APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY SDSS 2.5M OBSERVING LOG Sunday November 7, 2004 (MJD 53317) ---=== OBSERVING TEAM ===--- John Barentine Steph Snedden Mike Harvanek (swing) Visitors: Rick Kessler (U. Chicago), Douglas Tucker (FNAL) ---=== OBSERVING PLAN ===--- Science! ---=== OBSERVING SUMMARY ===--- After losing most of the first half of the night to clouds, we finished four plates (1560, 1867, 1921 and 1926) while simultaneously chasing spikes on the imager ion pump (see Problems section). We suggest the day crew keep a close eye on the pressure for any further odd behavior. The DIMM is tracking on what it thinks is Polaris; the drive should be in "failed" mode so that the engineers can examine it for problems. Please power down the DIMM if the problem cannot be worked on. We had some minor trouble with the manipulator arm right at the end of the night, just before putting the telescope to bed. See Problems for details. Both imager and spectro dewars will need swapping this morning. ---=== OBSERVING LOG ===--- Afternoon: ---------- Scot did more imager calibrations (u2, u3). The details can be found in a separate email. Spectro collimation adjusted. Details in the Problems section. No problems to report. Night: ------ The first half of the night was cloudy until around 06:00Z, when the situation began to improve rapidly. Fortunately we didn't chase any of the sucker holes early on and convinced ourselves by careful examination of satellite loops, that conditions did merit opening. The sky was clear but initially not terribly transparent. This improved as the hours passed. During opening, watcher recorded a windscreen touch in altitude at 06:31Z. 06:40Z Loaded Cart 9, Plate 1560 (lowz74). There was a (S/N)^2 of 14.7 on this plate when we began. Stars on gotoField. During the exposures on this field we noted bright lines attributable to aurora (!!) well above sky levels in apoplotsky. Finished the plate in two exposures of 1200 s each. 08:05Z Loaded Cart 1, Plate 1867 (tile 1297, chunk93). No stars on gotoField; we guessed as to the direction and magnitude of the required offset and were lucky. The offset was ~10" in RA. Auroral lines are present in the sky spectra. We continued getting ion pump warnings during this plate. The first two exposures at 900 s each gave lower than expected (S/N)^2, so the last one was bumped up to 1200 s. Finished the plate in three exposures. 09:32Z Loaded Cart 4, Plate 1921 (tile 1409, chunk99). Stars on gotoField. Auroral lines present in these spectra as well. Finished the plate in three exposures. 10:43Z Loaded Cart 3, Plate 1926 (tile 1380, chunk99). Stars on gotoField. This plate already had a (S/N)^2 of 3.1 on it before we started tonight. Auroral lines here also, but diminishing in intensity with respect to atmospheric airglow lines in the red. Since we were clearly going to end early, we decided to give it a fourth exposure before declaring i done for extra (S/N)^2; we also did a postCalib even though none was called for. We finished this plate. endNight rejoiced. ---=== IMAGING RUN SUMMARY ===--- Run Time Stripe Lambda Last Flavor Comments Start End Begin End Frame ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4944 23:03Z 23:35Z 100 O 102.47 110.49 67 ignore ---=== IMAGING RUN DETAILS ===--- ---=== SKIPPY RESULTS ===--- Run Frame nFrames stars muErr muRms nuErr nuRms rot az el --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---=== LTMATCH RESULTS ===--- Run Field nFields alt az nGood rowMean rowSig colMean colSig rot ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---=== SPECTROSCOPY DATA SUMMARY ===--- Summary Checked (y/n): yes QA Procedures Done (y/n): yes UT Exp Time flavor comment (S/N)^2 totals ========================================== b1 r1 b2 r2 ----- sequence 29224, plate -9999 ------- 23:01 29224 0.0 bias ----- sequence 29225, plate 1962 ------- 23:40 29225 10.0 flat collimation 23:42 29226 2.0 arc collimation 23:49 29227 2.1 arc collimation 23:51 29228 2.1 arc collimation 00:04 29229 2.1 arc collimation 00:07 29230 2.1 arc collimation ----- sequence 29231, plate -9999 ------- 00:37 29231 0.0 bias ----- sequence 29232, plate 1560 ------- 17.9 16.8 18.0 16.6 DONE 07:06 29232 10.0 flat 07:08 29233 2.0 arc 07:33 29234 1200.1 target 07:56 29235 1200.1 target 07:59 29236 10.0 flat 08:01 29237 2.0 arc ----- sequence 29238, plate 1867 ------- 17.6 14.1 21.6 17.4 DONE 08:15 29238 10.0 flat 08:17 29239 2.0 arc 08:37 29240 900.1 target 08:54 29241 900.1 target 09:17 29242 1200.1 target ----- sequence 29243, plate 1921 ------- 17.5 15.9 19.5 15.8 DONE 09:38 29243 10.0 flat 09:40 29244 2.0 arc 10:00 29245 900.1 target 10:18 29246 900.1 target 10:36 29247 900.1 target ----- sequence 29248, plate 1926 ------- 21.6 19.1 23.1 25.9 DONE 10:53 29248 10.0 flat 10:56 29249 2.0 arc 11:18 29250 900.1 target 11:36 29251 900.1 target 11:54 29252 900.1 target 12:11 29253 900.1 target 12:15 29254 10.0 flat 12:17 29255 2.0 arc ---=== TELESCOPE OFFSETS AND SCALE I ===--- Time Instrument Az Alt Rot Scale pos offset pos offset pos offset ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 07:11Z 9 1560 -18.10 0.0004 55.96 0.0004 164.78 -0.0009 1.000180 08:21Z 1 1867 126.31 0.0001 51.61 0.0037 -85.52 -0.0115 1.000390 10:05Z 4 1921 60.68 -0.0013 62.48 0.0050 229.92 0.0090 1.000420 11:05Z 3 1926 60.22 -0.0016 72.33 0.0044 232.32 0.0262 1.000370 ---=== TELESCOPE OFFSETS AND SCALE II ===--- ---=== DATA TAPE SUMMARY ===--- Goes: JL8079-84 Stays: JL8085-90 ---=== FOCUS LOG ===--- setmir piston Temp Wind Time Inst scale M1 M2 Foc Az Alt (C) MPH Dir filt fwhm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 07:11Z 9 1560 1.00018 -1776 -408 -100 -18 56.0 9.2 18 128 -- 1.7 08:21Z 1 1867 1.00039 -3850 -2111 -100 126 51.6 9.1 17 143 -- 1.6 10:04Z 4 1921 1.00042 -4146 -2386 -100 61 62.4 8.7 19 166 -- 1.4 11:04Z 3 1926 1.00037 -3653 -1946 -50 61 72.1 8.2 19 162 -- 1.5 ---=== WEATHER LOG ===--- Wind Time Temp F Dewp F MPH Direction Dust DIMM Sky 22:31Z 54 21 1 106 (ESE) 116 - mostly cloudy 23:02Z 53 23 3 124 (SE) 184 - mostly cloudy 23:32Z 51 24 10 81 (E) 201 - mostly cloudy 00:02Z 50 23 7 56 (NE) 173 - mostly cloudy 01:03Z 49 20 11 113 (ESE) 163 - mostly cloudy 01:35Z 47 18 10 86 (E) 187 - mostly cloudy 02:07Z 45 15 16 77 (ENE) 217 - mostly cloudy 02:39Z 45 11 18 82 (E) 179 - mostly cloudy 03:16Z 44 13 18 86 (E) 239 - mostly cloudy 03:48Z 45 14 14 86 (E) 292 - mostly cloudy 04:20Z 45 13 14 106 (ESE) 267 - mostly cloudy 04:52Z 44 12 14 113 (ESE) 244 - mostly cloudy 05:25Z 46 13 18 127 (SE) 154 - mostly cloudy 05:57Z 48 13 19 127 (SE) 77 - partly cloudy 06:29Z 49 12 19 121 (ESE) 80 - mostly clear 07:01Z 48 8 18 126 (SE) 63 - clear 07:34Z 49 7 20 126 (SE) 101 - clear 08:04Z 48 8 20 146 (SE) 81 - clear 08:34Z 48 -2 20 145 (SE) 55 - clear 09:06Z 48 -5 22 151 (SSE) 46 - clear 09:38Z 48 -1 17 165 (SSE) 62 - clear 10:10Z 47 0 21 161 (SSE) 94 - clear 10:43Z 47 4 19 160 (SSE) 146 - clear 11:15Z 47 8 17 162 (SSE) 181 - clear 11:47Z 46 13 19 162 (SSE) 234 - clear 12:18Z 47 17 21 160 (SSE) 344 - clear 12:48Z 47 20 19 157 (SSE) 407 - clear ---=== TELESCOPE STATUS ===--- 23:30Z Doors cracked, fans on, louvers open 06:30Z Rolled back the enclosure 12:40Z Enclosure on, fans on, doors closed. Dewar weights at 12:55Z Imager: 51.2 lbs, 18 psi Spectro: 65.0 lbs, 21 psi Telescope stowed at 121,30 with Cartridge 8 (Plate 1962) mounted. Counterweights at 160 Spectro autofill reconnected No interlocks bypassed ---=== SOFTWARE USED ===--- IOP/SOP: v3_142_0 Watcher: v2_29_0 MCP: v5_25_0 TPM: tpm_v2_43_0 AstroDa: v14_47 TCC: TCC 2.7.2.1 August 6 2004 sdssProcedures: v1_95 SoS: v4_10_7 hoggPT: v1_6_9 plate-mapper: v4_3_1 ---=== MIRROR NUMBERS ===--- PRIMARY: -------- Scale: 1.000000 MIGS TONIGHT NOMINAL Axial A 0.5430 0.5250 Axial B 0.6010 0.6020 Axial C 0.9240 0.9050 Trans D -8.6010 -8.6120 Lateral E 10.0330 10.0203 Lateral F 11.6078 11.5951 GALILS Commanded: 4800. -2150. 2600. -6900. -7850. -7900. Actual: 4800. -2150. 2600. -6900. -7850. -7900. SETMIR VALUES PriDesOrient: 0.00 -2.76 1.04 57.00 151.01 PriOrient: 0.00 -3.04 0.88 57.42 149.40 SECONDARY: ---------- Focus: 0.00 Air Temp.: 11.4 Alt.: 29.999997 MIGS TONIGHT NOMINAL Axial A 1.5740 1.5390 Axial B 1.0550 1.0440 Axial C 1.1600 1.1590 Trans D -0.2080 -0.2020 GALILS Commanded: 1619195. 1604953. 1528550. -13800. -9950. Actual: 1619200. 1604950. 1528550. -13800. -9950. SETMIR VALUES SecDesOrient: 1257.00 27.97 -10.00 -90.00 257.89 SecOrient: 1256.99 27.97 -10.01 -89.95 257.50 ---=== PROBLEMS IN DETAIL ===--- Spectro collimation details: ---------------------------- Initial sp1 Coll_motor_A 11644 Coll_motor_B 15385 Coll_motor_C -672 Initial sp2 Coll_motor_A 14334 Coll_motor_B 1932 Coll_motor_C 2344 Rotator at 45 degrees. im> caget tpm_TM_PMSSAvg tpm_TM_TelairAvg.VALA tpm_TM_PMSSAvg 11.2064 tpm_TM_TelairAvg.VALA 10.9175 sp1> mechPiston 1671 sp2> mechPiston 2097 Final sp1 Coll_motor_A 13313 Coll_motor_B 17060 Coll_motor_C 1005 Final sp2 Coll_motor_A 16431 Coll_motor_B 4026 Coll_motor_C 4430 Ion pump woes ------------- At about 06:35Z a force fill of the spectrographs began just before the valve to the LN2 dewar was opened; this triggered a spectro dewar critical error involving the apparent pressure. The valve was opened and the fill seemed to progress normally. At almost exactly the same, watcher reported that the ion pump pressure on the imager went out of spec: ion pump pr (2.05 : 2004-11-08 06:32:18Z) Coincidence, or psychic phenomenon? We got another error at 06:51Z giving the pressure as 1.97. More errors at 07:00Z (1.80) 07:02Z (1.86) 07:04Z (1.74) 07:06Z (1.70) 07:13Z (1.56) 08:21Z (1.56) we had a bit of a break, and then: 08:24Z (2.01) 08:26Z (2.01) 08:28Z (2.87) spike 08:29Z (2.23) 08:32Z (2.46) 08:37Z (3.09) spike 08:39Z (2.95) 08:40Z (3.32) here we go again... 08:43Z (3.40) 08:47Z (3.65) 08:50Z (3.95) 08:55Z (3.89) 08:57Z (3.95) 09:02Z (3.99) 09:07Z (4.30) 09:12Z (3.89) 09:14Z (3.99) 09:16Z (4.02) 09:18Z (3.87) 09:55Z (4.38) 09:58Z (4.36) 10:00Z (4.32) 10:03Z (4.34) 10:07Z (4.53) whoa. 10:09Z (4.35) We consulted with Connie early on, and then again around 08:40Z. She suggested we just keep an eye on it, suspecting work recently done on the pump cable, but that if we got spikes up to around 5 microtorr, then we'd have to stop. Connie called back at 09:05Z to say that, fearing bad things, she was going to warm the chips in the imager dewar in case a loss of vacuum occurred. She suggested that we have a look at the wiring, and especially the recently-installed patch, to see if any arcing was taking place given the high-volteage nature of the power supply. The reading on the LCD display in the doghouse matched the values reported by watcher / cc imstat in iop. We also did not observe any arcing, thought we could not see the recently-installed patch. Connie called back and decided to let the scheduled imager fill occur; within a half-hour of that fill, at 10:11Z, the pump pressure suddenly tanked, going from 4.8 to 0.3 microtorr within a ten seconds. The coincidence of the delayed spectro force fill early on with the pressure spike, and the rapid drop in pressure observed after 10:00Z, lead Connie to believe there may be a problem with the pump itself. The Manipulator Arm Joins The Fracas ------------------------------------ At the end of the night, we decided to remove Cartridge 3 from the telescope and leave Cartridge 8 mounted, as it is an early-night cartridge for tomorrow should the weather warrant beginning with spectro. Removing Cartridge 8 from the bay went smoothly, as usual, until I tried lowering it onto the lindy cart. The arm lowered by just a few inches and stopped as if it had reached a limit, based on the series of chirps it made. I tried raising it; a few inches from the top of its vertical travel, without lighting up the topmost set of LEDs, it stopped again as if having reached a limit. I checked around for any obstructions that might have made it unhappy but found none. I tried adjusting the position of the entire manipulator along its track, in case the bend in the arm was causing the problem, but no. Tried powering it off and back on. No dice. By this time, Steph had joined in the round of problem-solving. By inching the entire bay upand down, we were able to get the bay to the right height to accept the cartridge at the uppermost height the arm would move. We set it down and picked it up again with the same result as before. I pulled the arm out of the bay and ran it up and down the full length of its travel, where it reached both upper and lower limits properly. Then I gave it one more try, and this time finally was able to pick up Cartridge 8 and set it on the lindy cart. There was no problem putting away Cartridge 3 once removed from the telescope, and we did not encounter any problems with it earlier in the night.