TAO - Image acquisition with the MU script

	File locations and telescope name
	Station data
	Basic parameters which determine script behavior
	Dome parameters
	Filter parameters
	Safe telescope position/parking option
	Image compression parameters
	CCD camera parameters
	Telescope slewing parameters
	Telescope slew limits
	Pointing corrections
	Timing tolerance/ waiting times
	Bias frame parameters
	Dark frame parameters
	Flat field parameters
	Image shifts for binned calibration files
	Weather station parameters
	Focus parameters Page 1 Page 2
	Aiming exposure parameters

Starting MU

Sequence of events
during an observing
run using MU

Timing Refinement

Collecting timing
data

Analyzing timing
data

Adjusting the
empirical timing
correction

Other Tools

Slew time
measurement script

Minor Planet Checker
query script

Etc.

Image acquisition with the MU script

Customizing the MU script (continued)

CCD camera parameters

' CCD CAMERA PARAMETERS
dayCameraTemp = 0.                    ' Camera setpoint temperature (deg C) in daytime
nightCameraTemp = -20.                ' Camera setpoint temperature (deg C) in nighttime
CameraCoolingTime = 20.               ' Time (min) required by the camera to cool down from the 
                                      ' daytime setpoint to the nighttime setpoint; cooling will
                                      ' start this amount of time before sunset
waitForSetpoint = True                ' True to wait until nighttime setpoint temperature is
                                      ' reached within tolerance specified by setpointTol
setpointTol = 1.5                     ' Tolerance (deg C) for checking that nighttime setpoint 
                                      ' has been reached
dayTempOnCompletion = True            ' True to change CCD setpoint temperature to
                                      ' dayCameraTemp on script completion
unlinkOnCompletion = False            ' True to terminate link to the camera on 
                                      ' script completion

dayCameraTemp. Specify the working camera temperature (in degrees Celsius) to be used when the camera is not taking images (usually in daytime).
nightCameraTemp. Specify the working camera temperature (in degrees Celsius) to be used when the camera is taking images (usually at night or in twilight).
CameraCoolingTime. Specify the approximate time (in minutes) which the camera cooler takes to lower the temperature from dayCameraTemp to nightCameraTemp. The script will start to lower the camera temperature this amount of time before sunset.
waitForSetpoint. If you set this parameter to True, the script will only start taking calibration or science images after the camera temperature is within setpointTol degrees Celsius of the nighttime setpoint temperature (nightCameraTemp). While this ensures that all your images are taken at the desired temperature, it may lead to delays in starting the observations if the camera cooling system can't reach the nighttime setpoint fast enough (which may happen if you use a nighttime setpoint which is lower than the cooler may sustain, or if you start the script too late). If you set this parameter to False, the script will start taking images at a suitable time (usually imaging starts with taking bias and dark frames, immediately afer sunset), even though the camera temperature may be far from the nighttime setpoint.
setpointTol. Specify a temperature tolerance (in degrees Celsius) with respect to the nighttime setpoint temperature (nightCameraTemp). If waitForSetpoint is set to True, setpointTol is used to check if the nighttime setpoint temperature has been reached. Irrespective of the value of waitForSetpoint, a warning message will be produced if an image is taken when the camera temperature deviates from the nighttime setpoint by more than setpointTol degrees Celsius.
dayTempOncompletion. Set this to True to change the setpoint temeprature to its daytime value (dayCameraTemp) at the end of the night's observations, and to False to keep the setpoint at its nighttime value (nightCameraTemp) after the end of the observations.
unlinkOnCompletion. Set this to True to terminate the link from the observatory control computer to the CCD camera at the end of the night's observations.

Previous: Safe telescope position/parking option, image compression parameters
Next: Telescope slewing parameters

© 1999-2004 Paulo Holvorcem