Customizing the MU script

Before starting the customization of the MU script, it is usually a good idea to copy directory TAO\ACP_scripts\MU from the computer where you have installed TAO to the observatory control computer (unless you use a single computer to produce observation schedules and to control the observatory). This directory contains the MU image acquisition script (MU.vbe) and its configuration file (MU.cfg).

The MU script may be customized by editing the copy of MU.cfg on the observatory control computer and changing the values of various parameters to suit your needs. There are over a hundred parameters which may be adjusted by the user. Adjusting all these parameters may at first seem a daunting task, but it is definitely worth the effort. After the script is properly customized, you should be able to enjoy many trouble-free observing runs, during which you may sleep or do other things. It should also be noted that your first parameter choices in MU.cfg may not work perfectly; in this case, the results of your first observing runs will be helpful in finding out which parameters need to be readjusted. The end result would be a fine-tuned MU.cfg file which produces smooth, trouble-free observing runs.

The MU configuration file is divided into several sections. The various parameters which may be specified in each section are explained below and in the next pages.

File locations and telescope name

' FILE LOCATIONS AND TELESCOPE NAME:
obsDir = "c:\TAO\obs"                 ' Directory which stores target lists, log files, and
                                      ' calibration files; a separate subdirectory
                                      ' will be created for each night
userDir = "c:\TAO\users"              ' Directory containing users' subdirectories; for
                                      ' each user, a separate subdirectory will be created
                                      ' for each night
userFile = "c:\TAO\users\users.txt"   ' File containing IDs of registered users
telescopeName = "Tel-1"               ' Set this parameter to the telescope name in case you
                                      ' you wish to save the data for a given night in
                                      ' directories with names of the form yymmdd_telescopeName
                                      ' (telescope names should not contain blank spaces); set
                                      ' this to an empty string if you wish to save the data for
                                      ' a given night in directories with names of the form yymmdd

This section specifies the telescope name and the directories where target lists, log files, and CCD images will be stored:

• obsDir. This specifies a directory where log files, calibration files (bias, darks, and flats), and target lists to be executed will be stored. MU creates separate subdirectories in obsDir for each night. These will have names of the form \yymmdd_telescopeName (if a non-blank telescope name is specified in the parameter telescopeName) or \yymmdd (if telescopeName is set to an empty string). If MU will run on a remote observatory, directory obsDir and its subdirectories must be made accessible to the people which have permission to upload target lists (usually the telescope's administrators). This is easily done with a FTP server program. Note that obsDir may be located on any computer in the observatory's local network (not necessarily on the observatory control computer).

• userDir. This specifies a directory where the CCD images taken for each user (plus calibration files, which are distributed to all users) will be stored. The data for a specific user are stored in a subdirectory \userID, whose name is equal to the 3-character ID assigned to the user in its user profile. The data taken for a specific user on various nights are stored in individual subdirectories with names of the form \userID\yymmdd_telescopeName (if a non-blank telescope name is specified in the parameter telescopeName) or \userID\yymmdd (if telescopeName is set to an empty string). Within each of these directories, science images and calibration files are stored in separate subdirectories:

  Directory	Contents
  \userID\yymmdd_telescopeName\images or \userID\yymmdd\images	Science images (available immediately after they are taken) and calibrate.zip file (containing all calibration files required to calibrate the user's images taken during the night in consideration; this file will only be produced if the parameter CalibrateZip is set to True)
  \userID\yymmdd_telescopeName\bias or \userID\yymmdd\bias	Bias frames (available shortly after they are taken, usually sometime between sunset and the end of evening twilight; bias frames will only be taken if the parameter takeBias is set to True)
  \userID\yymmdd_telescopeName\dark or \userID\yymmdd\dark	Dark frames (available shortly after they are taken, usually sometime between sunset and the end of evening twilight; dark frames will only be taken if the parameter takeDarks is set to True)
  \userID\yymmdd_telescopeName\EveningFlat or \userID\yymmdd\EveningFlat	Flat fields taken in evening twilight (available shortly after they are taken, usually sometime between sunset and the end of evening twilight; evening flats will only be taken if the parameter takeFlatsAtSunset is set to True)
  \userID\yymmdd_telescopeName\MorningFlat or \userID\yymmdd\MorningFlat	Flat fields taken in morning twilight (available shortly after they are taken, usually sometime between the start of morning twilight and sunrise; morning flats will only be taken if the parameter takeFlatsAtSunrise is set to True)

  Note: Calibration files are stored in directory obsDir when they are produced, and subsequently copied to the above subdirectories in the individual user directories.

  If MU will run on a remote observatory, each user directory \userID inside userDir must be made accessible to the corresponding user with the help of a FTP server program. Note that userDir may be located on any computer on the observatory's local network (not necessarily on the observatory control computer).

• userFile. This is the full path of a plain text file containing the 3-character IDs of the various observatory users (these are the same IDs which appear in the user profiles), one per line. A sample userFile would be

  PRH CGD HCE

  This sample file is available at TAO\users\users.txt, and may be edited to suit your needs.

  Note: Only those users listed in userFile will receive copies of the night's calibration files. Other users whose 3-character IDs appear on a target list being executed will receive only their science images.

• telescopeName. You may use this parameter to define a name for the telescope (the name should not contain blank spaces), or set it to an empty string. As discussed above, the telescope name will be appended to the names of certain data directories. This is useful in case you use the same directories obsDir and userDir to store images taken with more than one telescope, each running its own copy of MU. If you use different names for different telescopes, data from different telescopes will be kept in separate subdirectories.