Instructions to the ARCSAT Nightlog Form Page

Apache Point Observatory
New Mexico, USA

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Description of the basic entry boxes in the nightlog form page

Program Id:	The schedule assigned id (example: AS05) for your observing program.
UTC Start Time:	The UTC time at the start of the observing night. Use the time you started using the telescope including when you started taking calibrations. The time you opened for on sky observations can be entered later in the activity log.
UTC End Time:	The UTC time you ended your observations for the night.
Astronomer/PI Name(s):	The name of the Astronomer/ Advisor on the proposal.
PI E-Mail Address:	The email address of the Astronomer/ Advisor on the proposal.
Observer Name(s):	The names of each of the users of the telescope for that night. If the list is long, they can be named in the activity log.
Civil day of observations:	Please select from the pull down menus and entry boxes the civil day that you started your observations.
Instrument used:	Currently either SurveyCam or FlareCam
Activity Log:	Please write a short narative of how the night went. Include details of when you were able to open/close (exmaple for weather). Include any relevant details you feel are important regarding telescope performance or wish to be noted for other users or engineers.
Focus Log:	Periodically log the focus measurements for later seeing statistics. Not every measurement needs to be logged but a few a night is fine. Entries may be seperated by any number of spaces (not tabs). Please put one focus measurement per line.
Time	Time of the focus measurement in UTC
Focus	Focus value of the secondary. The focus position can be obtained under the Telescope column of the System Status in ACP or from the run log. In the case of the run log, look for 'focus pos'.
RA	The telescope Right Ascension (RA) at the time of focus. This can be found under the Telescope column of the System Status in ACP. Rounding out to the nearest tenth of a decimal is preferred.
DEC	The telescope Declination (DEC) at the time of focus. This can be found under the Telescope column of the System Status in ACP. Rounding out to the nearest tenth of a decimal is preferred.
AM	The airmass at the time of focus. Locate this value under the Telescope column of the System Status in ACP. Called "Air:". Rounding off to the nearest tenth of a decimal is preferred.
AirTemp(C)	The ambient air temperature at the time of focus. Look in ACP under Observatory Info, Weather.
filt	Which filter was focus preformed with? Filter names should match closely with the observatory convention. The filter name can be obtained from the ACP log corresponding the to focus pos.
Weather Log:	Follow the link to a convient way to keep track of the weather throughout the night. Then cut and paste into the entry box.
Time	Uses local mountain time.
Temp F	Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Dewp F	Dewpoint Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Wind MPH	Windspeed in miles/hour
Wind Direction	Wind direction in aviation orientation (0 degrees north)
Dust	Dust measurements from the site particle detectors (1 micron sized particles)
Precip or conditions	Sky conditions, rain or snow.
Email nightlog	When all fields are filled out press this button to email the log to the ARCSAT and community.
Clear Entries	Clears the form. Don't use unless you wish to start over.