Background

All Keck science instruments have been used routinely for "remote observing" from Keck Headquarters in Waimea for several years, and the observatory now supports observing from selected sites on the U.S. mainland as well.

Procedure for Requesting Use of Mainland Facilities

You may request use of the mainland observing facilities two ways:

1. 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.
2. Contact WMKO prior to your run. If you decide to observe from a mainland facility after submitting your proposal, you must contact WMKO'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 WMKO Support Astronomer
3. WMKO 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:

1. 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.
2. Mainland-only mode: The entire observing team observes from the mainland, with remote support from the instrument scientist in Waimea. WMKO currently requires that at least one member of the mainland team have previous (and preferably recent) experience with operating the scheduled instrument.

Caveats

• Interferometer not supported. Mainland observing is currently possible with all of the classical Keck instruments, but not the Keck Interferometer.
• Sites are limited. Eavesdrop mode observing is currently supported at Caltech plus all UC campuses (including LBNL). Mainland-only mode operation is possible from certain sites.
• Support is limited. WMKO 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 occurs 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 experienced observer must be present and supervising 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 WMKO. 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, LBNL, UCB, 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

• Mainland Observing Schedule

---

Go to: Instruments Home Page - Keck Home Page

---

Last modified: Thu Mar 12 17:02:20 HST 2009