... As modern observatories evolve to production units delivering data products and calibrated scientific data to the end users, new challenges arise in assessing the quality of data products. ... Taking the analogy of speed control on a motorway we can describe the system as a device (radar) collecting measurements of the system performance (passing cars). ... One of the direct applications of quality control is the verification of instrument performance based on the analysis of calibration exposures. ...

I was wondering what conditions should be met to have the "darkest" sky .. ... Upon the above publication of the Southern Galactic hemisphere, TunГ Tezel started seeking opportunities to create the Northern counterpart image. ... So, the initial quest of having the darkest possible sky have delivered us these two all-sky images of the two galactic hemispheres as seen from Planet Earth. Zoomable and 'full-screenable' fisheye view of the "darkest sky" Southern Galactic Hemisphere image. ...

... Telescopes, instruments and cameras are keenly affected by local weather and atmospheric conditions. The decision to open any telescope or have access to any instrument or camera is at the sole discretion of the on-duty observing specialist(s) at the time of your requested access. ... Specific parameters exist for access to APO telescopes, instruments, or cameras which protect our highly-sophisticated and sensitive equipment and provide safe work conditions for staff and visitors. ...

Proposal Identification No.: P2789 Arecibo Observatory Date Received: 2015-Mar-02 16:14:03 William E. Gordon Telescope Observing Time Request COVER SHEET Section I - General Information Submitted for Mar 1 2015. ... For these observations night-time is not needed. Begin ­ End Interval­Interval 18:02 ­ 20:17 17:58 ­ 20:58 ­ ­ 2 Days Needed at This Interval 6 14 Time Constraints (Must Be Justified in the Prop osal Text) The first set of observation sessions require monthly scheduling. ...

... AUTOTAPE is an obsolete parameter that only applied to tape. ... AUTOTAPE is used to request that automatic tape allocation and control be used at stations that use the VLBA control system and have more than one tape drive. ... AUTOTAPE>=2 also activates automatic reversal of the tapes when the low tape mark is reached, even in the middle of scans; with AUTOTAPE=1 the tape will stop at the low tape point and wait for the next scan. ... For Mark II, AUTOTAPE requests automatic tape changes. ...

... The Irkutsk IS radar has the opportinuty to measure several ionospheric plasma parameters such as electron density N e , electron and ion temperatures T e , T i , and drift plasma velocity along the sounding direction. ... To the 1999-2001 data we have added the E-layer ionosphere model to electron concentration profile, which has been constructed by integral concentration from the ionosphere beginning from 160 km obtained from experiment. ... Capabilities and samples | ...