpose for visit. If the carpet or floor become soiled,
please use cleaning tools available in the service
area.
Office Supply Area
Located next to 3.5-m control
room, contains fax machine, copier, laser printer, mail boxes, fire
alarm system, site bulletin board, and all office supplies. Feel free to use
the supplies in the cabinets and the office machines. APO provides a mail
box for each user or group; mail and messages are stored above the
name. Contact the Program Manager for special requirements.
Service Area
Located between the 2.5-m work
area and the kitchen, the area houses a washer/dryer,
cleaning and paper supplies, emergency generator panel, shipping supplies
and building electrical panels. A service closet with mop, bucket, vacuum,
and brooms is next to the overhead cabinets. A first
aid cabinet is mounted on the wall.
Use of the washer is discouraged. Washer/dryer for
personal use are located in Dormitory B.
Adjacent to this area is the boiler room which contains
the site hot water boiler.
SDSS
Support Building
- Used to prepare and install equipment and instruments,
it is located south of the ARC 0.5-m Small Aperture.
A first aid ki is available. Contact the
SDSS Engineer
to remove any equipment from this area. There is a lavatory located in this
building.