' DOME PARAMETERS
AutomatedDome = False                 ' True to use an automated dome
AutomatedDomeType = "SciTech"         ' Currently only the SciTech dome control object
                                      ' is supported
openDomeWhenSunDown = False           ' True to open the dome shutter when the sun is below    
                                      ' the horizon
closeDomeOnCompletion = False         ' True to close dome upon completion (this has no
                                      ' effect unless AutomatedDome = True)
noMotionUntilDomeOpen = True          ' True to prevent all telescope motion until the dome
                                      ' is open

• AutomatedDome. Set this to True if your telescope is enclosed in an automated dome, and to False otherwise (in which case the remaining parameters in this section of the configuration file will have no effect).

  Note: If your telescope is housed in a building with a roll-off roof which may be controlled by a computer, it should be possible to add support for your roof control software in the MU script. In this case, you would set AutomatedDome to True in the configuration file, and the remaining parameters in this section would refer to the roof rather than to a dome. Please contact the author about adding support for a roof control software.

• AutomatedDomeType. Specify the dome control software which is used with your automated dome. The only currently supported software is SciTech's dome control software (specified by setting this parameter to SciTech). Please contact the author about adding support to other dome control software.

• openDomeWhenSunDown. Set this to True to enable the opening of the dome immediately after sunset, otherwise set it to False (which is useful in daytime tests in which the dome must remain closed).

• closeDomeOnCompletion. Set this to True to enable the closing of the dome after the end of the night's observations (which should happen some time before sunrise), otherwise set it to False.

• noMotionUntilDomeOpen. Set this to True to prevent all telescope motion before the dome is opened (which happens after sunset if openDomeWhenSunDown is set to True). This is sometimes helpful with SciTech telescopes.

Filter parameters

' FILTER PARAMETERS
FilterWheel = False                   ' True if you use an automated filter wheel
FilterWheelType = "SciTech"           ' Set this to "SciTech" if using SciTech's filter
                                      ' wheel control object; all other filter wheels
                                      ' are controlled using MaxIm DL's CCDCamera object
FilterFile = "c:\TAO\obs\filters.txt" ' Text file containing filter numbers, names, and 
                                      ' information needed by the automated flat field routines
fixedFilter = "unfiltered"            ' If you do not use an automated filter wheel, set this
                                      ' parameter to the fixed filter you use

• FilterWheel. Set this to True if you use an automated filter wheel, and to False otherwise (in which case the next two parameters have no effect).

• FilterWheelType. Specify the software which controls your automated filter wheel. Set this to Maxim if the filter wheel is controlled through MaximDL CCD, and to SciTech if it is controlled by SciTech's telescope control software. Please contact the author about adding support to other filter wheel control software.

• FilterFile. This is the full path of a plain text file which specifies the names of the filters in your filter wheel, their positions on the wheel (specified by an integer number), the sun altitude windows for taking flat fields in each filter in both evening and morning twilight, and an aggressiveness parameter for each filter, which determines how quickly the flat field exposure times are changed as the sky brightness changes during twilight. A sample FilterFile, which may be edited to suit your needs, can be found at TAO\obs\filters.txt:

  1 U eveningwindow=(-3.00,-3.00) morningwindow=(-4.00,-3.00) aggress=0.5 2 B eveningwindow=(-4.00,-3.00) morningwindow=(-4.00,-4.00) aggress=0.6 3 V eveningwindow=(-5.00,-4.00) morningwindow=(-4.00,-4.00) aggress=0.4 4 R eveningwindow=(-5.00,-5.00) morningwindow=(-5.00,-4.00) aggress=0.6 5 I eveningwindow=(-5.75,-5.00) morningwindow=(-5.00,-5.00) aggress=0.5 6 clear eveningwindow=(-6.50,-5.75) morningwindow=(-6.50,-5.00) aggress=0.6

  Both evening and morning twilight may be arbitrarily divided into windows for taking flats with each filter. Each window is defined by a range of (negative) sun altitudes. For example, in the above sample file the evening flats in the B filter are taken when the sun is at altitudes between -4.00 and -3.00 deg. The sun altitude windows should not overlap, and are usually adjacent to each other. When you do not wish to take flats in a certain filter in either evening or morning twilight, you should use a sun altitude window whose two ends are equal. In the above sample file, this was done for the U and R filters in evening twilight, and for the B, V, and I filters in morning twilight. Note also that, in the above sample file, unfiltered flat fields (clear filter) would be taken both in the evening and morning twilights. The aggressiveness parameter for each filter may need to be adjusted in conjunction with the sun altitude windows and other flat field parameters to ensure that a sufficient number of individual flats with appropriate average pixel counts are obtained during the specified time windows. A larger aggressiveness parameter will cause the script to increase (decrease) the exposure time more quickly as the sun altitude decreases (increases) during evening (morning) twilight. It is suggested that the aggressiveness values listed in the above sample file be tried before attempting any adjustment. Aggressiveness values should be changed by small amounts, since the resulting pixel counts are often very sensitive to such changes.

  Note: The filter names and numbers listed in FilterFile should agree with those listed in the filter specification file discussed earlier in connection with the customization of the scheduler.

• fixedFilter. If you do not use an automated filter wheel, set this to the name of the fixed filter you use. If you use an automated filter wheel, this parameter has no effect.