ULTRACAM Observing Checklist

The purpose of this is to provide a one-stop shop of reminders for what to do when ULTRACAM observing. The emphasis is on being brief. This is tilted towards NTT observing.

Last updated: 07 May 2024 (by VSD)

Afternoon

• Has last night's data copied correctly? Be absolutely sure it has.
• Is there enough space available for the upcoming night?
• Do you need a filter change?
• Go up to do the hardware checks (no water leaks, etc)
• Make sure no lights are on anywhere.
• Start with full frame biases. Check noise and bias levels with Vik's quality control script. Repeat if not on spec.
• Take biases for last nights' data formats. (See pipeline script 'unique')
• Make sure you know when sunset is for sky flats.

Start of night

• Get the GRB alert script going.
• Take sky flats. Try to start while peppered. Ensure guide probes are parked and that the TO is moving the telescope to avoid stars appearing in the flat.
• Check telescope focus and temperature
• Move to flux standard. If observing over many nights, try to observe standards spanning a good range of colours.
• Remember to make sure guide probes don't vignette the field.
• Get going on flux standard (use a readout mode with a clear); start a reduce script in order to measure focus.
• Note the focus value and the telescope temperature.
• Move to science targets.

During night

• Make sure you have the right filters in and the right ones listed in udriver.
• For new targets, get Stu Littlefair's finding chart going as you may have to adjust position.
• Move to target, set rotator angle while doing so.
• Check positions of target and comparisons; take account of bad pixels in all CCDs.
• Is the exposure OK? Are the counts in all three CCDs OK?
• If using drift mode, put the focal plane mask in; if you previously used drift mode, take the mask out!
• Get running, but don't relax just yet ...
• Set up a reduce script asap; you need it to keep an eye on the focus.
• Keep an eye on the FWHM in all CCDs. The NTT is esepcially bad in this regard and can never be left alone for long. Record focus/temperature values after you make any adjustments.
• Now you can relax. Now is a good time to read up on what to do if a GRB alert arrives.
• Remember to keep a blog of the night: problems, weather etc. These are pages on the googlegroup that we will need to transfer at some point.
• If you hit problems and need to power off/on, always take a swift bias as the first exposure to check all is OK.

End of night

• Another chance for sky flats, especially if you had to change filters at all.
• Home the focal-plane slide (in case ESO need to move the M4 mirror).
• Tell the TO that is it.
• Finish night blog.
• Switch off the GRB script.
• Get Paul Kerry's data copying stuff going.
• Go to bed.