PT Target Selection
Overall layout
The PT target selection window looks like this:
The PT Target selection window is divided into two sections. The first
section is devoted to displays and controls for building a list of targets
from which an observing plan may be built. The various controls load target
parameters from files, and set constraints on which loaded targets should be
available for choosing. When the "update" button in this section is hit, the
MOP GUI presents a table of targets which meet the specified restrictions and
an assortment of parameters for these targets.
The second section of the window presents controls for execution of
observations. This includes buttons for taking calibrations frames and
controlling the sub-array height, stopping the execution of planned
observations, and an (editable) table of targets planned for observation
together with some parameters for these targets.
Target and file loading buttons
The row of buttons at the top of the window are dedicated to the
manipulation of target data stored by MOP. The toggle for "invisible" targets
is also located here. The buttons are:
- load Standards
- This button forces MOP to reload its target data (coordinates,
appropriate exposure times, etc.). Normally, this data is loaded from
the mtstds product when the GUI is started. If this data ever needs to
be refreshed, this button will do it. The button will reload the data in
both the GUI process and the master MOP process. It should be necessary
to reload this data only rarely: the files loaded are found in the
mtstds product, and the version of the mtstds product pointed to should
not change while MOP is being run. It is possible, however, to alter the
data array after loading, and this button allows the observer to simply
reset this array to its default values. This button is the GUI
equivalent the command line command "loadStandards."
- load Airmasses
- The MOP GUI tracks the airmasses at which each target has been
observed to help it avoid duplicating observations, and to assist in
observing extinction pairs. This record of which targets have been
observed at what airmass is stored in memory, and lost when the MOP GUI
is exited. This button reconstructs this data using information stored
in the mdReport file.
- This button is the GUI equivalent of:
mt> getObservedAirmassesFromReport [mjd4Gang]
-informGUI
- load Manual Targets
- In addition to targets found in the mtstds product, MOP may also
observe user entered, or "Manual," targets. This button will load data
for manual targets from ~/ptlog/manualTargets.dat. An option allowing
for the user to load manual targets from other files is planned. This
file may be edited by hand with some care; peculiarities in tcl string
handling can cause unexpected results.
- This button is the GUI equivalent of:
mt> loadTargets $env(HOME)/ptlog/manualTargets
mt> send $mopGUI(GUIMOPwindow)
$env(HOME)/ptlog/manualTargets
- add Manual Target
- This button brings up a form in which the observer can fill out
information on a new manual target. Once obtained, the data for the new
target is added to the manual target file,
~/ptlog/manualTargets.dat.
- Show/Hide
- This button toggles whether or not "hidden" targets are to be
displayed. By default (when the button is labeled "Show"), invisible
targets are not displayed for selection. Invisible targets are targets
which, for one reason or another, should not be observed in the general
course of observing. They include primary stars already contained within
the fields of other primary stars and deprecated secondary patches still
contained in the mtstds product. The names of some manual targets are
also included. MOP looks for the invisible targets list in
~/ptlog/invisibleTargets.dat, which is included in the ptlog cvs
product.
Secondary patch specifications
This second row of controls limit which secondary patches are displayed in
the table of available targets. The controls are:
- Use MOPDB checkbutton
- If this check button is checked, the priorities from the MOPDB are
used to determine which secondary patches are appropriate for
observation, and the values in the remainder of the controls in this row
of buttons will be ignored. It is essential that this button be checked
if the autopicker is to observer secondary patches based on their
priorities stored in the the MOPDB. If the observer wishes to observe
specific secondary patches by hand, unchecking this checkbox and placing
appropriate values in the other controls reduces the number of available
secondary patches to a reasonable number.
- Sec. Stripes entry
- The value in this entry will be ignored if the MOPDB checkbutton is
checked. Otherwise, this entry box should contain a list of stripes for
which one is selecting calibrating secondary patches. The list should be
a standard tcl list (that is, separated by spaces).
- Min. eta entry
- The value in this entry will be ignored if the MOPDB checkbutton is
checked. Otherwise, this entry box should contain the value of the
minimum eta of secondary patches to be listed in the table of available
targets.
- Max. eta entry
- The value in this entry will be ignored if the MOPDB checkbutton is
checked. Otherwise, this entry box should contain the value of the
maximum eta of secondary patches to be listed in the table of available
targets.
- Min. lambda entry
The value in this entry will be ignored if the MOPDB checkbutton is
checked. Otherwise, this entry box should contain the value of the
minimum lambda of secondary patches to be listed in the table of
available targets.
- Max. lambda entry
- The value in this entry will be ignored if the MOPDB checkbutton is
checked. Otherwise, this entry box should contain the value of the
maximum lambda of secondary patches to be listed in the table of
available targets.
Airmass range, flavor selection, and "update" button
The third row contains other miscellaneous controls for the creation of the
available target table.
- Minimum airmass
- This entry box should contain the minimum airmass to consider for
observation. Note that this is this is the minimum considered airmass at
the time of observation. If there are already planned observations, this
will be the minimum airmass at the expected time of completion of the
currently planned targets. To include all targets (appropriate for the
use of the autopicker), this value should be set to 1.0 (or less!).
- Maximum airmass
- This entry box should contain the maximum airmass, at the extrapolated
time of observations, to consider for observation. To include all
targets (appropriate for the use of the autopicker), this value should
be set to a large value. (99.0 certainly works; I believe that 30 does
also.)
- FK5 checkbox
- If this checkbox is checked, FK5 stars will be included in the table
of available targets. FK5 stars are used to check and correct the
pointing of the telescope.
- Fund checkbox
- If this checkbox is checked, targets of with flavor "Fundamental" will
be included in the table. There were originally 3 fundamental stars on
which the PT photometric system was to be based. These have now been
incorporated into the primary targets.
- Pri checkbox
- Check this checkbox to include fields of primary stars in the table of
available targets. This should be checked for routine observation.
- Sec checkbox
- Check this checkbox to include fields of secondary fields in the table
of available targets. This should be checked for routine
observation.
- Man checkbox
- If this checkbox is checked, targets of with flavor "Manual" will be
included in the table.
- Update
- The update button causes the table of available targets to be built
based on the restrictions entered in the above controls. Note that many
of the table generated has several time dependent fields. The values for
these fields are calculated based on the extrapolated time at which the
current planned target list will be completed (assuming it is started at
the time the update button is hit).
Available target table
The table in the center of the target selection window presents targets
available for observation fitting entered restrictions. Note that many of the
table generated has several time dependent fields. The values for these fields
are calculated based on the extrapolated time at which the current planned
target list will be completed (assuming it is started at the time the update
button is hit).
Targets in this list may be added to the end of the planned target table by
double clicking on them with the middle mouse button.
The fields of the table are:
- Time
- The time listed here is the time for which the time dependent
parameters presented in the other targets are calculated. This is
generally extrapolated time of finish for the planned target list at the
last time at which the "update" button was hit.
- Target
- The name of the target in question.
- Airmass
- The airmass of the target at the time listed in column 1.
- HA
- The hour angle of the target at the time listed in column 1.
- RA
- The right ascension of the target, in J2000.
- Dec
- The declination of the target, in J2000.
- Mag
- The r magnitude of the brightest target in the field, if known, 0 if
unknown.
- #
- The number of primary stars in the field.
- Red
- The g-r color of the reddest primary in the field, 0 if unknown.
- Blue
- The g-r color of the bluest primary in the field, 0 if unknown.
- Flavor
- The flavor of the target (FK5, Fund, Pri, Sec, or Man).
- Moon
- The degrees of separation between the target field and the moon.
- Obs. Airmasses
- The remaining number on the line of the table are the airmasses at
which MOP believes the target has been observed.
Miscellaneous observing controls and status information
After the table of available targets are a set of miscellaneous controls
for observing tasks.
- Status
- The upper left hand corner of the set of buttons displays the current
observing status. If a target is being observed, the name of the target
will be displayed here. If some other operation is being performed,
there should be an appropriately descriptive status message here.
- Time remaining
- Beside the status line is an estimate of the time left in the current
operation, generally the estimate time to finish the target or
calibration frame it is currently observing.
- Stop after this object checkbox
- If this checkbox is checked, the GUI will not proceed to the next
target (or calibration field) in the planned targets list after the
current one is completed.
- Autopick
- If this checkbox is checked, a new target will be added to the planned
target list each time an existing target on the list is completed,
thereby maintaining the length of the target list.
- Focus next
- This button causes an entry pop-up window to appear, asking for a
starting focus value. Entry the top value you want tested as a focus
value. (Note that this pop-up window occasionally appears beneath other
windows; look for it if you don't see it right away.) Once the value is
entered, MOP will slew to the next target in the planned targets list
(without removing it from the list) and begin taking a focus sequence.
The focus sequence is a set of 5 observations, each observation with a
focus value 1 less than the previous, at slightly offset positions. The
offset between the lowest and second lowest focus values is twice that
of the other offsets.
- This button is the GUI equivalent of the following command line
commands, where $fieldName contains the name of the next target in the
planned targets list, and startFocusValue is the top focus value to
consider:
mt> nextTarget $fieldName
mt> dfmSlew
mt> doFocus $startFocusValue -informGUI
- Pick
- Pick a target using the autopicker.
- Observe
- Perform observations. If the "Dome frames" entry box is greater than
0, it will do a dome frame, and reduce the value of this entry box by 1.
If
"Dome frames" is 0 but "Bias frames" is greater than 0, it will do
take a bias and reduce the value of this entry box by 1. If Both "Dome
frames" and "Bias frames" are 0, and there are targets in the target
list, it will begin an observation sequence for the first target in the
list, and remove it from the list.
At the conclusion of the observation of a target (not a bias or a
flat), if the "Autopick" checkbox is checked, a new target will be
picked from the available targets list and added to the planned targets
list.
At the conclusion of any observation other than a focus or twilight
flat, (that is, a target sequence, bias, or dome flat), if the "Stop
after this object" check box is not checked, observation will continue
(just as if the observer had hit the "observe" button).
- Dome frames entry box
- This entry box must contain a positive integer or 0. Set this value to
the number of 5 filter sequences of dome flats you wish to take.
- Bias frames entry box
- This entry box must contain a positive integer or 0. Set this value to
the number of bias frames you wish to take.
- initialize CCD
- This button has the camera perform a sequence of reads to clean charge
off the CCD, effectively cleaning the charge trap. You should do this
after saturating the CCD, or at the beginning of a nights observation.
- This button is the GUI equivalent of:
mt> initializeCCD -informGUI -cleanCCD
- turn on fflamp / turn off fflamp
- When the flat field lamp is off, this button is grey, labeled "turn on
fflamp," and will turn on the flat field lamp when hit. When the flat
field lamp is on, this button is yellow, labeled "turn off fflamp," and
will turn off the flat field lamp when hit.
- This button is the command line equivalent of
mt> fflamp on- or
mt> fflamp off
- fix pointing
- This button is only available after an observation has been made. When
hit, a dialog box will open up querying the position of the star
intended to be at the center of the CCD. If there is an fSAOimage
running in cursor mode, then hitting the middle mouse button over a
pixel in the fSAOimage display will enter the coordinates of that pixel
into the dialog box. Once values are entered, MOP will instruct TCS to
offset the pointing of the telescope to compensate for the pointing
error.
- The command line equivalent to fix the pointing is:
mt> centerThis $currentRow $currentColumn
mt> zpointTarget $currentTargetName
Where $currentRow is the row the target star appeared
on, $currentColumn is the column the target star appeared
on, and $currentTargetName is the name of the target star.
Note that the target star must be a currently loaded target.
- take twilight
- Hitting this button brings up a dialog querying a filter and and
exposure time. Once the filter and exposure time are obtained, MOP takes
the exposure. Note that it will not slew to an appropriate
twilight position. Once the exposure is read out, MOP makes an entry
into the PT log noting the exposure level in the center of the CCD. If
the count level is high, the extra charge is cleared from the CCD before
the command returns. This takes more than 1 minute. At the conclusion of
the observation, the telescope pointing is offset by 30". This avoids
stars appearing in the same location on the CCD in consecutive
exposures.
- This button is the GUI equivalent of
mt> doTwilight $filterName $exposureTime
-informGUI
where $filterName and $exposureTime are the
desired filter name and exposure time, respectively.
- Subarray height radio buttons
- This sequence of buttons allows the observer to select the height of
the subarray to read when the CCD is read. At present, this
is not usable, because it makes the DA unhappy. Leave the
2048 box checked. This control is planned for removal.
- Night Quality radio buttons
- The selection here set the night quality field written in the mdReport
and fits header. Because it must be set at the beginning of the
exposure, these radio buttons are not particularly useful at present.
Under current procedures, the initial value determined using these
buttons are ignored everywhere.
Planned targets table
The bottom element of the PT Target Selection window is the table of
planned targets. The columns listed are the same as those in the available
targets table, described above. Note that the times listed in the left hand
column are the extrapolated time of observation, assuming observation of the
first target in the list is begin at last time the "update" button was
hit.
Targets listed in the available target table may be added to the end of
this list by double clicking on them with the middle mouse button.
Targets may be removed from this list by double clicking on them with the
center mouse button.
Last modified 6/21/2001 by E. H. Neilsen, Jr.