SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A challenging night with lots of thick cloud passing through and variable seeing.
Data taken successfully for
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 x3
2013-2-AMNH-002 x4
2013-2-UKSC-013 (HRS)
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-26
SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Luke, David dB and Thea, Lisa and John
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lots of technical issues at start of night and poor seeing, but second half of night proved much better with 5 blocks observed in good seeing.
Data taken for
2013-2-RU_RSA-001
2013-2-DC-005
2-13-2-RSA_RU_UC_UKSC_OTH-001
2013-2-UW-004
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001
SO: Veronica
Others: Luke, David dB and Thea, Lisa and John
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lots of technical issues at start of night and poor seeing, but second half of night proved much better with 5 blocks observed in good seeing.
Data taken for
2013-2-RU_RSA-001
2013-2-DC-005
2-13-2-RSA_RU_UC_UKSC_OTH-001
2013-2-UW-004
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-25
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS Team: Luke & Lisa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rising humidity & awful seeing nailed us yet again, but not before getting HRS SV data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH-022 (Buckley)
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-005 (Buckley)
2013-2-UKSC-012 (Townsend)
2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell)
& RSS data for:
2013-2-RSA_005 (Miszalski), P1
SO: Thea
Others: HRS Team: Luke & Lisa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rising humidity & awful seeing nailed us yet again, but not before getting HRS SV data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH-022 (Buckley)
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-005 (Buckley)
2013-2-UKSC-012 (Townsend)
2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell)
& RSS data for:
2013-2-RSA_005 (Miszalski), P1
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-24
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloudy & clear, bad & good seeing, hovered around the dewpoint limit for hours & managed to get data for:
2013-2-UW-005 (Eigenbrot), RSS
2013-2-RSA_HET-001 (Gilbank), HRS
2013-2-RSA_OTH-023 (HRS)
2013-2-UW-008 (Mathieu), HRS
2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell), HRS
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (Encarni), RSS
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloudy & clear, bad & good seeing, hovered around the dewpoint limit for hours & managed to get data for:
2013-2-UW-005 (Eigenbrot), RSS
2013-2-RSA_HET-001 (Gilbank), HRS
2013-2-RSA_OTH-023 (HRS)
2013-2-UW-008 (Mathieu), HRS
2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell), HRS
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (Encarni), RSS
Monday, February 24, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-23
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS Team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Crazy night with clouds coming & going... At least managed to get data for:
2013-2-UW-005 (Eigenbrot), RSS
2013-2-RSA_OTH-020 (Miszalski), HRS
2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell), HRS
SO: Thea
Others: HRS Team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Crazy night with clouds coming & going... At least managed to get data for:
2013-2-UW-005 (Eigenbrot), RSS
2013-2-RSA_OTH-020 (Miszalski), HRS
2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell), HRS
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-22
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wonderfully stable night with HRS SV data for:
- 2013-2-RSA-010 (Menzies)
- 2013-2-UW-008 (Mathieu)
- 2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell)
- 2013-2-UW-007 (Orio)
RSS data for:
- 2013-2-IUCAA-001 (QSO Galaxy pairs)
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wonderfully stable night with HRS SV data for:
- 2013-2-RSA-010 (Menzies)
- 2013-2-UW-008 (Mathieu)
- 2013-2-UKSC-013 (Haswell)
- 2013-2-UW-007 (Orio)
RSS data for:
- 2013-2-IUCAA-001 (QSO Galaxy pairs)
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-21
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=> Were closed by humidity after 2.5h of observations
=> Some data were taken for:
2013-2-UW-005 (The Vertical Density Profile of Spiral Disks)
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=> Were closed by humidity after 2.5h of observations
=> Some data were taken for:
2013-2-UW-005 (The Vertical Density Profile of Spiral Disks)
Friday, February 21, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-20
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=> Were closed by humidity after one hour of observations
=> Some data were taken for 2013-2-UW-005 (the vertical density profile of spiral disks)
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Lisa and Luke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=> Were closed by humidity after one hour of observations
=> Some data were taken for 2013-2-UW-005 (the vertical density profile of spiral disks)
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-19
SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Luke and Lisa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Good to be back on-sky with HRS, but had a bunch of payload problems & mirror alignments along the way before being shut down by the humidity.
Data taken for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH-023 (HRS - radial velocity standard)
2013-2-POL-007 (Hajduk - binary central stars of planetary nebulae)
SO: Thea
Others: HRS team: Luke and Lisa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Good to be back on-sky with HRS, but had a bunch of payload problems & mirror alignments along the way before being shut down by the humidity.
Data taken for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH-023 (HRS - radial velocity standard)
2013-2-POL-007 (Hajduk - binary central stars of planetary nebulae)
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-18
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Alexei and Lisa. Luke and guest for a visit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another frustrating night with the humidity hovering around the limits and some cloud passing by.
Tonight's lucky winners are:
2013-2-AMNH-002 (determining the age of nearby low-mass stars)
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (measuring the mass of the supermassive black hole in the core of a galaxy)
2013-2-UW-001 (investigating the environments of accreting white dwarfs)
2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars in planetary nebulae)
2013-2-UC-001 (Looking for transients and variable objects in star clusters)
SO: Veronica
Others: Alexei and Lisa. Luke and guest for a visit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another frustrating night with the humidity hovering around the limits and some cloud passing by.
Tonight's lucky winners are:
2013-2-AMNH-002 (determining the age of nearby low-mass stars)
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (measuring the mass of the supermassive black hole in the core of a galaxy)
2013-2-UW-001 (investigating the environments of accreting white dwarfs)
2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars in planetary nebulae)
2013-2-UC-001 (Looking for transients and variable objects in star clusters)
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-17
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frustrating night, either too cloudy or too humid. Kept opening and closing, but completed only a single science block for 2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars in planetary nebulae).
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frustrating night, either too cloudy or too humid. Kept opening and closing, but completed only a single science block for 2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars in planetary nebulae).
Monday, February 17, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-16
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A stormy afternoon followed by a heavy cloud start to the night that suddenly cleared at midnight.
Science data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 (monitoring binary stars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars of planetary nebulae)
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001 (spectral variability in a quasar)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 (measuring velocities and masses of galaxies)
2013-2-AMNH-002 (determining the age of nearby low mass stars)
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A stormy afternoon followed by a heavy cloud start to the night that suddenly cleared at midnight.
Science data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 (monitoring binary stars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars of planetary nebulae)
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001 (spectral variability in a quasar)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 (measuring velocities and masses of galaxies)
2013-2-AMNH-002 (determining the age of nearby low mass stars)
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-15
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A cloudy start that cleared beautifully with variable seeing. Spectacular lightning storms in the distance to the north and the east (low on the horizon and no danger to us, phew), and a rather big fire on a hill to the north-west.
Science data for:
2013-2-IUCAA_UKSC_RSA-001 (monitoring a binary inside a supernova remnant)
2013-2-RSA_POL-001 (searching our galaxy for possible supernova progenitors)
2013-2-GU-001 (internal structure of an active galaxy and its black hole)
2013-2-AMNH-002 (determining the age of nearby low mass stars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (detecting movements inside planetary nebulae)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 (measuring velocities and masses of galaxies)
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A cloudy start that cleared beautifully with variable seeing. Spectacular lightning storms in the distance to the north and the east (low on the horizon and no danger to us, phew), and a rather big fire on a hill to the north-west.
Science data for:
2013-2-IUCAA_UKSC_RSA-001 (monitoring a binary inside a supernova remnant)
2013-2-RSA_POL-001 (searching our galaxy for possible supernova progenitors)
2013-2-GU-001 (internal structure of an active galaxy and its black hole)
2013-2-AMNH-002 (determining the age of nearby low mass stars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (detecting movements inside planetary nebulae)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 (measuring velocities and masses of galaxies)
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-14
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stormy afternoon and a foggy night. Did not open.
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stormy afternoon and a foggy night. Did not open.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-13
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloudy start of the night that quickly developed into ridge cloud (also known as fog). Did not open up.
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloudy start of the night that quickly developed into ridge cloud (also known as fog). Did not open up.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-12
SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Japanese film crew outside. Thea and David dB with guests for a quick tour. Keith and Paul for a callout.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Very cloudy night. Got some observations at the beginning of the night, closed for most of the night, and had a surprise gap towards the end of the night!
Science data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 (monitoring binary stars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars of planetary nebulae)
SO: Veronica
Others: Japanese film crew outside. Thea and David dB with guests for a quick tour. Keith and Paul for a callout.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Very cloudy night. Got some observations at the beginning of the night, closed for most of the night, and had a surprise gap towards the end of the night!
Science data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 (monitoring binary stars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (monitoring central stars of planetary nebulae)
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-11
SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Steve, Encarni, Veronica, and Shazrene plus visitors
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A photometric night with mostly excellent seeing again ...
Got some nice pics of star-forming regions, too, for fun,
will hopefully be posted on the SALT blog over the
coming days. Science taken for:
2013-2-DC-002 (detailed characteristics of a dwarf elliptical galaxy)
2013-2-UKSC-009 (metals in a nearby edge-on disk galaxy)
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (measuring a supermassive black hole)
2013-2-RSA_POL-001 (looking for hidden symbiotic stars in the milky way)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 X2 (rotation of a spiral galaxy)
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001 (variability in quasars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (what's inside a planetary nebula?)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-003 (searching for new luminous blue variable stars)
SO: Thea
Others: Steve, Encarni, Veronica, and Shazrene plus visitors
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A photometric night with mostly excellent seeing again ...
Got some nice pics of star-forming regions, too, for fun,
will hopefully be posted on the SALT blog over the
coming days. Science taken for:
2013-2-DC-002 (detailed characteristics of a dwarf elliptical galaxy)
2013-2-UKSC-009 (metals in a nearby edge-on disk galaxy)
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (measuring a supermassive black hole)
2013-2-RSA_POL-001 (looking for hidden symbiotic stars in the milky way)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 X2 (rotation of a spiral galaxy)
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001 (variability in quasars)
2013-2-RSA-005 (what's inside a planetary nebula?)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-003 (searching for new luminous blue variable stars)
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-10
SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another perfect stable night, with long stretches of sub-arcsec seeing. The lucky ones with science tonight are:
2013-2-IUCAA_UKSC_RSA-001 (monitoring a binary inside a supernova remnant)
2013-2-UKSC-009 (characterising metals in a nearby edge-on galaxy)
2013-2-IUCAA_OTH-003 (measuring the orbit of a gamma-ray binary)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 x2 (measuring velocities and masses of galaxies)
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 (variations in spectra of hot binary stars)
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001 (spectral variability in a quasar)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (eclipse in an interacting binary)
2013-2-DC-005 (gas flows around dusty quasars)
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another perfect stable night, with long stretches of sub-arcsec seeing. The lucky ones with science tonight are:
2013-2-IUCAA_UKSC_RSA-001 (monitoring a binary inside a supernova remnant)
2013-2-UKSC-009 (characterising metals in a nearby edge-on galaxy)
2013-2-IUCAA_OTH-003 (measuring the orbit of a gamma-ray binary)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 x2 (measuring velocities and masses of galaxies)
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003 (variations in spectra of hot binary stars)
2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001 (spectral variability in a quasar)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (eclipse in an interacting binary)
2013-2-DC-005 (gas flows around dusty quasars)
Monday, February 10, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-09
SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A remarkably steady photometric night, with good to
excellent seeing, after midnight it stayed put between
1.0-1.2". This resulted in a rare case of spending nearly all
the night doing imaging, with a little engineering test at
first and a couple of short spectroscopy blocks in addition.
Science data for:
2013-2-UC-001 x6 (hours of continuing varible search in a globular cluster)
2013-2-UKSC-010 (studying gas around host-stars of exo-jupiters)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (watching an eclipse in an interacting binary star)
2013-2-RSA_RU_UC_UKSC-001 (measuring distances to gravitational lenses)
2013-2-RSA-005 (detecting movements inside planetary nebulae)
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A remarkably steady photometric night, with good to
excellent seeing, after midnight it stayed put between
1.0-1.2". This resulted in a rare case of spending nearly all
the night doing imaging, with a little engineering test at
first and a couple of short spectroscopy blocks in addition.
Science data for:
2013-2-UC-001 x6 (hours of continuing varible search in a globular cluster)
2013-2-UKSC-010 (studying gas around host-stars of exo-jupiters)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (watching an eclipse in an interacting binary star)
2013-2-RSA_RU_UC_UKSC-001 (measuring distances to gravitational lenses)
2013-2-RSA-005 (detecting movements inside planetary nebulae)
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-08
SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A great clear night with mostly good seeing too, occasionally even sub-arcsec. Full night of science for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-004 x2 (hot binary star candidates in the magellanic clouds. )
2013-2-RSA_OTH-018 (more data on a faint hostless supernova candidate)
2013-2-POL_RSA-001 (monitoring variability of spectra in quasars)
2013-2-IUCAA-001 x2 (distant galaxy-quasar pairs)
2013-2-UC-001 x2 (looking for variability in a globular cluster)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 x2 (rotations of faint edge-on galaxies)
2013-2-RSA_POL-001 (searching our galaxy for possible supernova progenitors)
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A great clear night with mostly good seeing too, occasionally even sub-arcsec. Full night of science for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-004 x2 (hot binary star candidates in the magellanic clouds. )
2013-2-RSA_OTH-018 (more data on a faint hostless supernova candidate)
2013-2-POL_RSA-001 (monitoring variability of spectra in quasars)
2013-2-IUCAA-001 x2 (distant galaxy-quasar pairs)
2013-2-UC-001 x2 (looking for variability in a globular cluster)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 x2 (rotations of faint edge-on galaxies)
2013-2-RSA_POL-001 (searching our galaxy for possible supernova progenitors)
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-07
SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well finally a full night, gray and dark and clear, but with quite variable seeing. Humidity stayed just within limits.
Coolest science for the following programs:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-004 (confirming new xray binaries in the magellanic clouds)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-018 (an apparently hostless supernova candidate)
2013-2-UC-001 (looking for pulsating stars in a globular cluster)
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (supermassive black hole studied in an active galaxy)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 (measuring the rotation of a low surface brightness galaxy)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (light curve for an interacting binary star)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-005 (star formation in a galaxy merger remnant)
2013-2-IUCAA-001 (spectra of high-redshift quasar-galaxy pairs)
2013-2-GU-001 (internal structure of an active galaxy and its black hole)
SO: Thea
Others: Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well finally a full night, gray and dark and clear, but with quite variable seeing. Humidity stayed just within limits.
Coolest science for the following programs:
2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-004 (confirming new xray binaries in the magellanic clouds)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-018 (an apparently hostless supernova candidate)
2013-2-UC-001 (looking for pulsating stars in a globular cluster)
2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001 (supermassive black hole studied in an active galaxy)
2013-2-UNC_RSA_RU-001 (measuring the rotation of a low surface brightness galaxy)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (light curve for an interacting binary star)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-005 (star formation in a galaxy merger remnant)
2013-2-IUCAA-001 (spectra of high-redshift quasar-galaxy pairs)
2013-2-GU-001 (internal structure of an active galaxy and its black hole)
NGC2808
 | |
|
DEM L241
 |
| Image Credit: P. Vaisanen/T. Koen/S. Crawford, SALT Foundation |
A SALT image of DEM L241, an HII region containing a supernova remnant, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The almost ghostly, green clouds seen in this image are emission from hydrogen gas in the cloud and remnant. Astronomers are using SALT to study the binary star at the center of the supernova remnant. The empty black region in the image is the gap between the two CCD chips that make up the SALTICAM imager.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-06
SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Steve, David, Nithaya, Lizette, Yunus
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Repeat of last night, clear with variable seeing until humidity
forced us to close after 1 am. Science data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH-018 (a faint supernova to study dark energy)
2013-2-AMNH-001 (looking for dwarf novae in the large magellanic cloud)
2013-2-AMNH-003 (going for spectra of transiting exo-planets)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (observing an eclipse in an interacting binary star)
SO: Thea
Others: Steve, David, Nithaya, Lizette, Yunus
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Repeat of last night, clear with variable seeing until humidity
forced us to close after 1 am. Science data for:
2013-2-RSA_OTH-018 (a faint supernova to study dark energy)
2013-2-AMNH-001 (looking for dwarf novae in the large magellanic cloud)
2013-2-AMNH-003 (going for spectra of transiting exo-planets)
2013-2-RSA_OTH-011 (observing an eclipse in an interacting binary star)
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-04
SA: Paul
SO: Veronica
Others: Steve, Petri, Marissa, Enrico
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- a full night of observing with seeing keeping below 2'' for most of the night, getting as good as 1''. had thin cloud coverage for the whole evening.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-UW-001
- 2013-2-RSA-004
- 2013-2-IUCAA-001
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-006
- 2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001
SO: Veronica
Others: Steve, Petri, Marissa, Enrico
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- a full night of observing with seeing keeping below 2'' for most of the night, getting as good as 1''. had thin cloud coverage for the whole evening.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-UW-001
- 2013-2-RSA-004
- 2013-2-IUCAA-001
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-006
- 2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-03
SA: Paul
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- had a later than planned start to the evening due to clouds. opened up to good seeing. had patches of cloud during the night. closed at 03:00 due to high humidity.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-POL_RSA-001
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-006
- 2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001
- 2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- had a later than planned start to the evening due to clouds. opened up to good seeing. had patches of cloud during the night. closed at 03:00 due to high humidity.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-POL_RSA-001
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-006
- 2013-2-RSA_DC_OTH-001
- 2013-2-IUCAA_UW-001
Monday, February 3, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-02
SA: Paul
SO: Veronica
Others: Keith
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- had mediocre to bad seeing. closed around 01:30 due to high humidity.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003
- 2013-2-AMNH-002
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-018
- 2013-2-HET_OTH-001
- 2013-2-AMNH-002 (x2)
SO: Veronica
Others: Keith
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- had mediocre to bad seeing. closed around 01:30 due to high humidity.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH_UKSC-003
- 2013-2-AMNH-002
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-018
- 2013-2-HET_OTH-001
- 2013-2-AMNH-002 (x2)
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Night Log 2014-02-01
SA: Paul
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- a clear night with mediocre seeing. we had high humidity just after one. closed for a while then opened again with the dew point temperature hanging around the closing limit. the humidity finally got us before twilight.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-UKSC-003
- 2013-2-RSA_UW-002
- 2013-2-UW-005
- 2013-2-HET-004
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-011
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-006
- 2013-2-UW_RSA-001
SO: Veronica
Others:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- a clear night with mediocre seeing. we had high humidity just after one. closed for a while then opened again with the dew point temperature hanging around the closing limit. the humidity finally got us before twilight.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-UKSC-003
- 2013-2-RSA_UW-002
- 2013-2-UW-005
- 2013-2-HET-004
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-011
- 2013-2-RSA_OTH-006
- 2013-2-UW_RSA-001
Saturday, February 1, 2014
HRS Science Verification feedback
This is the first of what we anticipate will be a number of postings on results of the SALT High Resolution Spectrograph (HRS) Science Verification programs. This post comes from edited highlight of Vladimir Elkin's (University of Central Lancashire, UK) report concerning his and Don Kurtz's (UCLAN) program entitled "A search for rapid oscillation in spectroscopically selected chemically peculiar stars".
Three stars were observed with HRS, providing data that were of good quality and suitable for the aim of determining radial velocity variations. In the case of one star, HD42659, Vladimir was able to compare the HRS data with similar observations obtained with UVES on the VLT at ESO in Chile. In the plot below, he shows a 60s exposure spectrum with HRS in High Resolution (R ~ 72,000) mode (HR), compared to a 40s UVES spectrum.
The somewhat lower S/N ratio of the SALT data are a result of the poorer observing conditions for the SALT observation, done on 19 Dec 2013 (3" seeing, some clouds), compared to those for the VLT observations. The observations were conducted by astronomers Lisa Crause and Luke Tyas, with Veronica Van Wyk as the supporting SALT Operator.
Vladimir comments that the HRS and UVES spectra of HD42659 show differences in the line profiles as a result of spotted structures on the star's surface, resulting in spectral variability, and that the HRS data are good and will be used in radial velocity and abundance analyses.
Three stars were observed with HRS, providing data that were of good quality and suitable for the aim of determining radial velocity variations. In the case of one star, HD42659, Vladimir was able to compare the HRS data with similar observations obtained with UVES on the VLT at ESO in Chile. In the plot below, he shows a 60s exposure spectrum with HRS in High Resolution (R ~ 72,000) mode (HR), compared to a 40s UVES spectrum.
The somewhat lower S/N ratio of the SALT data are a result of the poorer observing conditions for the SALT observation, done on 19 Dec 2013 (3" seeing, some clouds), compared to those for the VLT observations. The observations were conducted by astronomers Lisa Crause and Luke Tyas, with Veronica Van Wyk as the supporting SALT Operator.
Vladimir comments that the HRS and UVES spectra of HD42659 show differences in the line profiles as a result of spotted structures on the star's surface, resulting in spectral variability, and that the HRS data are good and will be used in radial velocity and abundance analyses.
Night Log 2014-01-31
SA: Paul
SO: Veronica
Others: NASSP students late this afternoon
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Summary
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- a mixed bag of conditions tonight. was cloudy at the start of the evening which cleared around 22:00. had moderate seeing for most of the night which improved at the end.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-AMNH-001
- 2013-2-GU-001
- 2013-2-UKSC-010
- 2013-2-RU-001
- 2013-2-IUCAA-001
- 2013-2-UW_RSA-001
SO: Veronica
Others: NASSP students late this afternoon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- a mixed bag of conditions tonight. was cloudy at the start of the evening which cleared around 22:00. had moderate seeing for most of the night which improved at the end.
- obtained data for the following programs:
- 2013-2-AMNH-001
- 2013-2-GU-001
- 2013-2-UKSC-010
- 2013-2-RU-001
- 2013-2-IUCAA-001
- 2013-2-UW_RSA-001
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