Semester 2008B Instruments
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Semester 2008B Instruments |
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Instruments Available for Semester 2008B
For detailed information about the instruments, please check the Instruments Home Page
Keck 1 Instruments are:
HIRESb (blue x-disperser)
HIRESr (red x-disperser)
NIRC
NIRCs (speckle)
LRIS-ADC (red and blue, with ADC)
LRIS (red and blue, without ADC)
LRISp (polarimeter, without ADC)
LRISp-ADC (polarimeter, with ADC; see note below.)
MICHELLE & NIRI at Gemini North and T-ReCS at Gemini South (see below)
Suprime-Cam and MOIRCS at Subaru (see below)
Keck 2 Instruments are:
DEIMOS
ESI
NIRSPEC (without AO)
NIRSPAO-NGS (NIRSPEC with Natural Guide Star AO; see note below.)
NIRSPAO-LGS (NIRSPEC with Laser Guide Star AO; see note below.)
NIRC2-NGS
NIRC2-LGS (see LGS note below)
OSIRIS-NGS
OSIRIS-LGS (see LGS note below)
Suprime-Cam and MOIRCS at Subaru (see below)
Combined Keck 1 and Keck 2 Interferometer: Visibility science, Nuller science.
Please note that Keck I and Keck II have different eastern and western telescope limits. This affects the times that objects will be available for observing.
Visitor Instruments: WMKO will not support any visitor instruments during semester 2008B.
Keck I
LRIS: LRIS with the Cassegrain Atmospheric Dispersion Compensator (ADC) (LRIS-ADC) is the default observing mode, rather than LRIS without the ADC. Observers wishing to use LRIS without the ADC should note in the "special requests" section of the coversheet why they prefer non-ADC mode. Because switching between the ADC and non-ADC LRIS modes involves significant effort, programs requesting the non-ADC mode will be assigned at one end of an LRIS run.
Observers who use LRISp should review the ADC-polarimeter instrument technical note KITN0004 LRIS: Polarimetry with the ADC to assess the impact of the ADC on polarimetry data. In some circumstances, it may be beneficial to use the ADC with LRISp. The default observing mode is to use LRISp without the ADC. Observers wishing to use LRISp with the ADC should note in the special requests section of the coversheet why their program requires use of the ADC.
We anticipate LRIS will be off-line sometime during semester 2009A, perhaps as early as February 2009, for the LRISr (red side) upgrade. Observers who might apply for February time next semester may wish to consider applying for January time this semester.
Please check the LRIS News for updates on filter, grating, and grism availability.
HIRES: Observers will again be asked to specify a proprietary period for HIRES data that are automatically ingested into the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA). Please see the KOA proprietary period policy for more information.
NIRC: Because of limited requests for NIRC during recent semesters, we will restrict NIRC to campaign mode of one block of nights during semester 2008B. The date will depend on scientific requests.
NIRCs: (NIRC speckle) While this instrument configuration is the same as NIRC, this category will help alert us to the need for good primary mirror phase.
LWS: LWS is no longer available. Mid-IR observers are urged to apply for MICHELLE or T-ReCS time.
MICHELLE and NIRI at Gemini North, T-ReCS at Gemini South: MICHELLE is a mid-infrared (8-25 micron) imager and spectrometer at GEMINI North. T-ReCS is a similar instrument at Gemini South. NIRI is a Near InfraRed Imager and low resolution spectrograph at Gemini North. Through an exchange with the GEMINI Observatory, up to five nights may be available to observers who would like to use MICHELLE, NIRI, or T-ReCS. Scheduled nights will be executed classically with the support of GEMINI US (tier-1). Successful applicants will be asked to enter their proposals into the Gemini PhaseI tool by 15 May 2008. Assistance from the Gemini staff will be available if needed. All three instruments are expected to be available for the whole semester. NIRI will be available only in the non-AO mode for the Keck Community. Please watch the Gemini web site for further details and updates on instrument availability for all three instruments.
Keck II
ESI: Because of limited requests for ESI during recent semesters, we may restrict ESI to campaign mode (possibly two or three blocks of nights) during semester 2008B. This will depend on scientific requests. Observers should be prepared for their allocations to possibly be a month earlier or later than the requested dates.
NIRSPAO: NIRSPEC may be available in the AO mode (NIRSPAO) for a maximum of one run during semester 2008B, depending upon science demand. We will need a minimum of three allocated nights for the AO mode before we will offer this capability. It is anticipated that the NIRSPAO run might be in November or December, again depending upon science demand. On all NIRSPAO nights, NIRC2 is also available for use. Please note that for NIRSPAO-LGS, backup programs are required. Backup programs may use NIRC2 or NIRSPAO in NGS mode. NIRSPEC without AO is not available.
NIRSPEC: NIRSPEC may be unavailable for science for 3-4 weeks during the semester if service is needed. In the past, water ice has formed inside the dewar. NIRSPEC must be warmed and pumped to remove the ice. The dewar is not opened. This service will only be performed if ice forms and causes significant absorption. The specific timing will depend on the science schedule and whether ice forms. October into early November is a possible time frame for this mission. Observers should be prepared for their nights to be moved +/- one month to accommodate the service mission should the need arise.
OSIRIS: On all OSIRIS nights, NIRC2 is also available for use. Please note for OSIRIS-LGS, backup programs are required. Backup programs may use NIRC2 or OSIRIS in NGS mode. NIRSPEC without AO is also available for backup.
Suprime-Cam and MOIRCS at Subaru: Through an exchange with the Subaru Observatory, up to six nights may be available to observers who would like to use Suprime-Cam or MOIRCS. Suprime-Cam is a wide-field optical imager with a 34'x27' field. MOIRCS is an IR imager and multi-object spectrograph. As Subaru time will be traded for time on both telescopes, TACs will need to determine which telescope's time they will be trading when awarding Subaru time. The time will be up to four nights on Keck II and up to two nights on Keck I depending both on the Keck and the Subaru requests. Neither Keck nor Subaru will support Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations during the exchanged nights.
LGS-AO: NIRC2, OSIRIS, or NIRSPAO with laser guide star adaptive optics will be available. Up to 70 nights may be awarded as laser guide star nights during this semester. A more detailed set of guidelines for these nights and information on the capabilities of the system may be found on the the LGS-AO page. Backup programs for LGS proposals are essential. Backup programs for LGS may be either NGS programs or non-AO (seeing limited) NIRSPEC.
Combined Keck I and Keck II
Interferometer: For 2008B up to six nights will be available to the community for visibility science and/or nuller science. More nights will be considered at the Director's discretion. It is anticipated the interferometer will be available for visibility science runs during October and December. The nuller may be requested during August, October, November, and January. Please see the MSC web site for important details concerning planning for interferometer observations and for the sensitivity and efficiency information. All science observations with the Keck Interferometer are taken in service observing mode. PLEASE NOTE: 2008B IS THE LAST SEMESTER IN WHICH NEW PROJECTS USING THE KECK INTERFEROMETER NULLER INSTRUMENT WILL BE ACCEPTED.
For detailed information about the instruments, please check the Instruments Home Page
This page last updated 11-Mar-08. bas.