Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-30

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Rudi, Fred

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


No observations possible tonight. High humidity and thick clouds.

No science data taken.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-29

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Jonathan, Waanie, Liam

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


Various technical issues tonight but otherwise several high priority blocks completed.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-1-MLT-002 P2 HRS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-041 P4 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)

Monday, January 29, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-28

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Waanie

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


A very good night with some poor seeing at the start that settled once the wind shifted to the NE.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (x3) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-002 P0 HRS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2017-2-SCI-019 P1 RSS (Studying newly-identified Irregular Variable Stars)
2017-2-SCI-056 P1 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (x3) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-021 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x4) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-007 P3 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2017-2-SCI-001 P3 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-27

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others:

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


Managed to get a short observation after mirror alignment before closing due to high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-26

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Paul R. and visitor from NI, Waanie

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


No science data taken tonight. High humidity and heavy clouds.

No science data taken.

Friday, January 26, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-25

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others:

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


Less humid than last night and with worse seeing. Still managed to get quite a bit done, including taking calibration data for SCAM.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-1-MLT-002 P0 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-1-MLT-007 P1 RSS (x2) (The goal of this project is to understand how Type Ia Supernovae explode)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-24

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Waanie

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


Night cut short by high humidity but we managed to get 4 blocks observed.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-002 P0 HRS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-23

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Brent for handover

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


Most of the night lost to bad weather (humidity was very high).
We could observe one high priority target before closing, and we have been doing some engineering tests also.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Night Log 2018-01-22

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


No observations tonight, the telescope was offline.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-21

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Steve C, Sarah

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


The whole night was lost to weather.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-20

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


Almost the whole night lost to weather.
And when we could open again, some techincal issues with one CCD prevented us from observing very efficiently.


Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Night Log 2018-01-19

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


The whole night was lost to weather.
We could perform some tests while we were closed.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-18

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A mixed night. We stayed closed during the first half because of the weather. then, the weather conditions were not very good.
And we did a long engineering test that lasted almost two hours.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-17

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


The night started well, with good conditions, but then, clouds and bad seeing prevented us from observing during the last part of the night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-025 P2 HRS (Investigation of variability of absorption lines due to ISM towards vela SNR.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-030 P4 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2018-01-16

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others: Eric (for handover), Thabelo, Jonathan (on the phone)

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


The night started with a few technical issues and ended with some pretty poor seeing conditions. We did mange to get some good data in the middle though.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-15

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A rather unstable night with very poor seeing conditions. We were forced to close an hour early due to high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
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)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-029 P4 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)

Night Log 2018-01-14

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


Another good night with lots of time for science and not a lot of technical issues.

Science 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-MLT-010 P1 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-014 P2 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)

Night Log 2018-01-13

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A full night of relatively good seeing and stable conditions. We had one small technical error.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-010 P1 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-042 P1 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-031 P2 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x2) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2016-2-LSP-001 P2 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2018-01-12

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A rather good night with a larger number of high priority targets at the start of the night. The seeing deteriorated towards the end of the night.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x4) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x3) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-11

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A good night with relatively stable conditions and no technical downtime.

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-SCI-035 P1 RSS (The nature of the most extreme starburst galaxies )
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x2) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (x3) (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-041 P4 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)

Night Log 2018-01-10

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A night with highly variable seeing, making observations difficult to schedule.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-017 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)

Night Log 2018-01-09

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Rudi for handover.

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


The night started clear but with annoyingly variable seeing, but it stabilized after around 11pm and left us with really nice conditions! :)

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-045 P1 RSS (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-2-SCI-006 P1 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-2-SCI-007 P2 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
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-039 P3 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-021 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-005 P4 RSS (x2) (Extraplanar gas and dust in edge-on disc galaxies)

Night Log 2018-01-15

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A rather unstable night with very poor seeing conditions. We were forced to close an hour early due to high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
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)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-029 P4 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)

Night Log 2018-01-24

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Waanie

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


Night cut short by high humidity but we managed to get 4 blocks observed.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-002 P0 HRS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-23

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Brent for handover

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


Most of the night lost to bad weather (humidity was very high).
We could observe one high priority target before closing, and we have been doing some engineering tests also.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Night Log 2018-01-22

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


No observations tonight, the telescope was offline.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-21

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Steve C, Sarah

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


The whole night was lost to weather.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-20

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


Almost the whole night lost to weather.
And when we could open again, some techincal issues with one CCD prevented us from observing very efficiently.


Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Night Log 2018-01-19

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


The whole night was lost to weather.
We could perform some tests while we were closed.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-18

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A mixed night. We stayed closed during the first half because of the weather. then, the weather conditions were not very good.
And we did a long engineering test that lasted almost two hours.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-17

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


The night started well, with good conditions, but then, clouds and bad seeing prevented us from observing during the last part of the night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-025 P2 HRS (Investigation of variability of absorption lines due to ISM towards vela SNR.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-030 P4 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2018-01-16

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others: Eric (for handover), Thabelo, Jonathan (on the phone)

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


The night started with a few technical issues and ended with some pretty poor seeing conditions. We did mange to get some good data in the middle though.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-14

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


Another good night with lots of time for science and not a lot of technical issues.

Science 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-MLT-010 P1 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-014 P2 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)

Night Log 2018-01-13

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A full night of relatively good seeing and stable conditions. We had one small technical error.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-010 P1 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-042 P1 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-031 P2 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x2) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2016-2-LSP-001 P2 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2018-01-12

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A rather good night with a larger number of high priority targets at the start of the night. The seeing deteriorated towards the end of the night.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x4) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x3) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-11

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A good night with relatively stable conditions and no technical downtime.

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-SCI-035 P1 RSS (The nature of the most extreme starburst galaxies )
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x2) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (x3) (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-041 P4 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)

Night Log 2018-01-10

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A night with highly variable seeing, making observations difficult to schedule.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-017 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)

Night Log 2018-01-09

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Rudi for handover.

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


The night started clear but with annoyingly variable seeing, but it stabilized after around 11pm and left us with really nice conditions! :)

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-045 P1 RSS (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-2-SCI-006 P1 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-2-SCI-007 P2 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
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-039 P3 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-021 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-005 P4 RSS (x2) (Extraplanar gas and dust in edge-on disc galaxies)

Night Log 2018-01-22

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


No observations tonight, the telescope was offline.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-24

SA: Brent
SO: Veronica
Others: Waanie

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


Night cut short by high humidity but we managed to get 4 blocks observed.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-002 P0 HRS (Observations of supernovae, near and far.)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-15

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A rather unstable night with very poor seeing conditions. We were forced to close an hour early due to high humidity.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
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)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x5) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-012 P4 HRS (x2) (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-029 P4 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)

Night Log 2018-01-20

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


Almost the whole night lost to weather.
And when we could open again, some techincal issues with one CCD prevented us from observing very efficiently.


Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Night Log 2018-01-19

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


The whole night was lost to weather.
We could perform some tests while we were closed.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-18

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A mixed night. We stayed closed during the first half because of the weather. then, the weather conditions were not very good.
And we did a long engineering test that lasted almost two hours.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-14

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


Another good night with lots of time for science and not a lot of technical issues.

Science 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-MLT-010 P1 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-014 P2 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-029 P3 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)

Night Log 2018-01-11

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A good night with relatively stable conditions and no technical downtime.

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-SCI-035 P1 RSS (The nature of the most extreme starburst galaxies )
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x2) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (x3) (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-041 P4 HRS (A homogeneous sample of RR Lyrae)

Night Log 2018-01-17

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


The night started well, with good conditions, but then, clouds and bad seeing prevented us from observing during the last part of the night.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-025 P2 HRS (Investigation of variability of absorption lines due to ISM towards vela SNR.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-030 P4 HRS (Metal-Poor Subdwarfs for Stellar Modeling Calibration)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2018-01-23

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Brent for handover

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


Most of the night lost to bad weather (humidity was very high).
We could observe one high priority target before closing, and we have been doing some engineering tests also.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Night Log 2018-01-22

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others:

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


No observations tonight, the telescope was offline.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-21

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Steve C, Sarah

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


The whole night was lost to weather.

No science data taken.

Night Log 2018-01-16

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others: Eric (for handover), Thabelo, Jonathan (on the phone)

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


The night started with a few technical issues and ended with some pretty poor seeing conditions. We did mange to get some good data in the middle though.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (x2) (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-012 P3 HRS (Detailled study of CEMP stars identified in the RAVE survey)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (x2) (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-10

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A night with highly variable seeing, making observations difficult to schedule.

Science data taken for:
2017-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-017 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-1-MLT-010 P3 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)

Night Log 2018-01-12

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A rather good night with a larger number of high priority targets at the start of the night. The seeing deteriorated towards the end of the night.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x4) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x3) (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-1-MLT-010 P4 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)

Night Log 2018-01-13

SA: Rudi
SO: Thea
Others:

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


A full night of relatively good seeing and stable conditions. We had one small technical error.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-010 P1 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-042 P1 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-031 P2 HRS (The extent of the circumgalactic medium at z ~ 3.7)
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (x2) (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2016-2-LSP-001 P2 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-020 P4 RSS (Looking at chromospheric emission in stars which host exoplanets)

Night Log 2018-01-09

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Rudi for handover.

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


The night started clear but with annoyingly variable seeing, but it stabilized after around 11pm and left us with really nice conditions! :)

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-045 P1 RSS (Confirmation and redshift determination of galaxy clusters.)
2017-2-SCI-006 P1 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-2-SCI-007 P2 HRS (Searching for heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme-helium stars. )
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
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-039 P3 RSS (Probing the structure of relativistic jets of AGN with SALT, Gaia and VLBI.)
2016-2-LSP-001 P3 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-021 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-005 P4 RSS (x2) (Extraplanar gas and dust in edge-on disc galaxies)

Night Log 2018-01-23

SA: ��ric
SO: Thea
Others: Brent for handover

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


Most of the night lost to bad weather (humidity was very high).
We could observe one high priority target before closing, and we have been doing some engineering tests also.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-08

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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


Very thin cloud most of the night, and the seeing jumping up and down like a frantic flea!


Science data taken for:
2015-2-MLT-006 P2 RSS (Characterising Strong Gravitational Lensing systems)
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2016-2-LSP-001 P2 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (x3) (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-021 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)
2017-2-SCI-005 P4 RSS (Extraplanar gas and dust in edge-on disc galaxies)
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)

Monday, January 8, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-07

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Ant. Ana, Liam, Stephen, Mrs. Potter

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


Very cloudy and humid night. Managed to observe only a few blocks in a small gap before we were forced to close again. Better luck tomorrow I hope!

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-004 P4 RSS (x2) (Monitoring the line emission in Southern Galactic Be/X-ray binaries)
2017-2-SCI-029 P4 HRS (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)
2017-2-SCI-021 P4 HRS (Spectroscopic investigation of selected southern lambda Boo - type stars)

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-06

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Ana, Liam, Stephen, Mrs. Potter.

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


What a gorgeous night, with clear stable skies and good seeing! :)



Science data taken for:
2017-2-DDT-001 P1 RSS (Studying the chemistry of galaxies over 4 billion light years away)
2017-2-SCI-051 P1 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-038 P2 RSS (Population study of stellar rotation rates in open clusters)
2017-2-SCI-006 P2 RSS (Gas dynamics in NGC300 and NGC4945)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (x2) (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-1-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Spectroscopic investigations of Cepheids and stars belonging to open clusters and associations)
2017-2-SCI-042 P3 RSS (x2) (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-05

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Ana, Liam, Stephen, Mrs. Potter. Thabelo and Johan for the payload.

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


Another cirrussy night start followed by clear skies, all splashed with good seeing. Unfortunately, a technical problem stopped us at around 1:40 am. Our tech team worked for hours and managed to fix it during twilight, when the sky was already too bright for more science observations.

Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-042 P1 RSS (The central molecular zones of southern galaxies)
2017-2-SCI-056 P1 RSS (Measuring Galaxy Kinematics For Construction of the Velocity Function)
2017-2-SCI-025 P2 HRS (x2) (Investigation of variability of absorption lines due to ISM towards vela SNR.)

Friday, January 5, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-04

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Ana, Liam, Stephen, Mrs. Potter.

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


A cloudy start to the night, which got progressively worse until around 11pm and then cleared up after midnight.

Science data taken for:
2017-1-MLT-013 P2 HRS (Asteroseismology of close binary stars with mass transfer.)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-MLT-006 P2 HRS (x2) (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)
2017-2-SCI-038 P2 RSS (Population study of stellar rotation rates in open clusters)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (x2) (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-027 P3 HRS (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-012 P3 HRS (The Origin and Fate of Very Fast Rotators among Evolved Massive Stars)
2017-2-SCI-022 P4 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-SCI-029 P4 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopy of TESS targets)

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-03

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others: Ant, Nick, Stephen, Ana, Liam and Mrs. Potter.

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


A beautiful and productive night with a pretty Moon and zero problems. :)



Science data taken for:
2016-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (x2) (Observing optical counterparts of transient objects)
2017-2-SCI-001 P2 RSS (Line profile variations in RX J0622.6-2318)
2017-2-SCI-017 P2 HRS (HRS observations of symbiotic stars)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-2-SCI-013 P2 HRS (On the orbital period of a roAp star @dlhwp)
2017-2-SCI-014 P3 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (x2) (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)
2017-2-SCI-051 P3 RSS (spectroscopic identification of ultra compact binary candidates)

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Night Log 2018-01-02

SA: Encarni
SO: Veronica
Others:

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


Happy New Year 2018! :)

A beautiful and productive night with a rather bright Moon in clear skies.


Science data taken for:
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)
2016-2-MLT-005 P1 HRS (Investigating the chemical composition of bright star beta Pic and its nearby circumstellar material)
2017-2-SCI-027 P2 HRS (Measuring the orbits of double white dwarfs.)
2017-1-MLT-010 P2 HRS (Searching for evolved binary stars with long orbital periods)
2017-2-SCI-019 P2 RSS (Studying newly-identified Irregular Variable Stars)
2017-1-MLT-001 P2 HRS (Study of long-period eclipsing binaries)
2017-2-SCI-022 P3 HRS (Measuring the interstellar abundance of lithium in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
2017-2-MLT-006 P3 HRS (Studying the composition of Binary stars to estimate their ages)