David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1004 (2022-04-27)

Notes (S1003)

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Notes (S1005)

	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 (5)
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	2022-04-28
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Session Aims & Highlights (2022-04-27)

Main aims

1. ASCOM 6.6. Make first live observing session using ASCOM Platform 6.6 following recent upgrade from 6.5 SP1.
      (see Upgrade to ASCOM 6.6, 2022-04-24)
2. DeviceHub. Make first live observing session using DeviceHub 6.6.0.5 following recent upgrade and daytime testing
      (see Upgrade to DeviceHub 6.6.0.4, 2022-04-24 and  Upgrade to DeviceHub 6.6.0.5, 2022-04-27 )
3. AstroSuite.  Make live test of new versions of AstroSuite software (AstroMain, AstroPlan, AstroGuard, AstroWeather, AstroAllSky) after rebuilding software,  following upgrade from VS 2019 to VS 2022 and upgrade of ASCOM Developer Components from 6.5 SP1 to 6.6.
4. 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 6.6.0.5,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.3.373, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.10
   
• AstroMain 3.51.1,  AstroPlan 1.30.1,   AstroShCap 1.3.12, AstroGuard 1.8
  AstroVOE 1.10  AstroSN 1.8.1,  AstroProtect 1.7,  AstroMove 1.9
  (AstroWeather 1.17, AstroAllSky 3.16,  AstroObsCam 1.9, AstroLaunch 1.9)

Highlights

•  ASCOM 6.6.  No issues using ASCOM 6.6.  Upgrade from 6.6 SP1 platform considered successful
•  DeviceHub.  No issues using DeviceHub 6.6.0.5 (apart from a minor display issue fixed in 6.6.0.6, 2022-04-28) 
•  AstroSuite.  No issues using AstroSuite programs (AstroMain, AstroPlan etc) built using VS 2022 and using ASCOM 6.6 components
•  Targets.  All 17 planned targets were successfully acquired.

Notes:

  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)

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 21:50:55 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 22:02 & 02:56 21:50:58   AutoStart Waiting AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 22:02 22:03:00   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 22:17:02 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (22:17) 22:17:42   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 22:17:44 Session Created Live Session Created (2022-04-27 S01004, ImageSaveNum: 1004001) 22:17:46   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 22:19:26   Services Started Observatory Services started 22:19:33 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 22:19:37 Session Pending Session pending (2022-04-27) 22:19:39 Session Initiating Session initiating (2022-04-27) 22:19:41   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.30.1) 22:20:11   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 763) 22:20:23   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 22:20:29   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 22:20:53 Session Equilibration Session ready for dome & camera equilibration 22:21:38   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 22:21:39   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 22:22:43   Equilibration Ended Dome Equilibration ended (1.1 mins total) 22:22:45 Session Running Session running 22:22:47   Queue Started Observing Queue started (17 targets selected) 22:22:50     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 12, HIP 58514) 22:24:29       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:28:06       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 22:30:05       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 22:30:07       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 22:30:23     Target Completed Target completed (Focus Field 12, HIP 58514) 22:34:45     Target Started (1/17) Target started (1/17, NGC 4647 w/SN2022hrs) 22:38:06       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:03:58     Target Completed Target completed (1/17, NGC 4647 w/SN2022hrs) 23:06:07     Target Started (2/17) Target started (2/17, NGC 3367 w/SN2022ewj) 23:09:15       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:25:28     Target Completed Target completed (2/17, NGC 3367 w/SN2022ewj) 23:28:07     Target Started (3/17) Target started (3/17, NGC 4348 w/SN2022fw) 23:31:06       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:47:09     Target Completed Target completed (3/17, NGC 4348 w/SN2022fw) 23:50:07     Target Started (4/17) Target started (4/17, NGC 4697 w/AT2022hkg) 23:52:58       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:08:48     Target Completed Target completed (4/17, NGC 4697 w/AT2022hkg) 00:12:07     Target Started (5/17) Target started (5/17, NGC 5018 w/SN2021fxy) 00:15:11       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:17:39       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 00:33:41     Target Completed Target completed (5/17, NGC 5018 w/SN2021fxy) 00:34:07     Target Started (6/17) Target started (6/17, NGC 5117 w/SN2022abq) 00:37:10       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:53:15     Target Completed Target completed (6/17, NGC 5117 w/SN2022abq) 00:56:07     Target Started (7/17) Target started (7/17, NGC 4395 w/AT2022fmn) 00:59:31       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 01:15:27     Target Completed Target completed (7/17, NGC 4395 w/AT2022fmn) 01:18:07     Target Started (8/17) Target started (8/17, NGC 4545 w/SN2022fuc) 01:21:11       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:23:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 01:39:22     Target Completed Target completed (8/17, NGC 4545 w/SN2022fuc) 01:40:07     Target Started (9/17) Target started (9/17, GCVS CI Cyg) 01:44:11       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:46:21       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 01:51:05     Target Completed Target completed (9/17, GCVS CI Cyg) 01:51:09     Target Started (10/17) Target started (10/17, GCVS SS Cyg) 01:54:04       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:56:15       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 02:01:35     Target Completed Target completed (10/17, GCVS SS Cyg) 02:06:09     Target Started (11/17) Target started (11/17, GCVS BL Lac) 02:08:58       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:11:19       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 02:16:07     Target Completed Target completed (11/17, GCVS BL Lac) 02:16:11     Target Started (12/17) Target started (12/17, Nova Cas 2021) 02:19:17       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:21:27       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 02:29:43     Target Completed Target completed (12/17, Nova Cas 2021) 02:30:00     Target Started (13/17) Target started (13/17, NGC 6181 w/AT2022iha) 02:34:19       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:36:44       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 02:52:49     Target Completed Target completed (13/17, NGC 6181 w/AT2022iha) 02:52:53     Target Started (14/17) Target started (14/17, AT2022evu (CV)) 02:55:28       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:58:13       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 03:04:00     Target Completed Target completed (14/17, AT2022evu (CV)) 03:04:04     Target Started (15/17) Target started (15/17, M31 w/AT2022icc) 03:07:54       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 03:24:39     Target Completed Target completed (15/17, M31 w/AT2022icc) 03:26:00     Target Started (16/17) Target started (16/17, GCVS U Her) 03:29:32       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:31:36       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 03:40:18     Target Completed Target completed (16/17, GCVS U Her) 03:40:22     Target Started (17/17) Target started (17/17, HIP 87937) 03:43:20       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:45:34       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 03:48:21     Target Completed Target completed (17/17, HIP 87937) 03:48:24   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 03:48:27 Session Closing Session closing 03:49:20   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 03:50:10   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 42s), Az: 90.0 deg 03:51:14   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 62s) 03:51:29   Telescope State Scope parked Turn scope off. (Handbox) 03:51:51   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 03:52:48   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 03:52:50 Session Housekeeping Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 03:53:06 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time     Alert Detail 01:18:43 Dome Discrepency Difference between Telescope Az and Dome Az is > 8 deg (NGC 4545) 01:34:02 Dome Dome has been stationary for more than 15 mins 01:40:13 Dome Dome Movements have begun again (outage 21.3 mins)

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Operational Issues (2022-04-27, S1004)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (0)
• Minor Issues (2)
• Small Defects (0)
• Continuous Improvement (5)

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Website down during a one hour period before session started. Unable to access Website or upload files. Website (including FTP upload) can back shortly before session began.  It seems the problem was due to a rare outage of the web host. 
  Resolved (pre-session)  2022-04-25 (Website)
   
• SN / Transient position incorrect on certain images creating retrospective for older sessions (post-session analysis, S869) . Problems performing backlog of analysis  for session S869 (2021-03-13), when building cropped and annoated pictures of certain targets.  Crop centre X/Y and crosshairs XY both incorrect (though X/Y offset between them was correct) for NGC 4041 w/AT2021cek  (cause unclear).   Position of annotated SN incorrect  for UGC 6930 w/SN 2020rcq (due to explicit coordinates being missing in target database for this 2020 SN).  Worked around problem in this case, but it is important to check picture annotation when performing backlog analysis for older (2021) sessions
  Closed  2022-05-01 (Session)  

Small Defects

• None

• Create a tool that facilities a review of active Targets held in the Targets Database. UTool will allow for example to review Supernovae or other Transients targets, to understand status, date since discovery, must-include status, last session etc, and be able to quickly mark as Completed / move to relevant Inactive project or promote to having 'Must-Include' status.  New form 'Target Review'  built in AstroPlan 1.30.2. Further development / improvements will be added in due course.
  Done 2022-04-30 (AstroPlan 1.30.2)  
   
• Add T+Days column to History Tab on AstroPlan's Target Form.  Implemented in AstroPlan 1.30.2.  Column is only shown when the target has a discovery date.
  Done 2022-05-01 (AstroPlan 1.30.2)  
   
• Add last Observation session no. to newly created Targets Review form. Add session number of the last observation of the target.
  Done 2022-05-02 (AstroPlan 1.30.2)  
   
• Add flag to AstroMain Analysis/ImageSets/Reduced tab to indicate if a Combined FIT files has been generated.
  Done 2022-05-02 (AstroMain 3.51.2)
   
• Extend 'Close Previous Folders & Open Reduced Folder' button routine to close last 'Image' object in CCDSoft..  Button routine from Analyis/ImageSets/Reduced Tab to should make an attempt to close the last 'Image' in CCDSoft.  This will save a mouse click for each image set being processed/analysed.  Implemention attempted 2022-04-30, but the active image fails to close using Image.Close() even though it can be successfully attached to. It's possible that the image can't be closed because the image wasn't opened by the same specific Image object.  Placed on-hold in Apr 2022 pending the identification of a workable solution (if any).  Solution proposed in Feb 2024 (CI S1187A) and implemented in AstroMain 3.65.16 via call to new routine 'RestartCCDSoftForNextImageSet()'  from the btnKillDataFoldersAndOpenReducedFolder_Click button routine.
  Closed/Done  2024-02-19 (AstroMain 3.65.16)

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