The W. M. Keck Observatory, through NASA, allows a limited number of visiting instruments to be commissioned and used on the Observatory's two telescopes. Applications to use these instruments must be cleared with the instrument P.I., and the instrument P.I. is also responsible for training all observers in the use of the instrument and related software.
To come... general information about the telscopes and their various focal stations, rules governing the application for time using a visiting instrument, rules for commissioning a visiting instrument on the Keck telescopes, etc.
The document Interfacing Visitor Instruments to the Keck Telescopes contains general information about the telescopes and their various foci.The Observatory provides an interface to one of Keck II's bent Cassegrain ports (the RBC2 port) for visiting instruments. This includes an off-axis guide camera and an instrument rotator, plus the software to support them. More details are contained within the RBC2 Manual.
Also available is a brief description of some of the tools used for observing at the Visitor Port.To aid in determining whether The Observatory can support an instrument at the bent Cassegrain visitor's port, we provide a brief questionnaire containing relevant mechanical, electrical, and performance constraints.
Visiting instrument teams should bear in mind that they have a special responsibility to assist the Observatory staff in installing, supporting, and removing their equipment. Specifically, all visiting teams should comply with the following Observatory policies for each visiting instrument run:
1) A "readiness" teleconference between the visiting instrument team and appropriate CARA personnel should take place 7-10 days before the shipping date to review in detail the status of the instrument and the instrument's readiness for shipping. In particular, the instrument team should review with relevant CARA personnel all changes to the instrument hardware, software, or auxiliary equipment so that CARA personnel can properly plan any work needed to prepare for the instrument run. The instrument team should also review in detail all procedures followed to test the instrument and to verify that all needed parts are being shipped.
2) It is imperative that visiting instrument teams arrive on Mauna Kea early enough to allow time for orderly unpacking, setup, installation and instrument servicing, including any time needed to accommodate any modifications to the instrument. Past experience dictates that at the very minimum the team should arrive 2 business days before the first night of instrument use. If an instrument is visiting for the first time, or if there have been any changes to an instrument since its last visit, CARA may at its discretion require the instrument team to arrive farther in advance than this minimum time. This decision will be made at the time of the readiness telecon.
3) Nighttime instrument troubleshooting and observer support are the responsibility of the visiting instrument team and not the Observatory. It is highly recommended that the visiting instrument team have at least one member on the summit all night for each night of the run. If the visiting instrument team elects not to have a member on the summit at night, there will be no or little chance of solving any instrument-related problems that might arise.
4) Removing and disassembling the instrument are responsibilities of the visiting instrument team. All visiting instrument teams are required to have at least one member on the summit during the day immediately following the end of the run to direct and assist the summit crew with removing and disassembling the instrument. This team member must be on the summit not later than 9 a.m. unless prior arrangements have been made. Note that it is generally necessary to remove a visiting instrument before the telescope is prepared for use for the following night.
5) It is the responsibility of the visiting instrument team to arrange for delivery of their equipment to CARA's Waimea headquarters, and for pickup in Waimea after the run. CARA will not pick instruments up at the airport, nor deliver them to the airport.
W. M. Keck Observatory welcomes visiting instruments and the enhancement they bring to our scientific usefulness. We will cooperate fully with interfacing your instrument to our telescope and infrastructure. Your cooperation with our needs as expressed in these policies will help ensure that your visit is as smooth and productive as possible.
MAPS is a high-precision astrometric instrument (P.I. George Gatewood of The Allegeny Observatory). It was first commissioned at the f/15 Cassegrain focus on Keck II in January 1997. This instrument uses a Ronchi ruling and an aperture plate which selects various stars in the field.
STEPS is another high-precision astrometric instrument (P.I. Stuart Shaklan of The Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Also commissioned in early 1997 at the f/15 Cassegrain focus of Keck II, STEPS uses a 2048x2048 pixel CCD. There is also a description of STEPS disassembly and packing instructions.
MIRLIN is a mid-infrared camera (P.I.s Mike Werner and Mike Ressler of The Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Commissioned in March 1998 at the f/40 Visitor's Port on Keck II, it produces diffraction-limited imaging using a state-of-the-art 128x128 mid-IR detector. There is a description of how to locate guide stars for your MIRLIN targets, and some documentation of some of the tools used at the Visitor's Port is available. There is also a description of MIRLIN cryogen procedure.
OSCIR is a mid-infrared camera and spectrograph (P.I. Charles Telesco of The University of Florida). Also located at the f/40 Visitor's Port, it uses a detector similar to the one in MIRLIN (and LWS and LWIRC, the two future Keck facility mid-IR instruments). OSCIR, in addition to imaging in the mid-IR, also has a spectroscopic capability. There is a description of how to locate guide stars for your OSCIR targets, and some documentation of the tools used at the Visitor's Port.