Night Log 2012-01-30

SA: Alexei
SO: Zolisa
Others: Charl to help with CCAS computer problem

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=> Unstable night with clouds all the night and rising humidity.
Finally we were closed by humidity.

=> Data were taken for the following programs:
2011-3-RSA-020
2011-3-RSA-003
2011-3-POL-001
2011-3-POL-005 (2)

Night Log 2012-01-29

SA: Alexei
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=> Clear night with stable seeing and very low humidity

=> Data were taken for the following programs:
2011-3-RSA-003
2011-3-RSA_OTH-003
2011-3-POL-006 (2)
2011-3-RSA_OTH-026
2011-3-UW-001
2011-3-RSA_IUCAA_OTH-001
2011-3-UNC-002

Night Log 2012-01-28

SA: Alexei
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=> One more clear night with good conditions, but variable seeing.

=> Data were taken for the following programs:
2011-3-RSA_OTH-012
2011-3-UW_OTH-002
2011-3-UNC-007
2011-3-UW-002
2011-3-RSA_IUCAA_OTH-001
2011-3-RSA-003
2011-3-RSA-029

Night Log 2012-01-27

SA: Alexei
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=> Clear night with nice conditions at the beginning.
Humidity rised later and we were closed.

=> Data taken for the following programs:
2011-3-UNC-007
2011-3-RSA_IUCAA_OTH-001
2011-3-RSA-003

Night Log 2012-01-26

SA: Alexei
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=> Another dark night with good conditions

=> Data taken for the following programs:
2011-3-GU-003
2011-3-POL-006
2011-3-RSA_OTH-026
2011-3-RSA-029

Night Log 2012-01-25

SA: Alexei
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=> Clear, dark, photometric night

=> Data taken for the following programs:
2011-3-DC-005
2011-3-UW_OTH-002
2011-3-RSA_OTH-026
2011-3-UNC_RSA-002

Night Log 2012-01-24

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others: Alexei, Amanda, Keith, Hamish, Eben, Zolisa, Martin, Ben & Albert (from town)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. Closed an hour after twilight end because of high humidity. Some engineering data taken (pellicle alignment and slotmode timing tests).

Night Log 2012-01-23

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others: Amanda, Hannah

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. Dark time with thin clouds; closed at midnight due to high humidity.

. Data attempted for the following programs:
2011-3-RU-006
2011-3-UW_OTH-002
2011-3-RSA_OTH-026
2011-2-UW_RSA-002

Night Log 2012-01-22

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others: Amanda, Keith

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. Clear, dark, non-photometric night.

. Data taken for the following programs:
2011-3-RSA-003 (std. star)
2011-3-POL-007 (std. star and flats)
2011-3-UW-002
2011-3-RSA_OTH-026
2011-3-UW-001

Night Log 2012-01-21

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others: Jonathan, Eben, Amanda, Keith

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. The atypically bad weather continues. Did not open due to clouds and high humidity.

2012 Semester 1 Call for Proposals

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to inform you that we are now accepting SALT Phase 1
proposals for the period 1 May - 31 Oct 2012 (2012 Semester 1). The
Phase 1 proposal deadline will be Friday 17 Feb at 18:00 SAST
(corresponding to 16:00 UTC). Please note that this proposal call is
for both SALTICAM and RSS, but with some modes (primarily MOS) still
on a "best efforts" basis (i.e. no guarantees regarding performance
or completion) or are not available at all (e.g. all polarimetric modes).

We have produced a comprehensive information document for all proposers
where we have attempted to update the current performance status of the
telescope and instruments. In addition the PIPT Simulation tools have
also been revised to reflect the current actual performance of the
instruments, as determined from commissioning and 2011 Semester 2
observations. Additional information and links to relevant webpages or
documents are also included to assist proposers in writing their Phase 1
applications.

The review process is due to be completed by 30 March, at which point
proposers will be informed of the results of their applications. Those
successful applicants will then have ~4 weeks to complete their detailed
Phase 2 proposals in time for the beginning of the Semester (deadline 27
April).

Please submit your proposal via the SALT Principal Investigator Proposal
Tool (PIPT).  Instructions, software, and other information about
proposing for SALT can be found on the SALT website.

Call for Proposals, including link to information document:
http://www.salt.ac.za/observing/2012-semester-1-call-for-proposals/

Instructions for submitting your proposal:
http://www.salt.ac.za/observing/proposing-for-salt-observations/phase-i-proposal-instructions/

Download the PIPT software:
https://www.salt.ac.za/wm/

All questions regarding this proposal call should be address to
salthelp(at)salt.ac.za

Sincerely,

David Buckley
SALT Astronomy Operations Manager on behalf of the SALT Astronomy
Operations Team

Night Log 2012-01-20

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. Cloudy and high humidity. Did not open.

Night Log 2012-01-19

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others: Steve C., Keith

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. Mostly cloudy night with high humidity, never opened.

. Data taken for LED dome lighting tests, some engineering.

Observing the BBC

The BBC filmed live at SALT for their Stargazing program from Jan 16-18.   The crew has just departed after two weeks of preparation,  filming set positions in town and on the plateau, and finally producing the live segments from Sutherland.   Many members of SAAO and SALT helped out with many of the different phases of the production, from appearing on the show to helping set up the observations to sharing some traditional South African traditions with the BBC crew.

But as the crew filmed us, Chris Coetzee and David Gilbank recorded the film crew at work.   Some of the highlights are below:

Alice preparing Petri for his segment

The spectrograph room taken over by the BBC team

Chris and Vivia directing the next shot

Watching the BBC team in action

The control room turned into a tv set

Shortly before going live with the Galaxy Boys

Greg getting ready for his next shot

No stay in Sutherland would be complete without a braai!

Liz and Petri discussing some of the finer features of the Southern night sky

Lightning up the skies

After over two weeks of beautiful weather and clear skies, a major thunderstorm rolled into Sutherland just before the start of the BBC live program.   Our own Anthony Koelsag and David Gilbank took some amazing shots of this massive storm during sunset.  Here are two of them

Night Log 2012-01-18

SA: Amanda
SO: Siphelo
Others: Petri (as half-duty SA), Steve, Chris, Anthony, Janus, Keith, Amanda, Eben, BBC+++

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

. Cloudy and partly rainy night. Opened briefly, then closed. Opened again later for roughly an hour and then closed again.

. Data attempted for 2011-3-RSA-003, but not completed due to loss of signal.

. Final night of filming for the BBC Stargazing Live. Thanks to the locals for their support and to the BBC crew for their enthusiastic and positive presence. Congrats to everyone for making Sutherland look great and making astronomy accessible and exciting!

Night Log 2012-01-17

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others: fullest house yet

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Whole night lost to rain and clouds, apart from some
high-octane live tv. No science data taken.

Night Log 2012-01-16

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others: David B., Keith, Chris, Janus, Anthony, Jonathan, Grant, Charlotte, Thebe, BBC x N

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Spectacular thunder storm in the beginning, then
live TV, then cleared up for couple of hours before
clouding up again.

- Science data for:
2011-3-POL-007
2011-3-RSA-003

Live on the BBC

SALT is taking part in the Stargazing program on the BBC  and segments on Viewing the Southern Sky, Galaxies, and  Exoplanets will be filmed, live, here at SAAO.    They have changed the control room into a tv studio and transformed a number of the SALT staff into stars (pun intended).    The segments will air, on BBC2 at 20:00 on 16-18 Jan and also freely available in the UK on the BBC website.

(Photo courtesy of David Gilbank)

Night Log 2012-01-15

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others: David B., David G., Keith, Chris, Charlotte, BBC x N

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Another photometric night with variable seeing, saw both
1" and 5". BBC film crew all over the place here: if you're in
the UK, watch the Stargazing Live, Monday, Tuesday, Wed,
at 8 or 8.30pm BST.

- Power failures, otherwise all right, and science data for:
2011-3-DC-005
2011-3-UW_OTH-002
2011-3-RSA-006
2011-3-RSA-003

Night Log 2012-01-14

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others: David G., BBC x 12

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Beautiful pbotometric night, but seeing all over the place.
And humidity ended it all at 1am..

Science data for:
2011-3-RSA_OTH-003
2011-3-RSA_OTH-006
2010-1-RSA_OTH-002

Night Log 2012-01-13

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others: David G.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Fairly good night weatherwise, but had a string of technical
difficulties resulting in in-efficient and lost time.

Science data for:
2011-3-RSA-017
2011-3-RSA-022
2011-3-UW_OTH-003

Night Log 2012-01-12

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others: David G.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Cloudy beginning, but cleared up before mid-night. Science data for:
2011-3-UW_OTH-003
2011-3-RSA-029

Night Log 2012-01-11

SA: Petri
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Stable warm clear night, with ok to good seeing. Science for:

2011-3-POL-001
2011-3-POL-006
and spec.phot.std stars for three others as too.

Night Log 2012-01-10

SA: Encarni
SO: Zolisa
Others: Petri, David Gilbank. Alice Jones briefly to set up her camera in the dome.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Night started cloudy, cleared around 10pm and then ridge cloud forced us to close at around 1am.

Science data for:
2011-3-RSA-020
2011-3-POL-005
2011-3-POL-006

Flats for:
2011-3-UW-002

Night Log 2012-01-09

SA: Encarni
SO: Patrick
Others: Charl, Dave C and Peter at the beginning of the night. Alice and Dave from the BBC and Robert from the IRSF for a quick tour after we closed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Clear, bad seeing night. Closed up early due to humidity.

RSS still unavailable tonight.

Science data for:
2011-3-RSA-022

SALT at the AAS

SALT has a booth at the AAS!  If you are in Austin, please stop by booth #135 and say hi!  

Night Log 2012-01-08

SA: Encarni
SO: Patrick
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Clear, photometric night with variable seeing.

RSS not available tonight, SALTICAM data only.

Science data for:
2011-2-UW_RU-002
2011-2-RSA-001
2011-3-RSA_OTH-016

Night Log 2012-01-07

SA: Encarni
SO: Patrick
Others: Charl at the beginning of the night

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

What started as a gorgeous photometrick night with decent seeing, deteriorated to atrocious seeing from before midnight.

Open loop tracking engineering data for
ENG_POINT

Science data for:

2011-3-RSA-017
2011-3-POL-005
2011-3-POL-006

Night Log 2012-01-06

SA: Encarni
SO: Patrick
Others: Charl at the beginning to do final inspections and check for trouble.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Beautiful night with very thin cirrus.

Engineering data for:
ENG_ADC

Science data for:
2011-3-POL-006
2011-3-RSA-022
2011-3-POL-001
2011-3-POL-003

Night Log 2012-01-05

SA: Encarni
SO: Patrick
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Beautiful, clear night.
Telescope offline tonight due to cooling system repairs.

Night Log 2012-01-04

SA: Encarni
SO: Patrick
Others: Charl, Johan, Amanda, Trilling, Vik, Keith, Chris, Lisa.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Night lost due to glycol burst.

Night Log 2012-01-03

SA: Tim
SO: Zolisa
Others: keith, encarni, charl

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

entire night lost to a glycol leak. thick cirrus for much of the time so didn't miss out on too much. able to show ERC some of the fabry-perot ropes before having to shut PDET down.

Night Log 2012-01-02

SA: Tim
SO: Zolisa
Others: keith

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

another full and productive night, this time in spite of high winds and passing cirrus. variable seeing once again with ~1" seeing early and again late with a bout of 3" around midnight. got data for the following programs:

2011-3-UKSC_RSA-003
2011-3-POL-007
2011-3-RSA_UKSC-006
2011-3-POL-005
2011-3-POL-001
2011-3-UW-001

Night Log 2012-01-01

SA: Tim
SO: Zolisa
Others:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

steady, dry(!) night with some wind and clouds for a time. humidity actually lower when we closed than when we opened which may be a first for this time of year. variable, but mostly decent seeing with periods of very good seeing. tweaked the pointing model some more and consistently had objects come up within 5-7" of the RSS slit which makes setting up observations a WHOLE lot easier. got data for the following programs:

2011-3-RSA-020
2011-3-RSA_OTH-006
2011-3-POL-007
2011-3-POL-003
2011-3-RSA_OTH-026
2011-3-UW-001
2011-3-RSA_OTH-023

go packers!

Night Log 2011-12-31

SA: Tim
SO: Zolisa
Others: vic, keith, charl

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------

a dry, slightly cirrusy, steady night with highly variable seeing. the big achievement was fixing the pointing model finally. there's still room for a bit of improvment, but we're now consistently within 20" in our open loop pointing and much of the error appears to be a constant elevation offset. will tweak that out and implement for tomorrow night.

some technical problems cost part of the first half, but got some data for 2011-3-DC-005 and 2011-3-RSA_IUCAA_OTH-011 in the 2nd half. also got some pointing data to check my work.