Night Log 2017-12-26

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for cappuccino

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Summary
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=> Very stable the last observational night with SALT for 2017. Low humidity and very good seeing during the whole night. Many observational blocks with very good seeing constraints were done.

=> We wish you happy 2018 New Year!!!

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-033 P1 SCAM (Dark energy and the expansion rate of the Universe from quasar monitoring.)
2017-2-SCI-038 P1 RSS (Population study of stellar rotation rates in open clusters)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-1-MLT-003 P2 RSS (x2) (Intermediate mass black holes in star-forming galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-001 P3 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-12-25

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for cappuccino

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Summary
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=> Clear night with unstable seeing and rising humidity. Many observational blocks were done.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-2-SCI-034 P1 RSS (Lya halos around QSOs)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-012 P3 HRS (The Origin and Fate of Very Fast Rotators among Evolved Massive Stars)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-MLT-001 P3 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)

Night Log 2017-12-24

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for cappuccino

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Summary
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=> Grey-dark Christmas night with very good seeing and rising humidity. We were closed by humidity at about 45min before twilight.

=> Santa Claus was detected at about midnight time, flying in the direction of Cape Town with HUGE amount of presents.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-033 P1 SCAM (Dark energy and the expansion rate of the Universe from quasar monitoring.)
2017-1-MLT-003 P2 RSS (x2) (Intermediate mass black holes in star-forming galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-051 P2 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-012 P3 HRS (The Origin and Fate of Very Fast Rotators among Evolved Massive Stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-12-23

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for cappuccino

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Summary
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=> The same as previous clear night with unstable good to moderate seeing and rising humidity. We were closed by humidity at about 45min before twilight.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-042 P1 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-003 P2 RSS (Intermediate mass black holes in star-forming galaxies)
2017-2-MLT-001 P2 RSS (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x3) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-037 P3 RSS (Study of unclassified extragalactic NuSTAR serendipitous sources)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)

Night Log 2017-12-22

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for cappucino

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Summary
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=> Clear night with unstable good to moderate seeing and rising humidity. We were closed by humidity at about 45min before twilight.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-002 P0 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-003 P2 RSS (Intermediate mass black holes in star-forming galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-12-21

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for a while

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Summary
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=> The whole night was lost due to weather. Rain and clouds.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-12-20

SA: Alexei
SO: Fred
Others: Tamara for a while

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Summary
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=> Unstable night started with heavy clouds and rain. started to be clear after that for a while and clouds came again. Only four blocks were observed in total.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-037 P3 RSS (Study of unclassified extragalactic NuSTAR serendipitous sources)

Night Log 2017-12-19

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien, Alexei and Fred for handover

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Summary
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A productive night with good seeing for the first half and mixed seeing later.

Thanks for a great Summer observing week! And thank you for the cake on Friday, Petri!

Thank you to everyone for a good year. May you all have a restful break and a happy festive season. All the best for the New Year!

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-DDT-001 P1 RSS (Studying the chemistry of galaxies over 4 billion light years away)
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-051 P2 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-021 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-012 P3 HRS (The Origin and Fate of Very Fast Rotators among Evolved Massive Stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-12-18

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien, Daniel Holdsworth for a while

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Summary
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We lost most of the night to high humidity again, doing just a few bright targets.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-022 P4 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x3) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-12-17

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien

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Summary
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We lost the whole night to high humidity and cloud, after an unsuccessful attempt of one block at the start of the night.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-12-16

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien

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Summary
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Clouds and bad seeing prevented us making the best use of dark time, but we managed 12 blocks. We had a couple of minor tech issues.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-050 P2 RSS (Observing candidate misaligned active galactic nuclei for redshift determination and classification.)
2017-2-SCI-012 P3 HRS (The Origin and Fate of Very Fast Rotators among Evolved Massive Stars)
2017-1-MLT-001 P3 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (x2) (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-010 P4 RSS (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)

Night Log 2017-12-15

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien, Critter in a cupboard

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Summary
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A productive night with good, steady seeing. We did a number of high priority targets and had no technical issues.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-1-MLT-009 P1 RSS (Identify the optical counterpart of a mysterious X-ray source)
2017-2-MLT-004 P1 RSS (Galaxy pairs in the Hubble Frontier Fields)
2017-2-DDT-001 P1 RSS (Studying the chemistry of galaxies over 4 billion light years away)
2017-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-018 P2 RSS (Searching for small-scale pairs of quasars and galaxies.)
2017-2-SCI-051 P2 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-12-14

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien, Hitesh and Lucian via phone

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Summary
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A good dark night with mixed but overall reasonable seeing. We did some high priority blocks, including two P0s. Some technical downtime with a database crash that caused us to lose a long block.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2017-2-DDT-002 P0 RSS (High-quality spectroscopy to confirm the record-low metallicity of a LSB in a nearby void)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-045 P1 RSS (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-2-SCI-042 P2 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)

Night Log 2017-12-13

SA: Rosalind
SO: Thea
Others: Annarien (intern)

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Summary
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Most of the night was lost to high humidity. We managed a few blocks, and attempted a P0, but had to terminate it early.


Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-12-12

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Ros (for handover) and visitors. Fred&Enrico for StryDIMM&timDIMM.

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Summary
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Clear night with some good seeing, some bad seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-DDT-002 P0 RSS (High-quality spectroscopy to confirm the record-low metallicity of a LSB in a nearby void)
2017-2-SCI-033 P1 SCAM (Dark energy and the expansion rate of the Universe from quasar monitoring.)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (x2) (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-1-MLT-003 P1 RSS (x3) (Intermediate mass black holes in star-forming galaxies)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-12-11

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Fred & Enrico for StryDIMM. SCBP visitors: Delshia & Claudine

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Summary
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Clear night with variable seeing.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-MLT-004 P1 RSS (Galaxy pairs in the Hubble Frontier Fields)
2017-2-SCI-009 P1 RSS (Searching for galaxies associated with strong Mg II absorbers.)
2017-2-SCI-051 P2 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-012 P3 HRS (The Origin and Fate of Very Fast Rotators among Evolved Massive Stars)
2017-2-SCI-021 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)

Night Log 2017-12-10

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Fred & Enrico on DIMM. Johan & Timmy to fix the Dome Shutter bearing

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Summary
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We started the night with a Dome Shutter bearing that broke as we attempted to open and the Technical stand-by guys did a tremendous job to get us on sky with only 2 hours lost. The rest of the clear night was marred by terrible seeing, so only low priority blocks were done.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x5) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)

Night Log 2017-12-09

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Fred & Enrico on Strydimm. Visitors: Texas Symposium group

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Summary
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Clear night with terrible seeing that improved just in time for a ToO added this evening, after which it deteriorated again.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x3) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-022 P4 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-12-08

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: SCBP visitor: Delshia Kamfer. Enrico & Fred for timdimm and strydimm.

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Summary
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Mostly clear night with good seeing. Lost 2 hours to an unfortunate technical problem on the Calibration System (used for all Low Resolution Spectrograph observations) that the Technical crew will have to attend to tomorrow. Luckily the DDT observation was successfully done early in the evening and also very fortunately we could continue with the High Resolution Spectrograph for the rest of the night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-DDT-002 P0 RSS (High-quality spectroscopy to confirm the record-low metallicity of a LSB in a nearby void)
2017-2-SCI-056 P1 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-017 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x3) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-12-07

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Ockert, Fred and Enrico for Dome Seeing Dimm. SCBP visitors: Pran & Charmaine.

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Summary
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Rain at sunset again. Rest of the night was mostly clear or very thin clouds with decent seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-017 P1 HRS (x2) (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-007 P1 RSS (x2) (The goal of this project is to understand how Type Ia Supernovae explode)

Night Log 2017-12-06

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Ockert & Fred (for Dome seeing)

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Summary
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Rain at sunset, followed by a partly cloudy night with bad seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-026 P1 RSS (Study of late-time supernovae spectra)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x3) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (x3) (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-022 P4 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)

Night Log 2017-12-05

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Marissa, Enrico, Fred, Lisa, Ockert, Clifford

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Summary
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Terrible seeing, but mostly clear, and successfully observed many
targets until 2 am when humidity finally forced us to close.

SALT Ops wishes Finland a very happy 100 years of Independence today!

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x6) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (x2) (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (x3) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)

Night Log 2017-12-04

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: Ockert, Swiss Ambassador + 4

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Summary
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Lost nearly half the night to high humidity, but got lots of suitable
science (read bright stars) done before that while battling with
clouds and poor seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x4) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-021 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-12-03

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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A productive night under the Supermoon. Highly variable seeing,
though saw some sub-arcsec moments. Humidity finally rose, forcing
us to close just 25 min before twilight. No technical troubles.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-017 P1 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x4) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-12-02

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others: David dB

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Summary
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Clear night again, first half with average seeing, then hours of great
seeing. Managed to tweak telescope image quality to match that as
well, a very productive night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-022 P2 HRS (x3) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x4) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-001 P3 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)

Night Log 2017-12-01

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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Night started cloudy, but cleared up after 10pm. Variable seeing,
occasionally very good, bright moon, did lots of science suitable for
those conditions.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-022 P2 HRS (x4) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-MLT-006 P3 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (x2) (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2017-11-30

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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Another totally clear night, with bright moon, and this time with mostly
good seeing too. Very productive.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (x2) (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-022 P2 HRS (x3) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-040 P3 RSS (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-11-29

SA: Petri
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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A clear productive night, but with poor seeing. No problems whatsoever.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-026 P1 RSS (Study of late-time supernovae spectra)
2017-2-SCI-022 P2 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (x2) (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-021 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x2) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-11-28

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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A beautiful clear night but with rather variable seeing.



Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-042 P1 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-026 P1 RSS (Study of late-time supernovae spectra)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (x2) (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-022 P2 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-021 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)

Night Log 2017-11-27

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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A beautiful, clear night and productive night with decent seeing and only a bit of cloud in the middle.


Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-SCI-042 P2 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-022 P2 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-008 P2 RSS (x2) (Survey of V-type asteroids outside the Vesta family)
2017-2-SCI-037 P3 RSS (x2) (Study of unclassified extragalactic NuSTAR serendipitous sources)

Night Log 2017-11-26

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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A clear night with very variable seeing and a few technical problems, including a problem with RSS. The relative humidity forced us to close at 2:30am.


Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-013 P1 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (x2) (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-11-25

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Paul, film crew: Frederic Courbin, Matt Goodman and Jean-Paul Kneib

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Summary
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We started with a gorgeous (cloudy) sunset, in oranges, reds and pinks. The clouds gradually disappeared and left us with a pretty good, productive night.
We also hosted a film crew at the beginning of the night.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-026 P1 RSS (Study of late-time supernovae spectra)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-006 P2 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (x2) (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-057 P3 RSS (For this specific proposal we proposed three galaxies to be observed.)

Night Log 2017-11-24

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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There was some cloud around at sunset that mostly disappeared at the beginning of the night, but slowly got thicker and forced us to close at around 2am.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-006 P2 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (x3) (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)

Night Log 2017-11-23

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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A beautiful night with OK seeing, but unfortunately we were forced to close early due to high relative humidity. We managed to open up again in twilight for some calibrations, and the humidity started to climb again!


Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (x2) (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2017-2-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-11-22

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Stephen H. doing acquisitions, Eben for a visit with a thermal camera

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Summary
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A very productive, beautiful, mostly dark night. It started with a quick check with a thermal camera to ensure there are no heat sources in the dome (just in case!) and then it was all science, with rather annoying seeing at the beginning of the night but it got better.


Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x3) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)

Night Log 2017-11-21

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others: Encarni (for handover), Stephen Hulme. Visitors: Stella Kafka, Michel Dennefeld, Emma Longstaff, Matt Burleigh, Steven Bloemen.

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Summary
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Freezing night with high humidity and clouds. Eventually it started snowing in the early morning.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-11-20

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others: Stephen and Clare Hulme

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Summary
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Cloudy night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-057 P3 RSS (x2) (For this specific proposal we proposed three galaxies to be observed.)

Night Log 2017-11-19

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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Cloudy night with reasonable seeing. Almost 3 hours lost to a technical issue.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)

Night Log 2017-11-18

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others: David Buckley & 8 Russians

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Summary
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Clear moonless night with variable seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-SCI-034 P1 RSS (Lya halos around QSOs)
2017-2-SCI-009 P1 RSS (Searching for galaxies associated with strong Mg II absorbers.)
2017-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-2-SCI-026 P1 RSS (Study of late-time supernovae spectra)
2017-2-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)

Night Log 2017-11-17

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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Very cloudy night with reasonable seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (x2) (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-019 P2 RSS (x2) (Studying newly-identified Irregular Variable Stars)
2017-2-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-006 P2 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)

Night Log 2017-11-16

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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Clear night with variable seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-041 P1 HRS (x3) (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-050 P2 RSS (Observing candidate misaligned active galactic nuclei for redshift determination and classification.)

Night Log 2017-11-15

SA: Marissa
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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Night lost to weather.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-11-14

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine (in the driver seat)

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Summary
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The whole night lost to bad weather.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-11-13

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine (Driving the Telescope)

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Summary
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The whole night lost to weather. We did some closed dome test though.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-11-12

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine ( Driving the telescope again tonight)

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Summary
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A rather poor night. We managed only one block before the clouds stopped us.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)

Night Log 2017-11-11

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine (in the driving seat tonight)

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Summary
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Decent night of observing. No weather or technical downtime.
Completed mostly high priority blocks tonight.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-003 P1 RSS (Intermediate mass black holes in star-forming galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-056 P1 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-041 P1 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-11-10

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine

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Summary
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A relatively good night with average seeing. The clouds forced us to close about 30 minutes early.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-035 P1 RSS (The nature of the most extreme starburst galaxies )
2017-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (x2) (qSpectral survey of candidate unusual nearby void dwarfs)
2017-2-SCI-046 P1 RSS (Searching interacting binaries with compact objects in the smallest and oldest galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)

Night Log 2017-11-09

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine

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Summary
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A really good night a few high priority targets observed. The relative humidity forced us to close ~ 40 minutes early though.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-049 P0 RSS (SALT spectroscopic follow-up of supernova candidates for further investigations of dark energy)
2017-2-SCI-041 P1 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-056 P1 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-035 P1 RSS (The nature of the most extreme starburst galaxies )
2017-2-SCI-026 P1 RSS (Study of late-time supernovae spectra)

Night Log 2017-11-08

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Blaine

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Summary
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Not the best of nights with heavy cloud cover and thunderstorms at the start of the night. We managed to get some observations towards the end of the night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-11-07

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others: Rudi for handover, Jon from LCO, Wily the spider, Blaine and Jenn.

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Summary
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A night with moderately good weather conditions, that was cut short by high humidity shortly after midnight.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-041 P2 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (x5) (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)

Night Log 2017-11-06

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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A productive night, with relatively good weather conditions.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-017 P1 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-007 P2 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 HRS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-040 P3 RSS (x2) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-11-05

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others: Willy the spider

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Summary
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A fairly productive night, despite a seeing being not particularly good, specially towards the end of the night.


Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-017 P1 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-058 P1 RSS (Study of the spectroscopic properties of galaxies in the Abell 2631 galaxy cluster.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-041 P1 HRS (x11) (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-010 P3 RSS (Characterising Pulsating Stars @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-007 P3 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-11-04

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others: David, Enrico, Marissa and the chinese delegation, Brian.

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Summary
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A very productive night, with relatively good conditions, and many programs observed.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-017 P1 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-022 P1 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-041 P1 HRS (x7) (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-019 P2 RSS (Studying newly-identified Irregular Variable Stars)
2017-2-SCI-040 P2 RSS (x8) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)

Night Log 2017-11-03

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others: Willy the spider

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Summary
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A fairly productive night. Weather forced us to close half of the time, but then, the weather cleared and we could finish the night observing.


Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-017 P1 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-041 P1 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-022 P4 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)

Night Log 2017-11-02

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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All night lost to weather

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-11-01

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others: Visitors from LCO, Christian and family

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Summary
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No data taken, all night lost to weather.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-10-31

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Naomi & Mokhine (SAAO PhD students) in the driver's seat(s). Eric for handover. Enrico.

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Summary
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Night lost to thunderstorms. Very thankful for the rain, since we�re suffering such a severe drought.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-10-30

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Rained earlier in the night. Dark clouds with risk of further rain kept us closed the rest of the night.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-10-29

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Naomi & Mokhine (SAAO PhD students) in the driver's seat(s).

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Summary
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Cloudy night with mostly reasonable seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (x12) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-1-MLT-011 P3 HRS (x2) (Studying the spectra of a new type of X-ray binaries)
2017-2-SCI-030 P3 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 HRS (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-28

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Naomi & Mokhine (SAAO PhD students) in the driver's seat(s).

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Summary
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Clear night with bad seeing was put to productive use.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-053 P2 RSS (x2) (Study of unclassified extragalactic NuSTAR serendipitous sources)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-007 P2 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2017-1-SCI-056 P3 RSS (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (x2) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-061 P3 SCAM (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (x6) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-1-SCI-026 P3 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-27

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Naomi & Mokhine (SAAO PhD students). Visitors: Fernando Camilo & Ana Corrochano

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Summary
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Technical support team did a remarkable job at getting us back on sky after a bearing on the shutter broke when we opened in the beginning of the evening. Night cut short by high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-030 P1 RSS (Target of opportunity for variable AGN)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (x10) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)

Night Log 2017-10-26

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Naomi & Mokhine (SAAO PhD students). Eben.

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Summary
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Lost half the night to high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2016-2-MLT-006 P1 RSS (x2) (Unravelling starforming ring galaxies)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-011 P3 HRS (x6) (Studying the spectra of a new type of X-ray binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-25

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Naomi & Mokhine (SAAO PhD students). Enrico.

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Summary
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High humidity kept us closed. Night spent on closed-dome tests and calibrations.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-10-24

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others: Veronica, Ted via skype for FP, Marissa & Enrico, Mokhine, Naomi

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Summary
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Another productive night with very good seeing at times.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-DDT-008 P1 RSS (x2) (RINGS: The RSS Imaging spectroscopy Nearby Galaxy Survey)
2017-1-SCI-035 P1 RSS (Constraining merger timescales in clusters that host radio haloes)
2016-2-MLT-006 P1 RSS (x4) (Unravelling starforming ring galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (x4) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-056 P3 RSS (x2) (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-2-SCI-023 P3 RSS (White Dwarfs in the K2 survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x10) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-23

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others: Ted via skype for FP observations

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Summary
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Excellent dark night with very good seeing for second half that was put to good use.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-1-SCI-039 P1 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2017-1-DDT-008 P1 RSS (x2) (RINGS: The RSS Imaging spectroscopy Nearby Galaxy Survey)
2017-1-SCI-056 P2 RSS (x2) (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-022 P2 RSS (x2) (RINGS: The RSS Imaging spectroscopy Nearby Galaxy Survey)
2017-1-SCI-003 P3 RSS (H alpha observations on a T dwarf)
2017-2-SCI-023 P3 RSS (x3) (White Dwarfs in the K2 survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-10-22

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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Good seeing for most of another clear dark night.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-035 P1 RSS (x2) (Constraining merger timescales in clusters that host radio haloes)
2017-1-MLT-011 P2 HRS (Studying the spectra of a new type of X-ray binaries)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (x2) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-053 P3 RSS (Study of unclassified extragalactic NuSTAR serendipitous sources)
2017-1-SCI-056 P3 RSS (x2) (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-034 P3 RSS (x2) (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-1-MLT-006 P4 RSS (Monitoring the X-ray bright sgB[e] stars in Magellanic Clouds cc. @astro_Liz)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x6) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-10-21

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others: Thabelo

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Summary
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Dark night with stable seeing.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-1-SCI-035 P1 RSS (x2) (Constraining merger timescales in clusters that host radio haloes)
2017-1-SCI-061 P1 RSS (x4) (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-1-SCI-056 P2 RSS (x2) (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-034 P3 RSS (x2) (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-10-20

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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A productive dark night with better seeing in the second half allowing for some outstanding high priority blocks to be done.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-001 P1 RSS (Velocity dispersion measurements in SAGE0536AGN)
2017-1-SCI-061 P1 RSS (x2) (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (x2) (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-034 P3 RSS (x2) (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-023 P3 RSS (White Dwarfs in the K2 survey)

Night Log 2017-10-19

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others:

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Summary
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Observations during the first half of the night and closed a bit after midnight due to high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-061 P1 RSS (x2) (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-1-SCI-067 P3 HRS (HRS LR-mode spectra of lithium in NGC6822 AGB stars. )
2017-1-SCI-034 P3 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-023 P3 RSS (x2) (White Dwarfs in the K2 survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-10-18

SA: Brent
SO: Fred
Others:

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


Mostly bad seeing due to the leftovers of a cold front and closed with cloud around 2:50 am.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-014 P1 RSS (Measuring redshifts for galaxies in the MeerKAT LADUMA survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x6) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-030 P3 RSS (x2) (Target of opportunity for variable AGN)
2017-2-SCI-023 P3 RSS (x3) (White Dwarfs in the K2 survey)
2017-1-SCI-026 P3 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-10-17

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Brent for handover, Tamara for a while

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


=> Very stable night with good seeing. Make a lot observations of the high priority.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-002 P1 RSS (x3) (Studying the growth of supermassive black holes with spectropolarimetry)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (x2) (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-056 P2 RSS (Unveiling powerful "hidden" black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-011 P3 RSS (x3) (Galaxies responsible for ultrastrong MgII absorption.)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-16

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> No any observations for the reason of very bad weather. Cold front came. High humidity and heavy clouds.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2017-10-15

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> Heavy clouds and high humidity. We were able to make only one observations before were closed by humidity.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (x2) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)

Night Log 2017-10-14

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while, spider Willy at TimDIMM

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


=> Very unstable night with humidity jumping from 30% to 70% some times and field of clouds coming several times. Moderate seeing. Were closed by humidity at about one hour before morning twilight.


Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-009 P1 RSS (Dark energy and the expansion rate of the Universe from quasar monitoring.)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-009 P1 SCAM (Dark energy and the expansion rate of the Universe from quasar monitoring.)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (x2) (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-10-13

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> Very unstable night with extremely bad seeing during first half and much better seeing during second half.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-001 P1 RSS (Velocity dispersion measurements in SAGE0536AGN)
2017-1-SCI-044 P1 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)
2017-1-SCI-002 P1 RSS (x2) (Studying the growth of supermassive black holes with spectropolarimetry)
2017-1-SCI-065 P2 RSS (Spectro-polarimetric study of a selected gamma-ray Seyfert galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-030 P3 RSS (Target of opportunity for variable AGN)
2017-1-SCI-011 P3 RSS (Galaxies responsible for ultrastrong MgII absorption.)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (x4) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-10-12

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> Very unstable night with clear sky but ugly seeing. We were closed by humidity at about midnight.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-065 P2 RSS (Spectro-polarimetric study of a selected gamma-ray Seyfert galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (x2) (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-10-11

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> Night with unstable weather during the first half and stable conditions with very good seeing during the second half



Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-009 P1 RSS (Identify the optical counterpart of a mysterious X-ray source)
2017-1-SCI-002 P1 RSS (x2) (Studying the growth of supermassive black holes with spectropolarimetry)
2017-1-SCI-068 P2 RSS (x2) (Connecting timescales of star formation and AGN activity in galaxies)
2017-1-SCI-026 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-1-SCI-059 P2 RSS (Eclipsing Supersoft source 1E 0035.4-7230)
2017-1-SCI-053 P2 RSS (x2) (Study of unclassified extragalactic NuSTAR serendipitous sources)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-011 P3 RSS (Galaxies responsible for ultrastrong MgII absorption.)
2017-1-SCI-030 P3 RSS (x3) (Target of opportunity for variable AGN)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (x2) (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-10

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others: Alexei for handover and Tamara

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


A productive night, with good weather conditions the whole night.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-040 P0 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-SCI-063 P3 SCAM (Studying the long-term behavior of classical novae after their eruptions)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (x2) (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-10-09

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A night shortened by high humidity and low temperatures.

Night Log 2017-10-08

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


We could observe for one program, before having to close due to bad weather.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)

Night Log 2017-10-07

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A productive night with moderate weather conditions. Humidity and clouds forced us to close towards the end of the night.


Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 SCAM (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-10-06

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A productive night, with good weather conditions

Night Log 2017-10-05

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A productive night, with good conditions. We lost a bit of time due to some technical issues.

Night Log 2017-10-04

SA: �ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A relatively good night, with moderate weather conditions.

Night Log 2017-10-03

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: �ric (for handover). Elias & Hannes (SAAO PhD student) in driver's seat(s).

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


Night cut short by thick clouds and high humidity.

Data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (x2) (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-10-02

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Elias (SAAO PhD student) in driver's seat. Enrico.

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


Cloudy night with reasonable seeing.

Data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-063 P3 SCAM (Studying the long-term behavior of classical novae after their eruptions)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x3) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)

Night Log 2017-10-01

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Hannes & Elias (SAAO PhD students) in the driver seat(s). Enrico.

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


Clear night with bad seeing.

Data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-038 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 SCAM (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 HRS (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (x2) (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (x2) (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-SCI-004 P4 HRS (Analyzing chemically peculiar subdwarfs and searching for the heavy-metal stars. )

Night Log 2017-09-30

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Elias & Hannes (SAAO PhD students) in the driver's seat(s). Enrico. Jeremy.

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


Clear night with variable seeing.

Data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 SCAM (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-064 P4 SCAM (Studying the long-term behavior of classical novae after their eruptions)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (x2) (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x6) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)

Night Log 2017-09-29

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Elias & Hannes (SAAO PhD students) in the driver's seat(s). UCT 3rd year students visiting from the 74".

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


Clear night with highly variable seeing.

Data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-039 P1 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x10) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-SCI-038 P4 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-064 P4 SCAM (Studying the long-term behavior of classical novae after their eruptions)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-09-28

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Elias & Hannes (SAAO PhD students). Visitors: ASSA (George) tourgroup with Case & Daniel as guides.

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


An initially cloudy night cleared up and seeing was fair throughout the workable part of the night.

Data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-039 P1 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2017-1-SCI-038 P3 HRS (x2) (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x7) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)

Night Log 2017-09-27

SA: Marissa
SO: Veronica
Others: Elias & Hannes (SAAO PhD students)

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


Cloudy night with bad seeing.

Data taken for:
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-038 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (x3) (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x12) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)

Night Log 2017-09-26

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others: Stephanie, Marissa (for handover), Enrico, Hannes and Elias

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


A rather good night with sub-arcsecond seeing at the start of the night. Very stable conditions throughout most of the night.

Data taken for:

2017-1-SCI-039 P1 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 SCAM (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-031 P4 HRS (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-006 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic observations of candidate massive stars associated with mid-infrared nebulae)

Night Log 2017-09-25

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others: Stephanie

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


High humidity and clouds prevented us from taking any data tonight.

Night Log 2017-09-24

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others: Stephanie

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


A pretty good night with relatively stable conditions.

Data taken for:

2017-1-SCI-039 P1 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2017-1-SCI-031 P1 SCAM (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)
2017-1-SCI-038 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P3 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-09-23

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others: Rudi's Family for a visit at the start of the night. Paul and Johan for HRS Guide Probe.

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


A night with a lot of technical errors and faults. We did manage to get some data in the first half of the night.

Data taken for:

2017-1-SCI-010 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-031 P4 HRS (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-004 P4 HRS (Analyzing chemically peculiar subdwarfs and searching for the heavy-metal stars. )
2017-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Night Log 2017-09-22

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others:

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


The night was cut short with high humidity and ridge cloud. We managed to get some data at the start of the night.

Data taken for:

2017-1-SCI-043 P3 HRS (verifying the Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-049 P4 HRS (Searching for new symbiotic stars)

Night Log 2017-09-21

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others:

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


The entire night was lost to clouds. No data taken.

Night Log 2017-09-20

SA: Rudi
SO: Fred
Others: Spider Willy at TimDIMM

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


A rather unstable night with not so good seeing. We were clouded out for the first half of the night.

Data taken for:

2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-058 P3 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2017-09-19

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Rudi and Fred for handover, spider Willy at TimDIMM...

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


=> Very unstable night with heavy clouds from the evening, rising humidity and very bad seeing up 7". We were closed by humidity finally.

=> Some data were taken for programs:
2017-1-SCI-043 P3 HRS (verifying the Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (x2) (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x3) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)

Night Log 2017-09-18

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Keith from the evening. Tamara for a while. Spider Willy at TimDIMM

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


=> Very stable night with very good seeing, but mostly with some cirrus and thin clouds. Many very high priority targets were observed.

=> Data were taken for programs:
2017-1-SCI-034 P1 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-1-MLT-007 P1 RSS (x2) (The goal of this project is to understand how Type Ia Supernovae explode)
2017-1-SCI-031 P1 SCAM (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)
2017-1-SCI-039 P2 HRS (x2) (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2017-1-SCI-067 P2 HRS (HRS LR-mode spectra of lithium in NGC6822 AGB stars. )
2017-1-SCI-057 P2 HRS (Spectroscopic observations of 5 new massive star candidates for characterisation purposes.)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-09-17

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Spider Willy at TimDIMM. Eben for some hours to check humidity limit.

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


=> Very unstable night with bad seeing. Humidity grows and closed us about midnight and drop down after while.

=> Data were taken for programs:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 SCAM (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-040 P1 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-SCI-038 P1 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-011 P2 HRS (x2) (Studying the spectra of a new type of X-ray binaries)
2017-1-SCI-011 P3 RSS (Galaxies responsible for ultrastrong MgII absorption.)
2017-1-SCI-056 P3 RSS (Unveiling powerful hidden black holes: spectroscopy of WISE-selected obscured quasars)
2017-1-SCI-031 P4 HRS (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)
2017-1-MLT-001 P4 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)

Night Log 2017-09-16

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: SALT-spider Willy at TimDIMM, Tamara for a while

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


=> Practically the whole night was lost due to heavy clouds and high humidity. We observed less than two hours from the evening before were closed by weather.

=> Data were taken for programs:
2017-1-SCI-011 P3 RSS (Galaxies responsible for ultrastrong MgII absorption.)
2017-1-SCI-006 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic observations of candidate massive stars associated with mid-infrared nebulae)

Night Log 2017-09-15

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> The whole night was lost due to heavy clouds and high humidity

Night Log 2017-09-14

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others: Tamara for a while

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


=> Very unstable night with many clouds and ugly seeing. Mostly P4 were observed for this reason. Were closed by bad seeing and clouds finally.

=> Data were taken for programs:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-031 P4 HRS (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)
2017-1-SCI-006 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic observations of candidate massive stars associated with mid-infrared nebulae)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (x3) (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)

Night Log 2017-09-13

SA: Alexei
SO: Veronica
Others:

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


=> Night starts with clouds, which come in and out couple of times. Seeing was very variable.

=> Data were taken for programs:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-066 P1 HRS (Measuring the strengths of temperature-sensitive TiO and atomic Ti lines in cool dwarfs)
2017-1-SCI-035 P1 RSS (Constraining merger timescales in clusters that host radio haloes)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x4) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-1-SCI-011 P3 RSS (x2) (Galaxies responsible for ultrastrong MgII absorption.)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)

Night Log 2017-09-12

SA: Rosalind
SO: Veronica
Others: Alexei for handover, Thabelo and Eben

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


A cloudy night. We observed a few bright targets at the start of the night.

Data taken for:

2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)

Night Log 2017-09-11

SA: Rosalind
SO: Veronica
Others: Keith and Derick (job shadow student), Kerry (friend of Ros), Thabelo and Johan

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
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A night of weather and FIF guide probe frustrations. Cloudy for the first half, with a glycol leak, then a FIF guide probe problem which couldn't be solved. One HRS block and some RSS data taken.

Data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-007 P1 RSS (x2) (The goal of this project is to understand how Type Ia Supernovae explode)
2017-1-SCI-044 P4 RSS (x3) (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)

Night Log 2017-09-10

SA: Rosalind
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Somewhat frustrating image quality and focus problems tonight, but little downtime and reasonable seeing. With less moonlight we could do some higher priority targets.

Data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-007 P1 RSS (The goal of this project is to understand how Type Ia Supernovae explode)
2017-1-SCI-026 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-1-SCI-040 P2 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (x2) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-061 P3 SCAM (x2) (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-049 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-SCI-044 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)
2017-1-SCI-031 P4 HRS (Deep Halpha imaging of old Nova Shells)

Night Log 2017-09-09

SA: Rosalind
SO: Veronica
Others: Mark and Eugenie Skelton, Hitesh

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Summary
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A night of bad seeing, resulting in weather downtime and only P4s successfully observed. We also spent time on image quality checks with Hitesh. Note that RSS had the same problem Encarni saw earlier in the week.

Data taken for:
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (x2) (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-004 P4 HRS (Analyzing chemically peculiar subdwarfs and searching for the heavy-metal stars. )

Night Log 2017-09-08

SA: Rosalind
SO: Veronica
Others: Mark and Eugenie Skelton visiting

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Summary
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Another smooth night with good seeing and mostly P4s due to the bright moon.

Data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 SCAM (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-066 P3 HRS (Measuring the strengths of temperature-sensitive TiO and atomic Ti lines in cool dwarfs)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-SCI-063 P3 SCAM (Studying the long-term behavior of classical novae after their eruptions)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x4) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x3) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-052 P4 HRS (x2) (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-SCI-024 P4 RSS (Classification of rapidly varying stars)

Night Log 2017-09-07

SA: Rosalind
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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A smooth bright night with good seeing. Mostly P4 blocks observed. We lost 42 minutes to high humidity and just 10 minutes of tech time.

Data taken for:
2017-1-SCI-066 P1 HRS (Measuring the strengths of temperature-sensitive TiO and atomic Ti lines in cool dwarfs)
2017-1-MLT-008 P3 RSS (Using Halpha emission to measure chromospheric variability on the coolest stars. )
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-SCI-049 P3 RSS (Searching for new symbiotic stars)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-1-SCI-025 P4 HRS (Determining the period of a multi-periodic pulsating binary system.)
2017-1-SCI-041 P4 HRS (x2) (HRS spectra to characterize stars that are periodically eclipsed by very low mass stars)
2016-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-SCI-010 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-SCI-058 P4 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)