Observing procedures at MRO
Last Updated: June 23, 2006
This is a brief summary and checklist of the procedures you need
to follow when observing at MRO. Please be aware that changes to the
Telescope Control System in June, 2006, will be rendering much of this
document obsolete. Observers should contact the MRO Administrator prior
to use of the telescope for the very latest information on the status
of the control system upgrade.
If you are reading a printed copy, please check the revision date at
the top against the latest version at
http://www.astro.washington.edu/laws/MRO/users.manual/mro.checklist.html.
Initial Comments
FILTER SLIDE ISSUES AND FIXES
Because of recent damage to the clinometer in the filter slide, the "Z"
command normally used to set the telescope's zenith will not
function. This also means that the filter temperatures recorded in the
image headers will be wrong.
The limit switch at the number 6 position on the filter slide is
still acting up. Because of this it is still not a good idea to use
this filter position. If you really need all 6 filters, talk to the
observatory engineer on advice on how to use filter position 6.
Finally, the filter slide has been intermittently blowing the fuse
labelled "F1", located on the power box
attached to the south side of the telescope (in park position).
If it happens during your observations, the filter slide will cease
to respond to commands, and the green "power on" light will no longer
be lit, although the power switch is set to on. This has also been known
to occur during the boot process at the beginning of the night. If it
happens at that time, the green "power on" light will not come on, and
you will not receive the "Welcome to the MRO Filter Slide" message on
the TCC.
Should it appear that you have blown the F1 fuse, you can
find replacements on the wooden desk on the observing floor. They are
small, two-prong, 125V 5A fuses; one is pictured
here. Turn off the power
to the TCC, the Filter Slide, and the Telescope Drive Motors.
Use the ladder to access the power box on the south side of the telescope,
unscrew the F1 fuse cover, and replace the burnt out fuse. You should
be able to now restart the telescope, the TCC, and the Filter Slide
in the normal manner.
A WORD ABOUT THE OBSERVING FLOOR
In general, you shouldn't be using the observing floor unless
there is some sort of emergency. There is a light on the TCC control
panel which indicates when the observing floor is all the way down.
If this light is not on, then the telescope software is programed to
disallow movements of the telescope. When the floor is all the way
down, its not possible to run the telescope into it.
MRO Checklist
- ____Turn on the Dell monitor in the observing control room, and turn
on Popeye (pictured here).
Launching Internet Explorer will bring up the MRO Homepage, from which you
can access the latest version of this checklist, along with the many helpful
images imbedded in this document. Additionally, you will find a printed version
of this document, complete with printouts of all images, in a notebook on the
table immediately across from Popeye.
On the upper left of the Popeye display you will also see a folder
labeled "MRO Observing". Double-click here to open this folder and
find shortcuts to start the Spyder (Andor Camera), DS9, IDL, SSH,
and Cygwin command windows.
- ____Check the level of the water tank. The water tank
is located down the stairs heading toward the bedrooms, in the
utility room on the right. The light to this room is (most
inconveniently!) located on the left side of the doorway. The water
level is checked by looking at the glass tubes to the left side of
the water tank. Refill this tank if it is below 1/4 full. Please
record the date and the amount present in the tank before your
fill on the sheet taped to the water tank.
- ____Turn on the circuit breakers (pictured here
and here) for the air
conditioner (if not already turned on) and the water pump. Do not
turn on the water heater unless necessary. The air conditioner needs
to be turned on only if the daytime outside temperature is above
about 70 degrees.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Turn on the telescope control computer (TCC)
monitor and then the TCC. The power switch for the TCC is at the bottom of the
electronics rack.
You should see displayed
on the monitor RA, DEC, and UT, among other numbers (type 'h' for a
list of commands). Wait until you see this display before proceeding.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISON) Turn on the telescope power with the key on the RA
skirt. In the circular hole at the base of the telescope pier three LED lights should come on.
If it is very cold, they may not all be lit. If that is the case,
heat the electronics with a blow-dryer (located on the table to the south
of the telescope pier) for a few minutes.
If all systems are working properly, these three LED lights
will be green. If one or more of the LEDs are red, turn off the telescope
power, and reboot the TCC (see previous step). Do not proceed to the
next step (turning on the filter slide power) until all three LED lights
in the telescope pier are green.
- ____Turn the filter slide power on using the toggle switch located
on the north side of the telescope (pictured here
and here). Check the
LED located on the west side
of the filter slide housing. If this LED is green, everything is fine;
you will also see a welcome statement on the TCC monitor indicating that the filter
slide has powered up. If the LED is not lit at this point, double check that the power
switch is on, and if necessary see the instructions at the beginning of this checklist
to replace the F1 fuse.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Set the UT time on the TCC. Type "h" on the TCC keyboard to
see a list of available commands for the TCC. Use the TCC "U" command to
correct the UT time displayed on the TCC monitor by setting it to match that shown
on the GPS display near the top of the
electronics rack. This is most easily
done by setting the time to several seconds ahead of the GPS display, then
hitting the "enter" key on the TCC keyboard. You will be asked to confirm the UT change
by typing "y" and then hitting "enter" once again. Wait to strike this second "enter" key
until the time on the GPS display is also showing the time which you typed into the TCC as the
correct UT time. Deviations between the TCC and GPS time should be no more than
+/- 2 seconds. Please note that proper syntax should be used in entering the time
(i.e., type "04:26:33" instead of "4 26 33"), or the TCC software may not properly
interpret your entry.
- ____(Optional) Turn on the Dome Tracking Control power. The Dome Tracking Control
power switch is located
at the very top of the electronics rack.
When this switch is turned on you will see one of the 10 red LEDs
on the dome encoder panel
come on. Each of these 10 LEDs denotes the rough position of the dome.
The left-most red LED and the lower yellow LED should both be on
when the dome is at the "parked" or "zero" position, i.e. the
position required to plug in the shutter motors and open and close the
telescope slit. If both the left-most red LED and the lower yellow LED
are not lit, despite the fact that the dome is obviously in the "parked"
position, then you will need to reset the dome origin (see next step).
- ____(Optional) Reset the dome encoder origin. Below the line of 10
red LEDs which display the rough dome position is
a yellow LED
which is on only when the dome tracking control encoder is at the origin.
If this LED is not lit you will need to reset the dome encoder origin manually in
order to use automatic dome tracking during the night. It is
easiest to reset the dome origin with the help of a partner. One
person should stay in the control room looking at the dome encoder
LEDs while the other goes out on the ladder
and turns the dome encoder wheel by hand.
As the wheel turns, the position of the lit red LED light will change; recall that when in
the home position, the leftmost red LED will be lit. When the yellow LED is on
and the dome is at the parked position, then the dome origin is properly set.
- ____(Optional) Turn on the printer, located in the northwest corner
of the control room (pictured here.
Clearly, there is no need to do this if you don't want to print anything!
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Change the filter slide to position 1 with the TCC
"W" command. After typing "W" on the TCC keyboard (don't include the quotes!)
it will ask you for a filter slide command. Type "m1" to send the filter
slide to position 1. It is now safe to remove
the filter holder baffle in preparation for installation of your filters.
- ____Install your filters in the filter holder. Filter holders and
boxes containing the individual filters are
located in the upper cabinets in the Darkroom, across the hall from the
control room. Please take extreme care when handling the filters, as
they are precision made scientific equipment worth many thousands of dollars!
Screws to secure the filters
to the filter holder are located in the same cabinets as the filters themselves.
After securing the filters to the filter holder, run your fingers along the
underside of the holder (without touching the filters!) to make sure the screws do
not poke through the its back side.
If there is some dust on the filters, carefully blow it off with the air spray
canister found in the Darkroom; do not "tip" the canister down, as this may cause liquid
to squirt out. Use only short bursts (< 0.5 sec), aimed at roughly
a 45 degree angle to the filter surface from a distance of a few inches.
Finally, make note of the numerical position of each filter (labelled on the filter
holder, adjacent to each filter opening) so that you may accurately select
and record the appropriate filter for each image you wish to take during the night. Recall
from the introduction of this document that it is best to avoid using filter position 6 since
the filter slide still has problems with this position under some circumstances. If you
must use this position you will need to talk to the observatory engineer beforehand.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Reset the filter slide origin of the filter slide motor
if you have moved the filter slide while installing the filters. Again, using
the TCC keyboard "W" command, send the command "o" to the filter
slide. This will re-home the filter slide if it has been moved
during the filter installation. If you were careful during the
filter installation you should not need to do this.
- ____Install the filter holder into the filter slide housing. Carefully
insert the filter holder into the slot on the south side of the filter slide
housing. The filter holder should slide in without resistance until the last several
millimeters. Do not force the filter holder into the slide housing!. If the
filter holder offers any resistance before the last few millimeters are reached,
you may need to reset the filter slide origin (see previous step). Once the filter
holder is properly in place, gently ease the filter holder in over the last few millimeters
and secure the filter holder to the filter slide housing using the two large, black
retaining screws. Once the filter holder is firmly in place, reattach the filter
holder baffle.
- ____Open the dome at about sunset. From the
power unit
in the northeast corner of the dome, take the multi-pronged cable
(held by caribiners to the motor on the dome itself) which controls
the upper shutter and plug it into the appropriate socket located
below the dome motor. Once it is connected, toggle the upper shutter
control switch to 'open.' Once the upper shutter has
moved a few inches, you can open the lower shutter by plugging in
its standard 3-prong power cord and pushing on the lower shutter power
switch located on the righthand side of the dome motor until the lower
shutter is fully deployed. Unplug the 3-prong power cord when the lower
half is fully deployed.
When the upper shutter has completely cleared the zenith
toggle the upper shutter control switch to its middle (off)
position and unplug the upper shutter multi-pronged power cord.
Restow the cables using the carabiners attached to each power cord.
The carabiners should both snap onto the U
bracket which is mounted above the dome shutter motor- make sure
the plugs don't hang down, otherwise they might get caught as the
dome rotates (note, the dome encoder box and the arc calibration
shelf are the most likely impediments).
- ____Remove the telescope covers. To remove the main
mirror cover you must slew the telescope South until you can reach
the cover handle while standing on the telescope stairs. You must
also remove the cover to the 6" finder at this time. Store both
covers on the floor near the east window. Make sure the
data cables from the Spyder camera are free to move before moving
the telescope. ALWAYS watch the lines when moving the telescope!!!
- ____Start Up the Andor Software and Cool down Spyder.
The camera's temperature is controlled via the Set Temperature command
in the Hardware/Cooler menu of the Andor software. The camera should be
set to -60 degrees; it should take approximately 10 minutes for the camera
to reach this temperature.
- ____Check the time on Popeye by looking at the date/time
indicator on the lower righthand side of the Windows taskbar.
Check the time displayed with the GPS clock on the electronics rack.
Note that the TCC UT time can become significantly out of sync with
the GPS clock on the rack.
- ____Set up the data acquisition parameters in the Andor
software to fit your observing program. For most users, this
will mean setting the camera to "Single Image" acquisition mode.
At this time you should also set up a data directory within the
"My Documents" folder to contain your images.
- ____Take a test bias exposure. A "bias" or "zero"
exposure at this time will verify that the camera has cooled down
and is functioning properly. Mean counts should be in the low 700s
for a bias image taken at -60 degrees.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Set the telescope to the zenith. Using the
handpaddle and the bubble level located on the telescope
just above the filter slide as a guide, move the telescope
close to the zenith.
After you set the telescope to the zenith using the bubble, use the
TCC "C" command to set the telescope RA and DEC coordinates to the
latitude of MRO for the DEC, i.e. 46:57:04.2, and the current sidereal
time for the RA. The TCC monitor itself will tell you what the current
sidereal time is. If you have done this perfectly, the displays for the
RA and sidereal times will be the same after the C command is done. It is
sufficient if you set them to within 5 seconds of each other.
- ____ Take twilight flats. Move the telescope
approximately 1 hour east of the zenith. Leave the telescope
tracking off and take several flats in each of your filters.
Taking a few "zero" or "bias" images at this time is also a good
idea.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Turn on the telescope tracking with the TCC 't'
command. You can also turn on the dome tracking with the
TCC 'd' command. Note that a hardware bug once in awhile causes
the dome to run out of control. For this reason its not a good
idea to leave the dome tracking on for long periods at a time, but
it is still quite useful for positioning the dome right after a
move and for resetting the dome position. After the telescope has
moved, turn the dome tracking on, let it complete its move and
then turn it off. When you want to manually update the dome
position, just repeat this process.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) Reset the telescope coordinates on a bright star
such as Vega or Arcturus using the TCC "C" command. This will set up an accurate
coordinate system for the telescope. The coordinates you set up
by setting the zenith RA and DEC were only crude approximations allowing you
to find your initial stars in the finder. You can find the
coordinates of bright stars in the Astronomical Almanac; coordinates for
Vega and Arcturus are also posted on the TCC monitor itself. Use the TCC
"M" command to move the telescope to the coordinates of your chosen star.
Using the 6" finder telescope on the east side of the telescope, center the
star so that you can image it with Spyder. Set the Data Acquisition Parameters
in the Andor software to "Real-Time Imaging", and begin taking 0.1 second
exposures of your bright star. Use the telescope control paddles to center the
star in the middle of Spyder's FOV and then use the TCC "C" command to reset the
telescope coordinates to the PRECESSED STAR COORDINATES (not to the coordinates given in
the Almanac!). The "p" command is useful here if you didn't bother
to note what the precessed coordinates were when the computer
moved the telescope to your star. It is a good idea to double
check yourself here by using the TCC "M" command to move the
telescope to a second bright star. If the second star falls easily
into Spyder's FOV then you have verifed that your new coordinates
are accurate.
- ____Focus the telescope on a faint star, something
dimmer than 5th magnitude allows you to have focus exposures of at
least 10 seconds. Eighth or 9th magnitude stars are visible in the
finder telescope. Use the "focus" script in the Andor software to take
a series of focus images at a variety of focus positions (changing the
focus position using the "F" command on the TCC; see the Users Manual for
more details). Once you have found a focus position that minimizes the
apparent size of your stars, set the telescopes focus to that position.
Note that as the temperature changes over the coures of the night, the
best focus position will also change, which may necessitate a refocusing of the
instrument.
See the MRO manual for details on focusing procedures.
- ____Reset the Acquisition Parameters for your science program
and take your science images. Use the TCC "M" command to move the telescope,
and the "W" command to change filter positions. Careful logging of your
images is recommended, particularly to keep track of the object name and
filter position appropriate for each image.
- ____(WILL NEED REVISION) At the end of the night, stop the telescope from
tracking with a "t" command on the TCC. Then, put the
telescope covers on, close the dome, and move the
telescope to a declination of about 36º on the meridian.
Turn off the telescope drive motors on the telescope skirt,
and turn off the filter slide power as well as any telescope
fans you may have used. Turn off the TCC and the TCC monitor.
- ____Turn off Spyder using the Andor software, and write your
data to CD or DVD if needed. When you are finished, close down any running
programs and turn off Popeye's monitor.
-
Leaving the Observatory
-
- When you get ready to leave the observatory there are several
things that you need to make sure that you do. The first list
shows the things you need to do to keep the telescope safe. The
second list shows things that you need to do to keep the
observatory engineer happy. Note that this is NOT a lower priority
list. If you do not keep the observatory engineer happy you will
not be welcome back to MRO.
Telescope Safety Items:
- Turn off the Spyder camera and Popeye.
- Turn off the telescope power (on the RA skirt)
- Turn off the TCC computer and monitor
- Turn the printer off
- Turn the filter slide off and return the filters to their
individual boxes in the darkroom
Observatory Housekeeping Items:
- Turn off Wimpy, and any other electronics in the dayroom.
Carefully put away all LPs!
- Collect the garbage and take it back with you.
You may deposit your trash in the Physics/ Astronomy building
dumpster. Remember that there are trash cans in the restrooms
which need to be emptied!
- Turn off the water pump and water heater circuit
breakers. Leave the air conditioner turned on if the weather
remains hot.
- Take the empty water containers back with you. Leave
them with the observatory engineer.
- Clean the restrooms and dayroom. This isn't an option!
Toilets and sinks need to be cleaned before you leave. Floors need
to be swept. Try to leave the observatory cleaner than it was when you arrived!
Contact Information
Problem reports and calls for help should be addressed to the
following people:
- Chris Laws -(206) 383-1341 (cell/voicemail). Note that you can also
call him at home if the situation warrents it. His home number is
listed near the observatory phone. This is the guy that you had
better keep happy. Email: laws@astro.washington.edu
- Andrew West - (206) 543-9039. Email:
west@astro.washington.edu
- Ricardo Covarrubias - (206) 543-8989. Email:
ricardo@astro.washington.edu
- Kevin Covey - (206) 543-6276. Email:
covey@astro.washington.edu
If you need to contact someone at MRO or have them call you, the
phone number there is (509) 925-6367. Please be sensible in your use
of long distance calls from MRO. The MRO budget is very limited.
If you plan to leave the observatory early, for whatever
reason, then you must contact one of the people above and let
them know! This is very important! If we call MRO expecting you
to be there and you do not answer, this constitutes an emergency
situation. We have to assume that you are in some sort of trouble and
someone will be required to make an immediate trip up to MRO to
investigate. Leaving voice mail with one of the people above who
you are sure is in town is the minimum requirement, but it is
much better if you can actually talk with someone before leaving.