David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 785 (2020-05-28)

Notes (S784)

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Notes (S786)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (7),  Continuous Improvement (4)
	Observatory Reaction to GCN Alert, GRB Swift 974942 (GRB 200529A)
	Images from 2020-05-28 >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2020-05-28)

Main aims

1. Software Testing: Test new 3.24 version of AstroMain which has new CanOpen(), MustClose() handling
2. Targets: Acquire images of a number of targets if conditions allowed.  

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
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.8
   
• AstroMain 3.24,  AstroGuard 1.3,   AstroPlan 1.15.1,  AstroShCap 1.2.22, AstroVOE 1.3.6, UPB 1.5 
  (AstroWeather 1.10, AstroAllSky 3.5.1)
  

Highlights

• GRB Target.  A GRB Alert (Swift Trigger 974942, GRB 200529A) was automatically reacted to and images of star field taken in attempt to detect a visible afterglow.

Lowlights

• None. 

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

Sky Conditions (Locate Frames)

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 (API data from darksky.net) Pre-Session Weather forecast showed variable skies range from 5 to 50% cloud cover,  light winds (wind 7mph) and a minimum temperature of 6°C. In the event conditions were clear and calm through the whole night, with a minimum temperature of around 4°C

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 23:17:41   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C) 23:17:43 Session Created Live Session Created (2020-05-28 S00785, ImageSaveNum: 785001) 23:17:54   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:18:05   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 23:20:14   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:20:43   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:20:59   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C) 23:21:07   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 23:22:29   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 43s) 23:25:41       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:29:23       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 23:29:41       Focusing Started Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 23:31:50       Focusing Aborted Foc2 Focusing Aborted 23:32:11       Focusing Started Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 23:35:02       Focusing Failed Foc2 Focusing Failed - failed QC check (Range) 23:36:19       Focusing Started Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 23:39:01       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 23:39:16       Focusing Started Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 23:41:52       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 23:42:08 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 23:42:11 Session Pending Session pending (2020-05-28) 23:42:13 Session Initiating Session initiating (2020-05-28) 23:42:15   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.15.2) 23:42:30   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2020-05-28 V1 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 514) 23:42:33   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C) 23:42:38   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 23:42:55 Session Equilibration Session ready for dome & camera equilibration 23:42:58   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 23:51:13   Equilibration Ended Dome Equilibration ended (8.3 mins total) 23:51:15 Session Running Session running 23:51:17   Queue Started Observing Queue started (12 targets selected) 23:51:19     Target Started (1/12) Target started (1/12, GCVS R CrB) 23:53:37       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:56:16       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 23:59:11     Target Completed Target completed (1/12, GCVS R CrB) 23:59:13     Target Started (2/13) Target started (2/13, C/2020 F8 (SWAN), ToO) 23:59:15     Target Failed Target failed due to az limit (2/13, C/2020 F8 (SWAN), ToO) 23:59:17     Target Started (3/13) Target started (3/13, C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)) 00:04:06       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:06:46       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 00:15:18     Target Completed Target completed (3/13, C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)) 00:15:20     Target Started (4/13) Target started (4/13, NGC 4290) 00:18:41       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:23:07       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 00:36:02     Target Completed Target partially completed (4/13, NGC 4290) 00:36:04     Target Started (5/13) Target started (5/13, UGC 9422) 00:40:08       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:43:00       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 00:59:04     Target Completed Target completed (5/13, UGC 9422) 00:59:07     Target Started (6/13) Target started (6/13, UGC 10561) 01:03:15       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:06:37       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 01:22:44     Target Completed Target completed (6/13, UGC 10561) 01:22:46     Target Started (7/13) Target started (7/13, GCVS AM Her) 01:25:06       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:28:09       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 01:32:59     Target Completed Target completed (7/13, GCVS AM Her) 01:33:01     Target Started (8/13) Target started (8/13, HIP 87937) 01:36:04       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:38:50       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 12) 01:41:11     Target Completed Target completed (8/13, HIP 87937) 01:41:13     Target Started (9/13) Target started (9/13, GCVS U Her) 01:53:27     Target Completed Target partially completed (9/13, GCVS U Her) 01:53:29     Target Started (10/13) Target started (10/13, GCVS SS Her) 01:57:42     Target Aborted (10/13) Target aborted (10/13, GCVS SS Her) due to GRB Alert 01:57:44     Target Started (11/14) Target started (11/14, GRB Swift 974942, GRB) 02:26:18     Target Completed Target completed (11/14, GRB Swift 974942, GRB) 02:26:20     Target Missed (12/14) Target's time slot was missed (12/14, GCVS CY Lyr) 02:26:22     Target Missed (13/14) Target's time slot was missed (13/14, GCVS CI Cyg) 02:26:24     Target Started (14/14) Target started (14/14, 61 Cyg) 02:32:15     Target Completed Target completed (14/14, 61 Cyg) 02:32:18   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 02:32:21 Session Closing Session closing 02:33:14   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 50s) 02:33:38   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 24s) 02:34:38   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 56s) 02:35:08   Scope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Powerbox. 02:35:57   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 02:35:59 Session Housekeeping Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 02:36:06 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time     Alert Detail -- No Alerts                --

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Operational Issues (2020-05-28, S785)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (0)
• Minor Issues (7)
• Continuous Improvement (4)

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Expected Equilibration Start showing as 0001-01-01 00:00 (vcNullDate) with (-1,062,15,113 mins from Start Time).   'Expected Shutter Opening' was already open which may be helpful for tracking down the problem.
  Fixed 2020-05-29 (AstroMain 3.24.1)
   
• Connection to AstroShCap failed.  Not enough time was allowed for both SharpCap & AstroShCap to open (they weren't already open) before attempting to make connection to AstroShCap.  Connection attempt failed 4 times with message : "No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it 127.0.0.1:4002". Fix attempted by increasing time to oepn from 15s to 18s, and by increasing time between connections attempts from 0.2s to 1s.
  Fix attempted  2020-05-29 (AstroMain 3.24.1)
   
• Too much time was spent getting Autoguiding Dec Drift identified before taking first image of GRB target.  Around 2 minutes of critical time was spent in Autoguiding setup.   Time for setup should be reduced to max of 5 seconds.   Dec Shift should either be determined whilst imaging or Dec Drift / Dec Mode should be set based on RA hour.. Fix implemented 2020-05-29 (AstroMain 3.24.1) whereby setup will be skipped if FastReact >= 1 and 'Setup Time' >= 5s.  Final fix implemented 2020-10-19 (AstroMain 3.30.8) where DecGuideMode is using a new routine 'SetDecGuideModeBasedOnLookup' that allow imaging of GRB and other Fast-React targets to begin immediately after autoguiding using a DecGuideMode (North, South or Off) that is appropriate to the azimuth of the target.
  Fixed 2020-10-19 (AstroMain 3.30.8).
   
• New Temperature field on Manager tab shown with cyan back colour when value was 8.6 degC
  Fixed 2020-05-29 (AstroMain 3.24.1)
   
• Query: Scope field on Manager Tab showing '-' before Auto Connected.  '-' could be shown if UpdateScopeModeFields() routibe had still not been called so that the design text '-' was still showing or UpdateScopeModeFields() had been called and Scope Mode was ScopeMode.Undefined (or else other)
  Closed but monitor for future occurances (AstroMain)
   
• Query. Scope Status on Observatory tab showing 'Slewing' whilst Dome Opening (manual).  Unclear why this would be so.   The code clearly shows that field would only show 'Slewing' if  Scope.Slewing = True.   The one possibility is that 'Slewing' was from an earlier slew and the the field wasn't overwritten by another option  (Tracking, Stationary, Disconnected).  Condition is checked within an essentially 'Dome' section of code with the RunObservatoryMonitoring routine.  The condition check will be passed over if Dome.Connected = false. Unclear why this could have happened as Dome.Connected = True  must have been open in order for Open Dome to have been successfully run.
  Closed but monitor for future occurances (AstroMain)
   
• Query. Are Swift BAT RA coordinates being correctly interpretated and applied ?.  The RA coordinates used for the ToO target (GRB Swift 974942) were 15d 55m 00.336s   Were they correctly read/interpreted by AstroVOE monitoring of the GCN records or were the RA coordinates intended to be 15d 55m 03.36s ? Checking shows that the RA Coordinates stored in Database and used for telescope targetting (15d 55m 00.336s) matches the text notice produced by AstroVOE's interpreter.
  RA: 15 55 00.336 [J2000]
  DEC: -11 03 26.28 [J2000]
  ERROR_RADIUS: 3.0 [arc min]
  Examining the original VOE record  RA has value 238.7514 degs. This computes to RA value of 15.91676 h, or 15h 55.0056m. This computes finally to 15h 55m 0.336s indicating that original coordinates from GCN VOE datastream are being correctly interpreted and applied.  Assuming a rounding error of 0.00005 deg on the original RA record, this corresponds to a potential +/-  0.012s  error on the interpreted Ra coordinates  (addition to any quoted positional uncertainty)
  Closed  (AstroVOE/AstroPlan)
   

Continuous Improvement

• Open FV routine should give user option of killing existing FV process (if running).
  Done 2020-06-03 (AstroMain 3.24.5)
   
• Need some form of wide range focus search.
  Done, Foc1 and Foc2 have Wide Search Option, Sep 2020 (AstroMain)
   
• Store Error Radius of GRB Alert in Targets Database and draw error circle of correct size on Locate Frame pictures
  Done Jan 2021 (AstroVOE, Database, AstroPlan, AstroMain)
   
• Perform Image Link on first Image frame of a GRB Alert and draw error circle of correct size on Target Frame picture
  To do (AstroMain)

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Observatory Reaction to GCN Alert, GRB Swift 974942 (GRB 200529A)

Space Telescopes (Swift and Fermi) recorded a GRB Burst at 2020-05-29 00:56:35.  BAT light curve showed a weak pulse with a duration of about 30s.

AstroVOE monitoring of the GCN Server Atlantic_2 was active at the time of the GRB Trigger time and picked up Swift_BAT GRB Alert with location coordinates at 00:57:35. One second later, and after identifing that the Clair observatory was open and that GRB location was above the horizon and accessible with the telescope the GRB target was submitted as a high priority rapid response target.   The 12" LX200 telescope began slewing to the GRB 1 minute and 8 seconds after the original burst and finished was centering on the GRB target within 3 minutes of the original burst. The first 30s image was captured 6 minutes after  the original burst. (due to a design flaw 2 minutes of precious were wasted whilst an advanced autoguiding setup was performed, the first image frame should have been completed 4 minutes after the original burst)

AstroVOE Log

2020-05-29T00:56:45 GCN/Fermi NOTICE 110 Observation FERMI_GBM_ALERT 612406604
2020-05-29T00:57:02 GCN/Fermi NOTICE 111 Observation FERMI_GBM_FLT_POS 612406604 GRB_ALERT
2020-05-29  00:57:04 Position Error ( 25.9°) is too large for telescope FOV.
2020-05-29T00:57:20 GCN/Fermi NOTICE 112 Observation FERMI_GBM_GND_POS 612406604
2020-05-29T00:57:32 GCN/SWIFT NOTICE 97 Observation SWIFT_BAT_QUICKLOOK_POSITION 974942
2020-05-29T00:57:35 GCN/SWIFT NOTICE 61 Observation SWIFT_BAT_GRB_POSITION 974942 GRB_ALERT
2020-05-29 00:57:36 Submitting GRB Swift 974942 (ID: 1539) to job queue to Execute Immediately
2020-05-29 00:57:36 ToO submitted at 2020-05-01 01:57:36 (00:57:36 UT) (Trigger Num: 974942)
2020-05-29T00:57:48 GCN/SWIFT NOTICE 65 Observation SWIFT_FOM_OBSERVE 974942
2020-05-29T00:57:55 GCN/SWIFT NOTICE 66 Observation SWIFT_SC_SLEW 974942

Timeline Analysis 
(T0+: Elapsed time after the burst)

00:56:35 UT (T0) GRB burst detected

00:56:45 UT (T0+0m 10s)  first notice of potential GRB from Fermi
00:57:02 UT (T0+0m 27s)  GRB Alert with position recieved from Fermi (positional error 25.9°)
00:57:04 UT (T0+0m 29s)  Analysis quickly showed that the positional error was much too large for the FOV of my telescope & camera.
00:57:35 UT (T0+0m 60s) GRB Alert notice was recieved from Swift_BAT with much more detailed positional information (Trigger Num: 974942)
00:57:36 UT (T0+1m 01s)  rapid response ToO was submitted at 01:57:36 LT for observation
                                     
00:57:38 UT (T0+1m 03s) GRB Swift 974942 inserted in the Telescope's Queue.
00:57:43 UT (T0+1m 08s) finished aborting the current active target (SS Her)
00:57:45 UT (T0+1m 10s) telescope began slew to GRB coordinates
00:58:24 UT (T0+1m 49s) telescope /dome ready after slew
00:58:50 UT (T0+2m 15s) finished taking a 15s locate frame
00:59:30 UT (T0+2m 55s) telescope centered on GRB target
00:59:59 UT (T0+3m 24s) autoguide monitoring started  (2 minutes wasted by design flaw)
01:01:59 UT (T0+5m 24s) imaging started (3 x 30s, 5 x 60s , 5 x 180s exposures)
01:02:43 UT (T0+6m 08s) first frame completed
01:26:14 UT (T0+29m39s) imaging sequence completed

Observation
Position of the target wasn't ideal. With sun lying between only 10.2 and 9.4° degrees below the horizon the sky in the middle of nautical twilight and therefore not dark. Altitude of the target was relatively 19.6 to 18.4° with low transparency up to 30°  altitude . Ambient temperature was mild ( 9°C) and  the CCD camera was operating at a relatively high CCD temperature of -10°C.   13 images of GRB Target were taken (comprising 3 x 30s, 5 x 60s & 5 x 180s exposures). Sky background was high on all the images and worsened as the observations proceeded so that the final 180s image was nearly fully saturated.

All Sky Image of sky at time of imaging GRB 200529A location (GRB Swift 974942)  2020-05-29 00:58

GRB 200529A Location - First Image  (T0+6 mins) Image of GRB Location taken 6 minutes after GRB burst. Limiting magnitude ~16.0, T-Exp 30s, C Filter

CCD Image (70% size, linear scale) 30s exposure (single frame), 3x3 binning, C Filter 2020-05-29 01:02 UT (#785082) 12" LX200R (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME Auto-guided using TS 80mm APO, ZWO ASI178MC & PHD2

GRB 200529A Location - Detail  (T0+21 mins) Image of GRB Location taken 21 minutes after GRB burst. Limiting magnitude ~17.2 , T-Exp 720s, C Filter

CCD Image (70% size, linear scale, with corrective flattening) 4 x 180s exposure (average combine), 3x3 binning, C Filter 2020-05-29 01:18 UT (#785090-93) 12" LX200R (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME Auto-guided using TS 80mm APO, ZWO ASI178MC & PHD2

GRB 200529A Analysis (T0+21 mins)  Image of GRB Location taken 21 minutes after GRB Trigger. Limiting magnitude ~17.2, T-Exp 720s, C Filter No indication of optical afterglow at the location reported by NOT/KAIT/Swift-XRT (marked by blue cross-hair)

Annoated CCD Image (100% size, linear scale, cropped) Image details as above

Other Observatory Reactions to GRB 200529A Trigger

113 sec	60cm BOOTES-2/TELMA robotic telescope at IHSM La Mayora (UMA-CSIC) in Algarrobo Costa (Malaga, Spain) - 10s exposure gathered 113s after the burst, limiting magnitude of 18.0, no early time bright optical emission at NOT/KAIT location
216 secs	Swift UVOT, 144s exposure, white filter, starting 216s after BAT Trigger - no credible afterglow candidate
10.5 mins	60cm BOOTES-2/TELMA robotic telescope at IHSM La Mayora (UMA-CSIC) in Algarrobo Costa (Malaga, Spain) - 20 x 10s exposure gathered and combined with median time 10.5 mins after the burst, limiting magnitude of 18.8, - no early time bright optical emission at NOT/KAIT location
18.9 mins	Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) : - single 300s image, starting 18.9 min after GRB - afterglow candidate, magnitude r = 20.00 +- 0.02.
5.25 hours	0.76-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT), at Lick Observatory, - took 23x60s exposure, starting 5.25 hours after Burst
9.15 hours	LCO 1-m Sinistro instrument at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia site, - 5x120 exposure in R and I filters  - 9.15 to 9.53 hours from the GRB trigger time,  clear optical source at NOT/KAIT location in R band with magnitude 21.76 +/- 0.18

Follow-Up Observation
A repeat set of images (again 3 x 30s, 5 x 60s & 5 x 180s) were taken the following night (S786). The conditions were better than the fast-response image taken shortly after the Trigger but is still far from ideal due to twilight sky and slight mist.  Combined Images reaches to mag 18.4 but there is no indication of optical afterglow at the location
reported by NOT/KAIT/Swift-XRT.  (By this time optical afterglow had probably faded to well below 21.76 magnitude)

GRB 200529A Location - Follow-up Image (T0+23.34 hours) Image of GRB Location taken 23.34 hours after GRB burst. Limiting magnitude ~18.4 , T-Exp 540s, C Filter

CCD Image (70% size, linear scale) 3 x 180s exposure (average combine), 3x3 binning, C Filter 2020-05-30 00:17 UT (#786055-57) 12" LX200R (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME Auto-guided using TS 80mm APO, ZWO ASI178MC & PHD2

GRB 200529A - Analysis (T0+23.34 hours)  Image of GRB Location taken 23.34 hours after GRB Trigger Limiting magnitude ~18.4 , T-Exp 540s, C Filter   No indication of optical afterglow at the location reported by NOT/KAIT/Swift-XRT, marked by blue cross-hair

Annotated CCD Image (100% size, linear scale, cropped) Image details as above

GRB Location

GRB Swift 974942 Location Used for Automated Rapid Response Targeting by Clair Observatory
RA: 15 55m 00.336,  Dec -11 03 26.28 (J2000)

Looking back at GCN records for GRB 200529A  the following locations are reported.  
(The best location(s) are those reported by NOT/KAIT (see 4 below ) and Swift-XRT (see 5 below )

GRB 200529A details at  https://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/other/200529A.gcn3

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