September 15-22, 2008 LGS observing run

Nightly Summaries

9/16/08 UT
Scattered clouds, seeing 0.8" in K. Spent first half of the night on AO/PHARO/BTO setup after diagnosing major optical alignment problems in the AO relay in the afternoon. Laser power 6.5 W at start of night, LGS bright-star Strehl ~35%. Observed 3 science targets, for a total of 1.4 hr integration time. Laser power at end of night 4.5 W.

9/17/08 UT
Scattered clouds, seeing 0.7" in K. Reinstalled and calibrated LLT 1/4-wave plate. Laser power 7.2 W and stable at start of night, LGS bright-star Strehl ~45%. Second half of the night cloudy. Observed several NGS and 1 LGS science target through clouds. Laser power at end of night 7.4 W.

9/19/08 UT
Clear, seeing 0.7" in K. Laser power 4.5-6.5 W. Performed observations for PIs Sahai, Djorgovski, and Bernat. ~30% K Strehl on early science programs, lower later in night.

9/20/08 UT
Clear, seeing 1.0" in K. Laser power 6.5-7.0 W. Performed observations for PIs Sahai, Bernat, Adams, and Lewis. AO performance generally poor (<20% K Strehl) due to seeing. High LGS return: up to 75000 DN/s in WFS.

9/21/08 UT
Clear, seeing 0.5" in K. Laser power 6.0-6.3 W. Lost 1 hr to laser and AO system faults at the start of the night. Performed observations for PIs Sahai, Djorgovski, and Bernat. AO performance excellent (up to 50% K Strehl).

9/22/08 UT
Clear, seeing 0.5" in K. Laser power 6.2-6.5 W. Record laser return: up to 120000 DN/s. Performed observations for PIs Adams, Bernat, Djorgovski, and Lewis. AO performance excellent (50% K Strehl).

9/23/08 UT
Clear, seeing 0.7" in K. Laser power 5.8-6.5 W. Performed observations for PIs Sahai, Djorgovski, and Bernat. AO performance poor to good (20% K Strehl).

All-Sky Camera

9/16/08 UT	9/17/08 UT	9/19/08 UT	9/20/08 UT	9/21/08 UT	9/22/08 UT	9/23/08 UT

Science Operations

Observing Plan (v1.1): doc, pdf

Science Program Status

UT / PI	9/19/08	9/20/08	9/21/08	9/22/08	9/23/08	Total	High Quality
Adams		06:20-07:30		03:00-05:30		3.7 hrs	1.5 hrs
Bernat	09:10-12:30	07:30-12:00	08:00-12:30	05:30-08:00	08:45-12:45	18.8 hrs	13.0 hrs
Djorgovski	05:10-09:10		06:00-08:00	08:00-10:00	07:30-08:45	9.3 hrs	5.3 hr
Roberts		12:00-12:40		10:00-12:30		3.2 hrs	2.5 hrs
Sahai	03:30-05:10	04:00-06:20	04:05-06:00		03:20-04:50, 06:00-07:30	8.9 hrs	6.5 hrs

Only high quality data (a subjective evaluation by the AO lead, based on AO performance, etc.) will be counted against time allocation. Please contact abouchez@astro.caltech.edu for data download instructions.

Finding charts

300	301	302

Safety Documents

• Laser projection schedule (FAA Letter of Non-Objection):
  • 19:48:00 9/15/08 - 05:38:00 9/16/08 PDT
  • 19:46:00 9/16/08 - 05:38:00 9/17/08 PDT
  • 19:43:00 9/18/08 - 05:40:00 9/19/08 PDT
  • 19:42:00 9/19/08 - 05:40:00 9/20/08 PDT
  • 19:41:00 9/20/08 - 05:41:00 9/21/08 PDT
  • 19:39:00 9/21/08 - 05:42:00 9/22/08 PDT
  • 19:38:00 9/22/08 - 05:43:00 9/23/08 PDT
• Securitas spotters are schedule to be on site 18:45-05:45 PDT on 9/15-9/20, 18:30-05:45 on 9/21-9/22.
• US-STRATCOM documents:
  • LCH Reports Handbook (rev 8/06), LCH Contact Information
  • 9/16/08 UT P/A request: 8/16/08 UT open windows
  • 9/17/08 UT P/A request: 8/17/08 UT open windows
  • 9/19/08 UT P/A request: 8/19/08 UT open windows
  • 9/20/08 UT P/A request: 8/20/08 UT open windows
  • 9/21/08 UT P/A request: 8/21/08 UT open windows
  • 9/22/08 UT P/A request: 8/22/08 UT open windows
  • 9/23/08 UT P/A request: 8/23/08 UT open windows

Personnel schedule

	Mon 9/15	Tue 9/16	Thu 9/18	Fri 9/19	Sat 9/20	Sun 9/21	Mon 9/22
Bouchez	X	X		X	X	X	X
Cromer	X	X	X	X
Dekany			X				X
Roberts	X	X	X	X
Troy					X	X
Velur	X	X
Kajsa	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Possible JPL visitors on 9/21.

Test Plans and Procedures

Please post your test plans on the Test Plan Library page, and add a link below.

• AO setup
  • AO system internal focus: doc, pdf
  • AO bench setup and checkout: doc, pdf
• BTO procedures
  • BTO setup (v2.4): doc, pdf
  • BTO alignment (v2.4): doc, pdf
  • BTO alignment, abbreviated version (v1.0): doc, pdf
  • BTO shutdown (v1.1): doc, pdf
• Laser procedures
  • Laser startup (v2.0): doc, pdf
  • Laser shutdown (v1.0): doc, pdf
• Observing procedures:
  • LGS science night checklist (v1.0): doc, pdf
  • NGS Checkout (v3.1): doc, pdf
  • LGS Checkout (v1.0): doc, pdf
  • LGS target acquisition (v4.0): doc, pdf