David's Astronomy - Notes 2019-09-28 (S00701)

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Notes - Session 701 (2019-09-28)

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(S700)

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Notes
(S702)


	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result - Night Summary Plot - Session Event Log

	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0), Major Issues (0), Minor Issues (4), Continuous Improvement (5)

	PHD2 Update to V2.6.6 dev2
	ImageMagick

	Images from 2019-09-28 >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2019-09-28)

Main aims

Centering Chart: Test out fixes to 'Centering Charts' (AstroMain 3.11.6)
Mixed Target - Image a selection of targets, but mainly Open Clusters, Variable Stars and Nearby Star Targets due to bright moonlit sky conditions
Software & Systems - Check stability of software and presence of any side effects following ongoing enhancements to AstroMain and associated support programs.

Equipment & Software

12" LX200 and ST-10XME
80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, PHD2, POTH Hub
Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
AstroMain 3.12.2, Astroguard 1.2.4, AstroPlan 1.11.2, AstroVOE 1.3.1, UPB 1.4.17 (AstroWeather 1.7.8, AstroAllSky 3.4.11)

Highlights

None

Lowlights

None

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Slew/Centering Performance

Dome Slewing Performance

Night Sky Summary Plot
Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s)
Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Pre-Session Weather Forecast (AstroWeather 1.7.8)
Forecast showed patchy cloud up to 00:00 and then cloud thickeneing until total cloud cover at 04:00
In the event therre was a moderately clear interval between 23:00 and 00:45.
Operations suspended at 23:42 and remained that way until the morning

Session Event Log

Time		Event	Detail
21:24:59		Session Created	Live Session Created (2019-09-28 S00701, ImageSaveNum: 701001)
21:26:00		Obs.Manager Started	Obs.Manager started
21:26:02		Obs.Overseer Started	Obs.Overseer started
21:26:08		Services Started	Observatory Services started
22:54:24		Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
22:54:29		Session Pending	Session pending (2019-09-28)
22:54:31		Session Initiating	Session initiating (2019-09-28)
22:54:33		Plan Requested	Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.11.3)
22:55:04		Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-09-28 V1 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 375)
22:55:16		Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera Connected (set point -10°C)
22:55:19		Telescope Connected	Telescope Connected (TheSky6)
22:55:27		Session Equilibration	Session ready for dome & camera equilibration
22:55:29		Wait on Weather	Waiting for acceptable weather conditions
22:58:07		Shutter Opened	Shutter opened (opening time 45s)
22:58:10		Equilibration Started	Dome Equilibration started
23:02:07		Equilibration Ended	Dome Equilibration ended (4.0 mins total)
23:02:09		Session Running	Session running
23:02:11		Queue Started	Observing Queue started (21 targets selected)
23:02:13		Target Started (1/21)	Target started (1/21, UGC 1470)
23:05:11		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
23:07:18		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1)
23:23:43		Target Completed	Target completed (1/21, UGC 1470)
23:23:45		Target Started (2/21)	Target started (2/21, NGC 783)
23:25:58		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
23:27:54		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2)
23:42:27		Critical Cloud Alert	Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter)
23:42:29		HardSuspend Called	Hard Suspend is called due to Critical Conditions (cloud)
23:42:32		Target Aborted (2/21)	Target aborted (2/21, NGC 783) due to cloud
23:42:34		Queue Paused	Queue pausing for HardSuspend
23:44:28		Session Suspended	Session suspended
23:45:17		Shutter Closed	Shutter closed (closing time 49s)
23:45:19		Queue Resumed	Queue resumed after HardSuspend (165s)
23:52:58		Session Resuming	Session resuming
23:53:43		Shutter Opened	Shutter opened (opening time 45s)
23:53:45		Session Running	Session running
23:53:47		Queue Resumed	Observing Queue resumed
23:53:49		Target Started (3/21)	Target started (3/21, UGC 1503)
00:06:02		Target Completed	Target partially completed (3/21, UGC 1503)
00:06:04		Target Started (4/21)	Target started (4/21, UGC 2614)
00:08:03		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:09:59		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3)
00:26:23		Target Completed	Target completed (4/21, UGC 2614)
00:26:25		Target Started (5/21)	Target started (5/21, NGC 761)
00:29:13		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:31:14		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4)
00:47:33		Target Completed	Target completed (5/21, NGC 761)
00:47:35		Target Started (6/21)	Target started (6/21, NGC 777)
00:48:38		Critical Cloud Alert	Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter)
00:48:40		HardSuspend Called	Hard Suspend is called due to Critical Conditions (cloud)
00:48:43		Target Aborted (6/21)	Target aborted (6/21, NGC 777) due to cloud
00:48:45		Queue Paused	Queue pausing for HardSuspend
00:50:39		Session Suspended	Session suspended
00:51:23		Shutter Closed	Shutter closed (closing time 44s)
00:51:25		Queue Resumed	Queue resumed after HardSuspend (161s)
01:00:44		Camera1 SetPoint	SBIG Camera Set Point Temperature Updated (new set point -15°C)
01:27:33		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (7/21, NGC 789) due to cloud
01:30:47		Camera1 SetPoint	SBIG Camera Set Point Temperature Updated (new set point -10°C)
01:49:25		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (8/21, NGC 125) due to cloud
02:11:17		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (9/21, SHK 38) due to cloud
02:33:09		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (10/21, SHK 317) due to cloud
02:55:01		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (11/21, IC 176) due to cloud
03:10:57		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (12/21, Whiting 1) due to cloud
03:30:49		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (13/21, NGC 985) due to cloud
03:52:41		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (14/21, NGC 1211) due to cloud
04:14:33		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (15/21, IC 298) due to cloud
04:30:33		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (16/21, C/2017 T2 (PanStarrs)) due to cloud
04:39:36		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (17/21, GCVS U Gem) due to cloud
04:59:13		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (18/21, NGC 1614) due to cloud
05:21:05		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (19/21, IC 2098) due to cloud
05:31:58		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (20/21, GCVS FO Ori) due to cloud
05:52:02		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (21/21, GCVS RR Tau) due to cloud
05:52:07		Queue Completed	Job Queue completed
05:52:11		Session Closing	Session closing
05:52:15		Shutter Closed	Shutter already closed (closed at 00:51, closing time 44s)
05:52:49		Dome Parked	Dome parked (parking time 29s)
05:53:34		Telescope Parked	Telescope parked (parking time 41s)
05:54:25		Session Housekeeping	Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files)
05:54:30		Session Finished	Session Finished

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Operational Issues (2019-09-28, S701)

Critical Issues (0)
Major Issues (0)
Minor Issues (4)
Continuous Improvement (5)

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Critical Issues

None

Major Issues

None

Minor Issues

'Blank' Observing Plan and Observing Results charts are not being uploaded to website at start of new session
Fixed 2019-09-29 (AstroPlan 1.12)
The first slew on Dome Slewing Performance plot shows a >180 deg slew. Dome will always take the shorter ( <= 180 deg) path between the before slew and after slew points
Fixed 2019-09-29 (AstroMain 3.13)
Frame exposure times not being displayed in new GuideSumm.dat file. Also cosmetic issues with N & N Lost columns
Fixed 2019-09-29 (AstroMain 3.13)
Link to Final Observatory Report file not available on website at end of session. Final report Session.Observatory (report).htm was created ok and has been uploaded to website ok. The problem was that the javascript function to GetFileSize ( XMLHttpRequest , getResponseHeader('Content-Length') etc) was returning Null for the htm file. Solved in a convoluted way by uploading a flag file 'Session.ObservatoryReportFlag.dat' that indicates to the website through its size that the Session.ObservatoryReport.htm' is valid as opposed to being a null file (ie not available)
Fixed 2019-09-29 (AstroMain 3.13, AstroPlan 1.12 & Website)
After creating a session, the Session should be flagged as 'Active' regardless of whether it is in Manual or Fully Automated Mode. This is to cover the situation that poor conditions delay the commitment to fully automated session.
Fixed 2019-09-29 (AstroMain 3.13)

Continuous Improvement

Extend the items logged to the AstroMain log file to record the detail that is needed for proper diagnosis of issues.
Add appropriate WriteLogFileRecords to AstroMain code to get key information logged. This includes the timing of the service startups at 'Start Services'
Done 2019-10-10
Create and use a Phd2 Logfile for record messages from the PHD2 Server in each session.
Done 2019-09-29 (AstroMain 3.13)
Create and use a AutoFocus Logfile for record messages regarding Autofocusing in each session.
Done 2019-09-29 (AstroMain 3.13)
Add Date/Time of Connection & Reconnection attempts in AstroVoe
Done 2019-09-30 (AstroVOE 1.3.3)

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PHD2 Update to V2.6.6 dev2

PHD2 Guiding Software was updated from Version 2.6.5.dev6 to Version 2.6.6.dev 2 on both Observatory and Development Computers.This was specifically to take advantage of a new PHD2 Server feature where star HFD is now added to guide step event. This should enable me to build an AutoFocusing routine for the 80mm APO guidescope. (The previous attempt to do this involving swapping in /swapping out a Camera2 object ran into problems that have been hard to overcome).

A new version of AstroMain (3.12.4) has been created which reads the star HFD and includes it within guide star monitoring.

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ImageMagick

An intended new feature for AstroSuite will be the automatically uploading of live images captured using AstroMain / CCDSoft to the Current Session Web Page

ImageMagick (available from https://imagemagick.org/ ) is being evaluated for its potential role in converting raw FITS images to jpg files that can be automatically uploaded. The software is free and has fantastic features for performing command line conversion from one image format to another with a huge variety of options for manipulating the image.

Key features needed:

- ability to set the black-white range
- ability to resize the image
- ability to change the jpg compression
- ability to annote image (with date/time, target, exposure etc)

Basic constructs

magick input.fit -level 0,400 -flip -resize 382x256 output.jpg

- flip is required to give an image orientation matching the original
- level 0,400 changes the black,white range of the picture
(not sure how to equate B/W points used for image in CCDSoft to equivalent values for magick output)
- resize 382x256 produces a 50% picture of the standard 3x3 binned raw FITS file output from ST-10XME camera.

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This Web Page:	Notes - Session 701 (2019-09-28)
Last Updated :	2023-11-26
Site Owner :	David Richards
Home Page :	David's Astronomy Web Site