What is MAGMA?
The MOSFIRE Automatic GUI-based Mask Application, MAGMA, is a tool that is used for two main purposes: generating new slit masks for the MOSFIRE instrument; and opening, modifying, and executing those masks. It is used both as a preplanning tool in offline mode, and the tool to actually cause the instrument to position the slit mask in the desired configuration in online mode.
For preplanning, MAGMA features a tool called MASCGEN (MOSFIRE Automatic Slit Configuration Generator). This tool takes a list of ranked astronomical targets and generates the best mask for those targets given a set of search and mask criteria. The mask can be created to ensure enough space for ditherering, as well as ensuring there are an adequate number of "alignment" stars in the mask to perform mask alignments. For more information, see the MASCGEN page.
- The following people have contributed to MAGMA:
- Jason Weiss (UCLA)
- Ian McLean (UCLA)
- Charles Steidel (Caltech)
- Nick Konidaris (Caltech)
- Gwen Rudie (Caltech)
- Christopher Klein (UC Berkeley)
- Greg Mace (UCLA)
- Kristin Kulas (UCLA)
- Marc Kassis (W.M. Keck Observatory)