Quick Review
Quick review of setup and observing commands for binocular and monocular observing:
- Open an x2go session on robs1 or robs2 using your partner account (inaf, osurc, queue, lbto) and a MATE desktop. If you are at the summit, login to one of the workstations (obs1, obs2, …, obs5) using your partner account.
- Copy your scripts to a location under /home/<partner>/share (cross-mounted on all mountain computers), e.g.
scp -r myscriptdir/ <partner>@robs1.mountain.lbto.org:~/share/
- Open a terminal window and type
modsAdmin. Check that all of the instrument server processes, except for the GUI, and all azcam and modsCCD processes are running as user mods, all systemd services are active, and all subsystems are powered on (green text=ON, blue text=OFF) for MODS1 (top left panel) and MODS2 (top right panel).
- Start the MODS user interfaces:
- in a terminal window, type
mods1 start gui to launch the MODS1 User Interface and/or mods2 start gui to launch the MODS2 User Interface.
- Click on the Setup icon on the left sidebar to display the MODS Instrument Setup screen.
- Enter the Observer/Project Information on the left side:
- You need only enter the names of the Observer(s), Support Astronomer, and Telescope Operator.
- These can be separated by commas and spaces [but should be less than 40 characters and should not include single or double quotation marks, check]
- The Comments section is obsolete. What is entered will no longer appear in the headers.
- Partner, PI and Project ID will be filled in by the scripts.
- Changes are automatically saved. There is no longer a need to click Apply, then Save.
- Check the filename root and index number on the right side.
- The UT date should be the correct one for the upcoming night. It rolls over during the day at noon. If the GUI has been left up all day, i.e. over noon, click “GetDate” or close and open the GUI to get the correct UT date.
- The index number should be the number corresponding to the last file taken with that UT date root plus 1. Do not edit the index number.
- There is no longer a need to click Apply or Refresh.
- Wake up MODS:
- If using both MODS: open a modsTerm tmux session by typing
modsTerm in a terminal window, and in the bottom panel:
- type
cd /lbt/lbto/mods/support/
- type
execBinoMODS modsWake.pro
- If using just MODS1 or MODS2: run the scripts from a terminal window (The modsTerm tmux was designed for binocular use and while it can be used for monocular scripts, a terminal window will do). In the terminal window:
- type
cd /lbt/lbto/mods/support/
- type
execMODS --mods1 modsWake.pro or execMODS --mods2 modsWake.pro
- Waking MODS will power on and enable the IR laser used by the IMCS (Image Motion Compensation System), and clear exposure control settings in preparation for observing.
- Open another 2 terminal windows: in one type
modsDisp --mods1 and in the other type modsDisp --mods2. This will launch two read-only ds9 windows per MODS to display the most recent Blue and Red images as they appear in /lbt/data/new. Basic header information (the object name, mask and mask position) will be logged in the terminal windows . You should keep the terminal windows visible, as you can copy/paste filenames from them into the modsAlign command line. Running just modsDisp will open all 4 ds9 windows and log the MODS1 and MODS2 information in the single terminal window.
- Take a set of test images:
- If using both MODS, then in the lower panel of the modsTerm tmux session type:
cd /lbt/lbto/mods/support/execBinoMODS SimSnap.pro
- If using just one MODS (MODS1 in the instructions below), then in the terminal window type:
cd /lbt/lbto/mods/support/execMODS --mods1 SimSnap.pro
- SimSnap.pro will take a set of images through the Sieve Mask and then another set with no mask.
- put MODS into Observing Mode.
- Click the “Observing” button near the top left of the Dashboard and,
- once the calibration unit has finished moving, click Home to move the guide probe to its home position.
- Open ancillary tools:
- LBTplot: In a terminal window, type
LBTplot to launch this tool.
- GCSGUIs: In another terminal window, type
GCSGUI left & and then GCSGUI right & to launch the GCSGUIs
- Give the OSA the coordinates of your first target so he can check pointing and collimate.
- Acquisition:
- Binocular MODS: In the bottom panel of the modsTerm tmux session type:
acqBinoMODS mymods1.acq.txt [mymods2.acq.txt]- this will run
acqMODS --mods1 --bino mymods1.acq.txt in the upper left panel of the tmux session and acqMODS --mods2 --bino mymods1.acq.txt (or mymods2.acq.txt in case two scripts are given on the command line) in the upper right panel.
- If running just one MODS (MODS1 for example) and:
- If no instrument is authorized on the other side, then in a terminal window type:
acqMODS --mods1 mymods1.acq.txt
- If another instrument is authorized on the other side, then send a synchronous preset by adding the
--bino option:
acqMODS --mods1 --bino mymods1.acq.txt
- run modsAlign (filenames and arguments/options can be in any order on the command line):
- long-slit alignment to position target 11″ (MODS1) and 9″ (MODS2) above slit center:
- MODS1:
modsAlign -y 11 mods1slitimg.fits mods1fieldimg.fits should put target at Y~1649 on 3Kx3K mods1r image (was 617 on the 1Kx1K image).
- MODS2:
modsAlign -y 9 mods1slitimg.fits mods1fieldimg.fits should put target at Y~1622 on 3Kx3K mods1r image (was 590 on the 1Kx1K image).
- spectrophotometric standard star alignment:
modsAlign -r modsfieldimg.fitsmodsAlign -r can also be run on confirmatory thru-slit image to tweak centering
- MOS alignment:
- modsAlign modsmaskimg.fits modsfieldimg.fits maskfile.mms
- Observation:
- Binocular MODS: In the bottom panel of the modsTerm tmux session type:
execBinoMODS mymods1.obs.txt [mymods2.obs.txt] - this will run
execMODS --mods1 --bino mymods1.obs.txt in the upper left panel of the tmux session and execMODS --mods2 --bino mymods1.obs.txt (or mymods2.obs.txt in case two scripts are given on the command line) in the upper right panel.
- If running just one MODS (MODS1 for example) and:
- If no instrument is authorized on the other side, then in a terminal window type:
execMODS --mods1 mymods1.obs.txt
- If another instrument is authorized on the other side, then use the
--bino option to enable synchronous offsets (in the script, these are offsets preceded immediately by “syncoffset”) and, in the case of imaging scripts which include the preset, to send this preset synchronously:
execMODS --mods1 --bino mymods1.obs.txt
- execBinoMODS or execMODS is used for imaging and calibration scripts, as well as spectroscopic observation scripts.
- Calibrations:
- Must be taken at zenith and with the dome dark (comparison lamp spectra are OK to do when there is light, though).
- Use execBinoMODS or execMODS for calibration scripts.
- If needed, a set of pre-generated calibration scripts is in
/lbt/lbto/mods/modsCalibs_OT.
- End of Night: put mods to sleep:
- If using both MODS:
execBinoMODS modsSleep.pro
- If using just MODS1 or MODS2:
execMODS --mods1 modsSleep.pro or execMODS --mods2 modsSleep.pro
