Sunday, April 30, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-29

SA: Moses
SO: Thea
Others: Antoine, Eben

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Summary
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We had a very productive night despite some technical problems and poor seeing at times. We observed many blocks of mixed priority.

Science data taken for:
2022-1-MLT-004 P0 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-2-LSP-001 P1 RSS (Followup of Transients)
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2022-2-ORP-003 P1 RSS (Excluding optical counterparts for isolated neutron star candidates form the eROSITA All-Sky Survey)
2022-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (x2) (Longslit observations of MHONGOOSE Galaxies)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 RSS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (x4) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2021-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)

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Saturday, April 29, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-28

SA: Moses
SO: Thea
Others: Antoine

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Summary
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We had good night of very good seeing and clear skies after the initial bit of thick clouds cleared. We managed to observe many high priority blocks, just in time with the semester end in sight.



Science data taken for:
2022-1-MLT-004 P0 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2022-2-SCI-031 P1 RSS (Identifying emission line sources in the nearby galaxy NGC 3109)
2022-2-MLT-001 P1 RSS (x5) (Longslit observations of MHONGOOSE Galaxies)
2021-2-LSP-001 P2 RSS (x3) (Followup of Transients)
2019-1-MLT-008 P2 HRS (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2022-2-ORP-002 P2 RSS (Spectropolarimetric study of nearby galaxies.)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x2) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)

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Friday, April 28, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-27

SA: Moses
SO: Thea
Others: Antoine

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Summary
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Lost the whole night due to bad weather (high humidity)

No science data taken.

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Thursday, April 27, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-26

SA: Moses
SO: Thea
Others: Antoine, Eben (for NIRWALS)

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Summary
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We had very productive night despite the varying cloud cover throughout the night. The seeing was very good and we managed to observe many blocks throughout the night.

Science data taken for:
2022-1-MLT-004 P0 RSS (x2) (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Followup of Transients)
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (x2) (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2022-2-SCI-040 P1 RSS (This proposal characterizes the main sequence star in a co-moving system containing a brown dwarf.)
2022-2-MLT-004 P2 RSS (Redshift measurements of BL Lacs for the CTA project)
2022-2-SCI-024 P2 RSS (x2) (Spectroscopy of ultra-diffuse galaxies)
2022-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (Rotation curves of edge-on galaxies)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x3) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 RSS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2021-1-MLT-005 P3 RSS (x2) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2022-2-SCI-005 P4 RSS (Probing the quasar outflows.)

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-25

SA: Moses
SO: Xola
Others: Antoine, Bryne (for TimDimm)

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Summary
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The seeing was excellent tonight, the clouds stayed away and turned the night into a very productive first night back. Multiple P0s and many high priority blocks were observed tonight.

Science data taken for:
2021-2-LSP-001 P0 RSS (Followup of Transients)
2022-2-DDT-003 P0 RSS (Ionized gas observation of CHILES high-z HI detection candidate)
2022-2-SCI-023 P1 RSS (Probing the environment inside Extreme Emission Line Dwarf Galaxies)
2022-2-SCI-024 P2 RSS (x2) (Spectroscopy of ultra-diffuse galaxies)
2022-2-SCI-039 P2 RSS (x2) (Rotation curves of edge-on galaxies)
2022-2-SCI-015 P2 RSS (Study of the galaxies that produces strong MgII absorption in the spectra of the background quasars.)
2022-1-MLT-004 P2 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-1-MLT-005 P2 RSS (x2) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 RSS (x2) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-2-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Redshift measurements of BL Lacs for the CTA project)

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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-24

SA: Danièl
SO: Xola
Others:

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Summary
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High humidity kept us closed for the night.

No science data taken.

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Monday, April 24, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-23

SA: Danièl
SO: Xola
Others:

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Summary
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Thick clouds and high humidity kept us closed for the night.

No science data taken.

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Sunday, April 23, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-22

SA: Danièl
SO: Xola
Others:

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Summary
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The telescope is online again after the hexapod repairs, however the weather kept us closed.

No science data taken.

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Saturday, April 22, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-21

SA: Danièl
SO: Xola
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope is currently offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Friday, April 21, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-20

SA: Danièl
SO: Xola
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Thursday, April 20, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-19

SA: Danièl
SO: Xola
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-18

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-17

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Monday, April 17, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-16

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Sunday, April 16, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-15

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Saturday, April 15, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-14

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Telescope offline until further notice.

No science data taken.

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Friday, April 14, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-13

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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The H4 hexapod leg was removed today to diagnose the tracker problems. Telescope is offline tonight.

No science data taken.

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Thursday, April 13, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-12

SA: Lee
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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The tracker problems worsened during the day today, so the decision was made to take the telescope offline tonight to allow further investigation tomorrow. The weather played along, with thick cloud and some rain spells keeping us closed for the night anyway.

No science data taken.

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Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-11

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Wimpy, Lee for handover, UKZN NASSP students

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Summary
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Another eventful night with lots of tracker related problems and some bad weather also. We did manage to complete some high priority blocks in between all the troubles.

Science data taken for:
2019-1-MLT-008 P2 HRS (x4) (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2021-1-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2022-2-SCI-038 P2 HRS (What Causes the Mysterious Superorbital Modulation in Supergiant X-ray Binaries?)
2022-1-MLT-003 P2 RSS (Void galaxies in the Local Volume: probing peculiarities of their chemical evolution)
2021-1-MLT-005 P3 RSS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x2) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-2-SCI-005 P4 RSS (Probing the quasar outflows.)

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Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-10

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Taygen, Nico

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Summary
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Another night filled with tracker problems. We managed to get only a few blocks observed in the middle of the night when the tracker was happy.

Science data taken for:
2022-1-MLT-004 P0 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Followup of Transients)
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2022-2-ORP-001 P2 RSS (Parameter studies of southern AM CVn stars)
2022-2-SCI-011 P3 HRS (Discovering new metal-poor stars)
2021-2-MLT-006 P4 HRS (Accurate parameters of stars in Tight Triple Systems)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Monday, April 10, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-09

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Taygen, Wimpy, Nico

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Summary
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Manged to get a few blocks observed, but we had a lot of technical downtime tonight as well as some weather downtime at the end of the night.

Science data taken for:
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-2-MLT-006 P4 HRS (Accurate parameters of stars in Tight Triple Systems)
2021-2-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Spectropolarimetric Monitoring of eta Car)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (x3) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Sunday, April 9, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-08

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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Only managed to get 4 blocks observed before the humidity forced us to close.

Science data taken for:
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 HRS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Saturday, April 8, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-07

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others:

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Summary
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We managed a few blocks before the humidity forced us to close.

Science data taken for:
2018-2-MLT-005 P0 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 HRS (x3) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)

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Friday, April 7, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-06

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Nico, Wimpy

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Summary
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Another night with quite a lot of technical downtime due to the h4 hexapod causing problems on the tracker and some clouds at the beginning of the night. Managed to observe a few high priority blocks.

Science data taken for:
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2021-2-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2019-1-MLT-008 P2 HRS (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2021-1-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2018-2-MLT-005 P2 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (x3) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Thursday, April 6, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-05

SA: Rudi
SO: Veronica
Others: Wimpy, Nico

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Summary
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Lots of technical errors tonight. We managed to get a few blocks observed, but mostly low priority due to the bright moon.

Science data taken for:
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2019-1-MLT-008 P2 HRS (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 RSS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (x5) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2021-2-MLT-004 P4 RSS (Spectropolarimetric Monitoring of eta Car)
2021-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)

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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-04

SA: Solohery
SO: Thea
Others: Rudi

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Summary
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A full and smooth night with several blocks of mix priority were observed. Clear skies all night and good seeing.

Science data taken for:
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2022-2-ORP-001 P2 RSS (Parameter studies of southern AM CVn stars)
2022-2-ORP-004 P2 HRS (Spectroscopic classification of Gaia alert microlensing event candidates)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 HRS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2019-1-MLT-008 P3 HRS (x4) (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2021-1-MLT-005 P3 RSS (x5) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 RSS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-2-MLT-002 P4 HRS (Follow-up of tight stellar quadruples)
2021-2-MLT-006 P4 HRS (Accurate parameters of stars in Tight Triple Systems)

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Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-03

SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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=> Were closed by humidity at about midnight with unstable weather conditions. Some blocks were observed during first half of the night.

Science data taken for:
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2021-2-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2022-2-SCI-017 P4 HRS (Observations of ssrAp stars @dlhwp)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Night Log 2023-04-03

SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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=> Were closed by humidity at about midnight with unstable weather conditions. Some blocks were observed during first half of the night.

Science data taken for:
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2021-2-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-1-MLT-004 P3 RSS (Observations of supernovae, near and far. @_sublunar_)
2022-2-SCI-017 P4 HRS (Observations of ssrAp stars @dlhwp)
2021-1-MLT-005 P4 RSS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Monday, April 3, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-02

SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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=> Night with bright moon and good seeing. Were closed some time because clouds. Many blocks of different priorities were observed.

Science data taken for:
2021-2-LSP-001 P0 HRS (Followup of Transients)
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2021-2-MLT-004 P1 RSS (Spectropolarimetric Monitoring of eta Car)
2022-1-MLT-003 P2 RSS (Void galaxies in the Local Volume: probing peculiarities of their chemical evolution)
2019-1-MLT-008 P2 HRS (x2) (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2018-2-MLT-005 P2 RSS (Probing the winds from massive binary star supernova progenitors)
2021-1-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2021-1-MLT-005 P3 RSS (x2) (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)

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Sunday, April 2, 2023

Night Log 2023-04-01

SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others:

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Summary
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=> Stable night with clear sky and good to moderate seeing. Many high priority blocks were observed.

Science data taken for:
2022-2-SCI-032 P1 RSS (x2) (Unveiling deeply hidden growing black holes)
2022-2-COM-001 P1 HRS (HS pipeline observations @dlhwp)
2022-2-SCI-024 P2 RSS (Spectroscopy of ultra-diffuse galaxies)
2021-1-MLT-005 P2 HRS (Tracing the history of extreme helium stars)
2022-2-SCI-038 P2 HRS (What Causes the Mysterious Superorbital Modulation in Supergiant X-ray Binaries?)
2022-2-SCI-006 P3 RSS (Optical followup of MALS targets.)
2019-1-MLT-008 P3 HRS (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2022-2-SCI-017 P4 HRS (Observations of ssrAp stars @dlhwp)
2021-2-MLT-005 P4 HRS (x2) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2021-2-MLT-006 P4 HRS (x2) (Accurate parameters of stars in Tight Triple Systems)

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Saturday, April 1, 2023

Night Log 2023-03-31

SA: Alexei
SO: Thea
Others: Jonathan and Thabelo to fix problems

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Summary
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=> Nice and stable the first night of observations after RSS was back. Some calibrations and standard tests were done. Many high priority blocks were observed

Science data taken for:
2019-1-MLT-008 P1 HRS (HRS monitoring of yellow symbiotic systems)
2022-2-SCI-032 P1 RSS (Unveiling deeply hidden growing black holes)
2022-2-SCI-016 P1 HRS (x2) (Spectroscopic classification of Gaia microlensing event candidates)
2022-2-SCI-038 P2 HRS (What Causes the Mysterious Superorbital Modulation in Supergiant X-ray Binaries?)
2022-2-SCI-024 P2 RSS (Spectroscopy of ultra-diffuse galaxies)
2021-2-MLT-005 P3 RSS (x2) (Monitoring the activity of Be/X-ray binaries in the southern hemisphere)
2022-2-SCI-006 P3 RSS (Optical followup of MALS targets.)

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