Background
All Keck science instruments have been used routinely for
"remote observing" from Keck Headquarters in Waimea for several
years, and the observatory is working to enable observing from
the U.S. mainland as well.
This process of developing a system for mainland operations is
ongoing and incomplete, and observers planning to use the
mainland operations centers must therefore notify us well in
advance of their Keck runs as described below.
Procedure for Requesting Use of Mainland Facilities
You may request use of the mainland observing facilities two
ways:
- Specify a mainland observing location on your proposal
coversheet form. This is the preferred method, as it gives
us enough advance notice for us to arrange appropriate testing
and support for your run.
- Contact CARA prior to your run. If you decide to
observe from a mainland facility after submitting
your proposal, you must contact CARA's
in advance of your run (4 weeks for mainland-only observing, 2
weeks for mainland eavesdropping mode). Please tell us the
following in your email:
- The date(s) for which you want to observe remotely.
- The telescope and instrument you intend to use.
- The mainland site from which you want to observe.
- The mode in which you wish to observe:
- eavesdropping with polycom video only
- eavesdropping with polycom plus guider windows only
- eavesdropping with full instrument software suite
- mainland-only mode with no observer present in Waimea
- Which personnel (if any) are expected to be present in
Waimea and which will be at the remote site.
- The number of times the remote observers have used the
requested instrument; only experienced observers are
permitted to observe in mainland-only mode.
As stated above, all requests are contingent on:
- availability of the mainland site
- approval from the mainland site
- approval of your CARA Support Astronomer
- CARA will notify you within 2 business days
regarding the status of your request.
Modes of Operation
Please note that two modes of operation are available:
- Eavesdrop mode: At least one member of the
observing team (who is experienced in using the scheduled
instrument) observes from Waimea, while other members of the
team observe from the mainland. Control of the instrument is
shared between the two sites, with Waimea having primary
responsibility for operating the instrument. Requests to
eavesdrop must be made at least two weeks prior to the
run.
- Mainland-only mode: The entire observing team
observes from the mainland, with remote support from the
instrument scientist in Waimea. While this mode of operation
may eventually be available for use by most observers, during
the startup phase, CARA requires that at least one member of
the mainland team must be a "black belt" observer, i.e., one
having extensive and relatively recent experience with
operating the scheduled instrument. Requests for
mainland-only observing should be made on your Keck observing
proposal. If you later change your mind, you need to advise
us four weeks before your run.
Caveats
- Instrument are limited. Mainland observing is
currently possible with the following instruments:
- DEIMOS
- ESI
- HIRES
- LRIS
- NIRC
- NIRC2
- NIRSPEC
- OSIRIS
- Sites are limited. Mainland observing is currently
supported at the following mainland sites:
- Berkeley (LBNL)
- Los Angeles (UCLA)
- Pasadena (Caltech)
- San Diego (UCSD)
- Santa Cruz (UCSC)
- Support is limited. CARA Support Astronomers will
be available as usual at Waimea HQ for consultation during the
hours they would normally be available if the observer were
here. Instrument and session setup can occur only during the
normal setup time (2:00pm to 5:00pm HST).
- Experience is required. Because interaction between
the observers and their Support Astronomer will be limited to
the videoconference connection, at least one observer highly
experienced with that instrument must be present and
supervising the operations at the mainland site when operating
in the mainland-only observing mode.
- Consent is required. Requests for use of the
mainland observing facilities will be granted only upon
unanimous consent of the observers, support personnel at the
local site, and CARA. Each request for mainland operations
will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
- Observer assumes risk! If you use the
mainland-only option, you risk losing observing time if the
Internet fails (although fallback communication systems are
provided at Caltech, UCLA, UCSC, and UCSD, they are
considerably slower than the Internet).
Further information
To schedule observing from the mainland or get additional
information on this option, please contact the
.
See Also
Go to:
Instruments Home Page -
Keck Home Page
Last modified: Thu Apr 3 17:06:06 HST 2008