Background
A LGS-AO observing run requires significantly more advance planning than any other type of observation carried out at Keck. Please read this section carefully and make sure that you follow every step. Some of the preparation steps are time sensitive and if not performed on time can result in the conversion of your observing run from LGS-AO to NGS-AO. Please contact your Support Astronomer a few weeks before your run, and start preparing your run. It is very useful to setup a conference call with your Support Astronomer, so that the details can be discussed and any issue can be resolved.
Contents
To complete a successful observing run, consider each of the issues below:
- Targets scientific priority
- Source of TT correction: do you really need to use the laser? See here.
- Elevation constraints . The laser has even stricter constraints: in fact we do not propagate the laser below TBD degrees of elevation.
- is the TT star extended? is it a binary?
- is a certain Position Angle or Vertical Angle required?
We are required to submit the list of targets that you want to observe to the Laser Clearinghouse. It is extremely important that we submit the starlist to the Clearinghouse at least 3 working days before the beginning of your run. The maximum number of targets that we can submit to the Clearinghouse is 128. Note that in split nights, the total remains the same, which means that the available targets must be split between the different observing teams.
For laser observations, we require that starlists are prepared using the AO Guide Star Tool. This will ensure that the starlist follows the required format. Detailed instructions on using the guide star tool can be found here (TBD!!). This will also automatically inform your Support Astronomer that your starlist is ready.
Additional information on preparing the starlist can be found here.
As mentioned above, if you use the AO Guise Star Tool, there is nothing else to do: your Support Astronomer will be automatically notified and your starlist will be processed.
If for any reason, this is not possible, please contact your Support Astronomer who will be able to guide you to the best course of actions.
Other options are:
Inside the Keck network
The convention we suggest is to store your starlist in a subdirectory
which is named using the last name of the observing program's PI (e.g.,
copernicus). If needed, you can create the directory
using the command
mkdir -p /kroot/starlists/piname
and then install your starlist using the command
cp starlist /kroot/starlists/piname
You are free to name your starlist file whatever you want.
Outside the Keck network