David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 976 (2022-02-23)

Notes (S975)

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Notes (S977)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (2),  Small Defects (0),  Continuous Improvement (4)
	Images from 2022-02-23 >>         [ Local Files >> ]
	2022-02-24
	Weather Station's base station moved to Observatory
	2022-02-25
	'Session 1000' Project

Session Aims & Highlights (2022-02-23)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by time & conditions.

Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.5.1.9,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.3.373, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.5 SP1
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.10
   
• AstroMain 3.50.3,  AstroPlan 1.29.11,   AstroShCap 1.3.12, AstroGuard 1.7
  AstroVOE 1.9.2  AstroSN 1.7.3,  AstroProtect 1.6,  AstroMove 1.8.6
  (AstroWeather 1.16.3, AstroAllSky 3.15,  AstroObsCam 1.8, AstroLaunch 1.8.3)

Highlights

•  Targets.  x targets acquired before sky clouded over.
•  AstroMain.  No issues associated with using new AstroMain 3.50.3 version.

Notes:

  Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance The apparent very slow 180s dome slew from Az 94.6 to 90.0 (red line) was in fact a normal 7s slew and should really have been plotted as a green line.  This was due to a bug (now fixed)

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance Reasons for poor Dec guiding : Black points (none)   Orange point (25, 35)

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) Significant interruption/outages in Wind Speed Data

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 20:16:38 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 20:16 & 05:11 20:16:43 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (20:16) 20:17:11 Session Created Live Session Created (2022-02-23 S00976, ImageSaveNum: 976001) 20:17:13   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 20:18:56   Services Started Observatory Services started 20:19:02 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 20:19:05 Session Pending Session pending (2022-02-23) 20:19:07 Session Initiating Session initiating (2022-02-23) 20:19:09   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.29.11) 20:19:54   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 734) 20:20:18   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 20:20:25   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 20:20:49 Session Equilibration Session ready for dome & camera equilibration 20:21:34   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 20:22:09 Session Running Session running 20:22:11   Queue Started Observing Queue started (34 targets selected) 20:22:14     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 6, HIP 28634) 20:23:59       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 20:27:46       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 20:30:22       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 20:30:24       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 20:32:35       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 20:34:21       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 20:34:39     Target Completed Target completed (Focus Field 6, HIP 28634) 20:34:44     Target Started (1/34) Target started (1/34, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko) 20:38:07       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 20:51:11     Target Completed Target completed (1/34, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko) 20:52:46     Target Started (2/34) Target started (2/34, NGC 2922 w/SN2022bdu) 20:55:58       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 21:11:49     Target Completed Target completed (2/34, NGC 2922 w/SN2022bdu) 21:14:47     Target Started (3/34) Target started (3/34, SN 2022bnf) 21:17:42       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 21:33:34     Target Completed Target completed (3/34, SN 2022bnf) 21:36:46     Target Started (4/34) Target started (4/34, IC 635 w/AT2022bqu) 21:39:52       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 21:55:52     Target Completed Target completed (4/34, IC 635 w/AT2022bqu) 21:58:46     Target Started (5/34) Target started (5/34, UGC 522 w/SN2022bqt) 22:02:38       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 22:19:04     Target Completed Target completed (5/34, UGC 522 w/SN2022bqt) 22:20:46     Target Started (6/34) Target started (6/34, Nova Cas 2021) 22:23:46       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:25:57       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 22:33:52     Target Completed Target completed (6/34, Nova Cas 2021) 22:34:31     Target Started (7/34) Target started (7/34, M31 w/Nova2022cpe) 22:37:38       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:40:03       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 22:56:27     Target Completed Target completed (7/34, M31 w/Nova2022cpe) 22:56:31     Target Started (8/34) Target started (8/34, AT2022cml) 23:01:25       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:17:25     Target Completed Target completed (8/34, AT2022cml) 23:18:31     Target Started (9/34) Target started (9/34, GCVS CN Leo) 23:21:40       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:24:06       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 23:31:16     Target Completed Target completed (9/34, GCVS CN Leo) 23:31:20     Target Started (10/34) Target started (10/34, NGC 4348 w/SN2022fw) 23:34:48       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:50:44     Target Completed Target completed (10/34, NGC 4348 w/SN2022fw) 23:53:21     Target Started (11/34) Target started (11/34, NGC 5117 w/SN2022abq) 23:56:09       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:12:54     Target Completed Target completed (11/34, NGC 5117 w/SN2022abq) 00:15:22     Target Started (12/34) Target started (12/34, UGCA 258 w/SN2022mm) 00:18:41       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 00:34:51     Target Completed Target completed (12/34, UGCA 258 w/SN2022mm) 00:37:21     Target Started (13/34) Target started (13/34, AT2021aena (CV)) 00:40:39       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:46:30     Target Completed Target completed (13/34, AT2021aena (CV)) 00:49:21     Target Started (14/34) Target started (14/34, NGC 4533 w/SN2021bug) 00:53:47       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:56:05       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 01:11:51     Target Completed Target completed (14/34, NGC 4533 w/SN2021bug) 01:11:55     Target Started (15/34) Target started (15/34, NGC 5273 w/AT2022csj) 01:14:12       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 01:30:24     Target Completed Target completed (15/34, NGC 5273 w/AT2022csj) 01:33:21     Target Started (16/34) Target started (16/34, GCVS GK Per) 01:37:13       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:39:40       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 01:43:13     Target Completed Target completed (16/34, GCVS GK Per) 01:43:18     Target Started (17/34) Target started (17/34, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 01:46:22       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 01:52:40     Target Completed Target completed (17/34, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) 01:54:38     Target Started (18/34) Target started (18/34, NGC 1233 w/SN2022bqi) 01:57:36       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 02:13:41     Target Completed Target completed (18/34, NGC 1233 w/SN2022bqi) 02:16:38     Target Started (19/34) Target started (19/34, NGC 5732 w/SN2021agpf) 02:19:39       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:22:38       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 02:38:43     Target Completed Target completed (19/34, NGC 5732 w/SN2021agpf) 02:38:47     Target Started (20/34) Target started (20/34, UGC 10566 w/SN2022aab) 02:41:34       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 02:57:47     Target Completed Target completed (20/34, UGC 10566 w/SN2022aab) 03:00:38     Target Started (21/34) Target started (21/34, AT2022sl (CV)) 03:03:19       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:05:39       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 03:12:44     Target Completed Target completed (21/34, AT2022sl (CV)) 03:12:48     Target Started (22/34) Target started (22/34, AT2022cbe (CV)) 03:15:12       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 03:21:05     Target Completed Target completed (22/34, AT2022cbe (CV)) 03:24:38     Target Started (23/34) Target started (23/34, AT2021agpw (CV)) 03:27:40       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 03:33:42     Target Completed Target completed (23/34, AT2021agpw (CV)) 03:36:38     Target Started (24/34) Target started (24/34, GCVS SS Cyg) 03:40:11       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:42:38       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 03:48:27     Target Completed Target completed (24/34, GCVS SS Cyg) 03:52:53     Target Started (25/34) Target started (25/34, 61 Cyg) 03:56:22       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:58:30       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 04:01:24     Target Completed Target completed (25/34, 61 Cyg) 04:01:28     Target Started (26/34) Target started (26/34, GCVS BL Lac) 04:05:02       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 04:08:58     Target Completed Target completed (26/34, GCVS BL Lac) 04:11:37     Target Started (27/34) Target started (27/34, C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)) 04:14:42       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:17:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 12) 04:25:50     Target Completed Target completed (27/34, C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)) 04:25:54     Target Started (28/34) Target started (28/34, GCVS R CrB) 04:28:05   SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 04:29:17       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:30:55   SoftSuspend Cancelled Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions 04:31:17       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 04:35:02     Target Completed Target completed (28/34, GCVS R CrB) 04:35:06     Target Started (29/34) Target started (29/34, GCVS U Her) 04:38:06       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:40:16       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 14) 04:48:34     Target Completed Target completed (29/34, GCVS U Her) 04:48:39     Target Started (30/34) Target started (30/34, NGC 6500 w/SN2021wuf) 04:51:33       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:53:29       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 15) 05:09:15     Target Completed Target completed (30/34, NGC 6500 w/SN2021wuf) 05:09:44     Target Started (31/34) Target started (31/34, HIP 87937) 05:12:26       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:14:37       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 16) 05:17:06     Target Completed Target completed (31/34, HIP 87937) 05:17:10     Target Started (32/34) Target started (32/34, GCVS AM Her) 05:19:55       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:22:09       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 17) 05:27:58     Target Completed Target completed (32/34, GCVS AM Her) 05:28:31     Target Started (33/34) Target started (33/34, GCVS CY Lyr) 05:31:10       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:33:25       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 18) 05:37:16     Target Completed Target completed (33/34, GCVS CY Lyr) 05:38:37     Target Started (34/34) Target started (34/34, GCVS CI Cyg) 05:41:31       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:43:58       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 19) 05:49:03     Target Completed Target completed (34/34, GCVS CI Cyg) 05:49:06   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 05:49:10 Session Closing Session closing 05:50:05   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 05:53:13   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 181s), Az: 90.0 deg 05:54:27   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 71s) 05:54:42   Telescope State Scope parked Turn scope off. (Handbox) 05:55:04   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 05:55:57   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 05:55:59 Session Housekeeping Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 05:56:36 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time     Alert Detail -- No Alerts                --

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Operational Issues (2022-02-23, S976)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (0)
• Minor Issues (3)
• Small Defects (0)
• Continuous Improvement (4)

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Dome Slew to Az 090 deg at end of session timed out after 180s (05:50). At 05:50:10 the 'Dome.SlewDomeToAzimuth() routine was called to move rotate the from Az 96.4  to Az 90.0 (the Dome's Park Position) .  At 05:53:10 (180s later) the slew monitoring loop timed out. The post-slew Az was 90.0 deg which was the target az for the SlewToAzimuth, which begs the question was the slew held up in some way, with motors spinning without moving the dome, but coincidentally reached Az 90 at the moment of the timeout,  or had the dome reached Az 90 deg after the expected 3-7s, but for some reason the code didn't recognised that the slew had finished,  with the result that execution continued going round loop until timeout was reached after 180s.  The ASCOM.Pulsar log file clearly shows the dome reaching Az 90.0 at 05:50:14 (a slew time of 4s, i.e a normal slew rate). The log shows a Get Slewing request at the moment the slew was requested, with the next request only occuring after the slew had completed, meaning that Slewing=True was never sent. The monitoring loop looks for Slewing=True to raise a flag that bDomeSlewStarted and this evidently didn't happen as session logfile doesn't contain the normal message "Dome slewing appears to have started slewing".   Routine fixed by adding code in AstroMain 3.50.4 which exits the loop if Dome.Az has reached the Target Az (+/- 0.3 deg) and isn't slewing and more than 8s have passed since the start-slew time.  Code further modified 2022-05-10  (AstroMain 3.51.5) to address a further issue with slew monitoring loop.
  Fixed  2022-02-24  (AstroMain 3.50.4)
   
• Weather Station Wind Speed/Direction outages becoming more frequent and lasting longer. Even when there is some data it is becoming increasingly patchy. This has been an ongoing issue but has become very bad in the last 2 weeks and because wind speed is one for the critical data items for safe operation of the observatory it has prompted recent action to fill in gaps in wind information using 'currently' data from online sources, specifically DarkSky or OpenWeather API.  It is thought that interference/communication issue causes the issue.   Base Station was rebooted but the problem persisted. Battery levels in wind sensor were checked and although the levels weren't really that low, the 2 x AA bateries where replaced.   This didn't resolve the issue.   Consideration will be given to replacing the Weather Station but it is proving difficult to find one that fits the exact requirements needed.  In the meantime the Base Station has been moved from its current position (the window sill of house's utility room that looks out towards the observatory and towards the wind sensor) into the observatory. Whilst the Base Station's screen can no longer be viewed from indoors (a significant loss of convenience) the distance between wind sensor and the base station has been halved (reducing from 14.2m to 6.8m), whilst the wireless link between the base station and the USB wireless receiver in the observatory has been significantly reduced (reducing from 15m to 1.5m), and the weather data can still be viewed from indoors by looking at information and graphs uploaded to website.  The first 6 hours of data after relocating the base station shows that the signal from wind sensor is coming through very cleanly without interruption or outage (see graph below). 
  Resolved  2022-02-25  (Weather Station/Observatory).
   
  
   
• Refresh Session Options unable to handle 'session 1000' (Post-Session Testing).   In Reduction & Analysis program modes the 'Refresh Session' options routine produces the button text 'Select Last Session 2022-02-26 S001000'. Instead of '... S01000'.  When the button is clicked the following report message is given "Session Folder (2022-02-26 S001000) not found. Cannot set Session". Issue is in Function RetrieveLastLiveSession() routine in line 'SName = NightDate + " " + "S00" + CStr(ID)' which inserts "S00" in SessionName,  but for sessions 1000+  "S0" needs to be inserted instead.
  Fixed 2022-02-26  (AstroMain 3.50.4)

Small Defects

• None

• Restrict AllSky Images Picture saving / video creation to the period between - 5deg Sun Alt (dusk) and -5deg Sun Alt (dawn).   This is largely to eliminate frames where AllSky Camera can't pick our useful details in the bright sky, and has difficult in dealing with unstable background brightness due to short frame exposures/changing exposures.   Raw FITS frames should still be captured and available to use to regenerate pictures if required for entire night. AllSky pictures should be uploaded to the website from start of night session (currently taken at -2deg Sun Alt (dawn)) until -5 deg Sun Alt (dawn). This doesn't apply to NightSummary plots which should be created/uploaded for the full night period.  Implemented by referencing Dawn5 and Dusk5 flags which are set to true when Sun Alt is with -2 to -5 deg range.  (Note:  Plot SuspendedMessages aren't drawn on the final pre -5 deg image as yet)
  Done  2022-02-24  (AstroAllSky 3.15.1)
   
• Add Base Station Temperature and Humidity to Observatory's Temperature and Humidity Graphs. Following relocation of the Weather Station's base station from indoors to the observatory today, 2022-02-25 10:10 , (an action taken to improve wind sensor signal strength and resolves wind data outage problems) the base station's temperature/humidity sensor pair becomes available as additional sensors for the observatory.   This can be useful for QC and for backup to the existing sensors.   Graph30 (8h temperature), Graph31 (8h humidity),  Graph11 (16h dew point), Graph 23 (16h temperature), Graph 51 (16h humidity),  Graph16 (5d humidity), Graph26 (5d obs temperature),   Graph 37 (5d DPD).   Previously Graph2 (5d Temp effect) was used to show effects of solar radiation landing on base station sitting on a window sill , and the heating effect that had to be use to correct the station's raw barometric pressure reading.  This graph is no longer needed and GraphID=2 can be reused for showing the current 'Station Humidity' value.  Other changes .IndoorTemperature & .IndoorHumidity changed to .StationTemperature & StationHumidity.
  Done  2022-02-25  (AstroWeather 1.16.4)
   
• Collect Dome Az information during Dome.SlewToAzimuth and during slaved slewing of the dome and report/log that information if there if a slow  / timeout slew occurs. Data will be messaged in log file after slew completes in event that slew time/slew rates pass certain thresholds. A message should also be sent to Report File and an indicator written to tabulated Slew table file to highlight any slews were slew information has been dumped to the log file.
  Done 2022-02-26  (AstroMain 3.50.4)
   
• Query: Review previous 'slow' dome slews and see if any of them could be due to a deficiency in the slew monitoring routine.  Issue investigated and confirmed at least in one case to the a deficiency in the slew monitoring routine that was exposed because of a glitch in one particular telescope slew.  (see Investigation -  Slow Dome Slew / Slow Scope Slew to one particular target, UGC 4219, 20:35 (S995 2022-03-25) ). This coding deficiency was fixed in AstroMain 3.51.5.   In other cases slow slews were shown to be due to a mechanical issue at specific azimuth positions ( Az 90.3,   Az 222°,   Az 247°,   Az 268°,  Az 291°, see Investigation - Slow Dome Slews (S997 2022-03-31) ) where the dome motor wheels were spinning on a grease/dew covered roof flange at flat spots related to a not-perfectly circular geometry of the dome roof (geometry checks missed during original erection of the observatory).
  Closed 2022-05-10 (Session / AstroMain 3.51.5)

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Weather Station's base station moved to Observatory

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2022-02-25

'Session 1000' Project (2022-02-25)

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