David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 665 (2019-02-20)

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Notes (S666)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (1),  Major Issues (5),  Minor Issues (4),  Continuous Improvement (2)
	Images from 2019-02-20  >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2019-02-20)

Main aims

1. Variable Stars Project - Acquire some light curve data for several variables over the course of a few hours with aim of detecting variation associated with eclipsing binary stars , RR Lyr stars and dwarf novae
2. Comet  C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)  - Observe and image new comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) ngoing monitoring
   
3. Software & Systems  - Check stability of software and presence of any side effects following changes to AstroMain for handling Shutter Opening Issues
   

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 3.9.3,  AstroPlan 1.7

Highlights

• Suspension and resumption of the session when a thick bank of cloud came was very smooth and clean.  After 20 mins the telescope tracking was switched off as per design.

Lowlights

• Issues associated with telescope slewing beyond 342 deg.
• Dewing Problems
• Possible failure of UPB Humidity Sensor (second sensor to fail ?)

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan (2019-02-20, S665)

Observing Result (2019-02-20, S665)

Night Sky Summary Plot - 2019-02-20, S665 Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s) Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Session Event Log (2019-02-20, S665)

Time     Event Detail 18:16:52 Session Created Live Session Created (2019-02-20 S00665, ImageSaveNum: 665001) 18:18:23   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 18:18:29   Services Started Observatory Services started 18:19:17   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C) 18:19:22   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 18:20:06 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 18:20:09 Session Pending Session pending (2019-02-20) 18:20:11 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-02-20) 18:20:13   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-02-20 V1 CYCLE PLAN, Plan ID: 282) 18:20:15   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C) 18:20:17   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 18:33:59   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 18:34:02   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 18:41:15   Equilibration Ended Dome Equilibration ended (7.3 mins total) 18:41:17 Session Running Session running 18:41:19   Queue Started Observing Queue started (69 targets selected) 18:41:21     Target Started (1/69) Target started (1/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 18:49:15     Target Completed Target completed (1/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 18:49:30     Target Started (2/69) Target started (2/69, GCVS ER UMa) 18:55:39     Target Completed Target completed (2/69, GCVS ER UMa) 18:59:18     Target Started (3/69) Target started (3/69, GCVS TV Cas) 19:04:34     Target Completed Target completed (3/69, GCVS TV Cas) 19:06:15     Target Started (4/69) Target started (4/69, GCVS RR Leo) 19:15:01     Target Completed Target completed (4/69, GCVS RR Leo) 19:16:57     Target Started (5/69) Target started (5/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 19:26:00     Target Completed Target completed (5/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 19:28:14     Target Started (6/69) Target started (6/69, GCVS ER UMa) 19:34:23     Target Completed Target completed (6/69, GCVS ER UMa) 19:38:02     Target Started (7/69) Target started (7/69, GCVS TV Cas) 19:43:11     Target Completed Target completed (7/69, GCVS TV Cas) 19:44:59     Target Started (8/69) Target started (8/69, GCVS RR Leo) 19:54:31     Target Completed Target completed (8/69, GCVS RR Leo) 19:55:40     Target Started (9/69) Target started (9/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 20:03:46     Target Completed Target completed (9/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 20:06:58     Target Started (10/69) Target started (10/69, GCVS ER UMa) 20:13:25     Target Completed Target completed (10/69, GCVS ER UMa) 20:16:46     Target Started (11/69) Target started (11/69, GCVS TV Cas) 20:19:44 Critical Cloud Alert Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter 20:19:45     Target Aborted (11/69) Target aborted (11/69, GCVS TV Cas) due to other condition 20:19:50 Session Suspended Session suspended 20:20:39   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 49s) 21:13:29 Session Resuming Session resuming 21:14:14   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 21:14:17   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 21:14:19     Target Started (17/69) Target started (17/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 21:24:18     Target Completed Target completed (17/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 21:24:26     Target Started (18/69) Target started (18/69, GCVS ER UMa) 21:31:09     Target Completed Target completed (18/69, GCVS ER UMa) 21:34:14     Target Started (19/69) Target started (19/69, GCVS TV Cas) 21:39:08     Target Completed Target completed (19/69, GCVS TV Cas) 21:41:11     Target Started (20/69) Target started (20/69, GCVS RR Leo) 21:50:26     Target Completed Target completed (20/69, GCVS RR Leo) 21:51:52     Target Started (21/69) Target started (21/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 21:59:35     Target Completed Target completed (21/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 22:03:10     Target Started (22/69) Target started (22/69, GCVS ER UMa) 22:10:01     Target Completed Target completed (22/69, GCVS ER UMa) 22:12:58     Target Started (23/69) Target started (23/69, GCVS TV Cas) 22:18:12     Target Completed Target completed (23/69, GCVS TV Cas) 22:19:55     Target Started (24/69) Target started (24/69, GCVS RR Leo) 22:29:00     Target Completed Target completed (24/69, GCVS RR Leo) 22:30:36     Target Started (25/69) Target started (25/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 22:40:12     Target Completed Target completed (25/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 22:41:54     Target Started (26/69) Target started (26/69, GCVS ER UMa) 22:48:21     Target Completed Target completed (26/69, GCVS ER UMa) 22:48:23     Target Started (27/70) Target started (27/70, C/2018 Y1 (IWamoto)) 22:55:49     Target Completed Target completed (27/70, C/2018 Y1 (IWamoto)) 22:55:51     Target Started (28/71) Target started (28/71, NGC 3243) 23:15:45     Target Completed Target completed (28/71, NGC 3243) 23:15:47     Target Missed (29/72) Target Missed (29/72, M51 LBV2019abn) 23:15:49     Target Missed (30/72) Target Missed (30/72, GCVS TV Cas) 23:15:51     Target Missed (31/72) Target Missed (31/72, GCVS RR Leo) 23:15:53     Target Started (32/72) Target started (32/72, GCVS RZ LMi) 23:24:04     Target Completed Target completed (32/72, GCVS RZ LMi) 23:24:06     Target Started (33/72) Target started (33/72, GCVS ER UMa) 23:31:33     Target Completed Target completed (33/72, GCVS ER UMa) 23:31:35     Target Started (34/73) Target started (34/73, M51 LBV2019abn) 23:52:19     Target Completed Target completed (34/73, M51 LBV2019abn) 23:52:21     Target Missed (35/73) Target Missed (35/73, GCVS TV Cas) 23:52:23     Target Missed (36/73) Target Missed (36/73, GCVS RR Leo) 23:52:25     Target Started (37/73) Target started (37/73, GCVS RZ LMi) 00:00:59     Target Completed Target completed (37/73, GCVS RZ LMi) 00:01:01     Target Started (38/73) Target started (38/73, GCVS ER UMa) 00:08:38     Target Completed Target completed (38/73, GCVS ER UMa) 00:09:10     Target Started (39/73) Target started (39/73, GCVS TV Cas) 00:15:13     Target Completed Target completed (39/73, GCVS TV Cas) 00:16:07     Target Started (40/73) Target started (40/73, GCVS RR Leo) 00:26:15     Target Completed Target completed (40/73, GCVS RR Leo) 00:26:48     Target Started (41/73) Target started (41/73, GCVS RZ LMi) 00:36:06     Target Completed Target completed (41/73, GCVS RZ LMi) 00:38:06     Target Started (42/73) Target started (42/73, GCVS ER UMa) 00:44:26     Target Completed Target completed (42/73, GCVS ER UMa) 00:47:54     Target Started (43/73) Target started (43/73, GCVS TV Cas) 00:53:16     Target Completed Target completed (43/73, GCVS TV Cas) 00:54:51     Target Started (44/73) Target started (44/73, GCVS RR Leo) 00:58:38       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:05:01     Target Completed Target completed (44/73, GCVS RR Leo) 01:05:32     Target Started (45/73) Target started (45/73, GCVS RZ LMi) 01:08:46       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:14:28     Target Completed Target completed (45/73, GCVS RZ LMi) 01:16:50     Target Started (46/73) Target started (46/73, GCVS ER UMa) 01:19:49       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:23:50     Target Completed Target completed (46/73, GCVS ER UMa) 01:26:38     Target Started (47/73) Target started (47/73, GCVS TV Cas) 01:29:00 Dew Conditions Heavy dew on front of telescope. Imaging suspended 01:30:00 Dew Removal Dew on front of telescope removed with hairdryer 01:36:00 User Interventation User Interventation 01:36:40   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 01:40:39       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:42:08       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:43:17       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:46:13       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 01:49:00       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:52:06       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 01:55:04       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:58:16       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 02:00:58       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:04:03       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 02:06:50       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:10:06       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 02:11:05       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:12:06       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:15:07       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 02:17:38       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:21:03       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 02:23:46       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:26:45       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 02:29:19 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 02:29:22 Session Pending Session pending (2019-02-20) 02:29:24 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-02-20) 02:29:26   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-02-20 V1 CYCLE PLAN, Plan ID: 282) 02:29:28   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 02:29:30   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 02:29:34   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 02:29:36   Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 02:29:38 Session Running Session running 02:29:40   Queue Started Observing Queue started (26 targets selected) 02:29:42     Target Missed (44/69) Target Missed (44/69, GCVS RR Leo) 02:29:44     Target Missed (45/69) Target Missed (45/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 02:29:46     Target Missed (46/69) Target Missed (46/69, GCVS ER UMa) 02:29:48     Target Missed (47/69) Target Missed (47/69, GCVS TV Cas) 02:29:50     Target Missed (48/69) Target Missed (48/69, GCVS RR Leo) 02:29:52     Target Started (49/69) Target started (49/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 02:38:17     Target Completed Target completed (49/69, GCVS RZ LMi) 02:38:19     Target Started (50/70) Target started (50/70, C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)) 02:39:50   AstroMain Not Responding AstroMain and other observatory software restarted 02:42:02 Session Resumed Live Session Resumed (2019-02-20 S00665, ImageSaveNum: 665262) 02:42:13   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 02:42:15   Services Started Observatory Services started 02:42:34   Services Stopped Observatory Services stopped 02:43:11 Program Closed Program closed by User 02:44:52 Session Resumed Live Session Resumed (2019-02-20 S00665, ImageSaveNum: 665262) 02:45:35   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 02:45:37   Services Started Observatory Services started 02:45:52 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 02:45:56 Session Pending Session pending (2019-02-20) 02:45:58 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-02-20) 02:46:00   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-02-20 V1 CYCLE PLAN, Plan ID: 282) 02:46:09   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 02:46:12   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 02:46:18   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 02:46:20   Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 02:46:22 Session Running Session running 02:46:24   Queue Started Observing Queue started (20 targets selected) 02:46:26     Target Missed (50/69) Target Missed (50/69, GCVS ER UMa) 02:46:28     Target Started (51/69) Target started (51/69, GCVS TV Cas) 02:49:53 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 02:49:58 Session Pending Session pending (2019-02-20) 02:50:00 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-02-20) 02:50:02   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-02-20 V1 CYCLE PLAN, Plan ID: 282) 02:50:04   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 02:50:06   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 02:50:08   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 02:50:10   Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 02:50:12 Session Running Session running 02:50:14   Queue Started Observing Queue started (18 targets selected) 02:51:03     Target Started (52/69) Target started (52/69, GCVS RR Leo) 02:52:00 User Interventation User Interventation 02:54:00 Session Closing Session Closing (Manual) 02:54:54   Dome Parked Dome parked 02:54:57   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 15s) 02:55:30   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 50s) 02:56:11   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 34s) 02:56:23   Services Stopped Observatory Services stopped 02:57:07   Camera1 Disconnected SBIG Camera closed down & disconnected 02:58:00 Session Finished Session Finished (Manual)

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Operational Issues (2019-02-20, S665)

• Critical Issues (1)
  
• Major Issues (5)
  
• Minor issues (4)
• Continuous Improvement (2)

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Critical Issues

• Azmiuth checking didn't prevent a slew to a target lying beyond the protective Azmiuth Limit of 342°  Telescope slewed to target GCVS TV Cas sitting at azmiuth 351.6°.  Although secondary protection then kicked in to move the scope back to a safe azimuth position at 245°, the slew should not have taken place and the target should have been immediately aborted. Investigation showed that this happened because the azmiuth checker was using a Az.Limit value of 360° that was in the program settings.  It is most likely that this Az.Limit was accidently left sitting at this higher value after testing secondary protective measures several sessions ago.
    Fixed 2019-02 (The Az Limit was reset at 342°)
  
  (Note:   Az.Limit for slewing to target was initially designed to be 340° but it makes sense to have AstroPlan schedule targets that have have expected azmiuths of 340°, but then allow a bit of slack when it comes to execution, hence the new limit of 342°.      (Secondary and tertiary protection kick-in once the telescope tracks on to 348° (AstroMain)  or 350° (AstroGuard) )

Major Issues

• Observatory Control Program (AstroMain) stopped responding.   One instance of the problem.  AstroMain and other observatory software had to be restarted, upsetting the system and loosing observing time.  Issue closed on 2021-01-04 following a review that showed that the AstroMain was essentially stable (following a series of improvements and fixes), with an absence of any unexplained program hangs or crashes during the 35 sessions between 2020-09-18 & 2021-01-03.
  Closed 2021-01-04 (AstroMain 3.33)
   
• Images degraded/ruined by dew on telescope optics.  Dew on front of LX200, telescope  degraded and even ruined images in later part of session requiring a visit to the observatory to resolve with hairdryer.   Underlying issue is that Dew Heaters attached to UPB PowerBox can't really be turned up at present due to loss of voltage in the DC cable going to the UPB, at least not without a risk of voltage problems to the LX200 which relies on power from the UPB
  (There was quite a bit of condensation on the mount and pier and interior of dome roof when the observatory was checked the next morning indicating that the dew was particularly severe. Temperatures which were 9.5°C at start of session (92-94% humidity) fell to 5°C at time of severe dew problem on front of scope then rose  to 7°C briefly before falling back to around 4°C at end of session.   
    Fixed 2019-Q2 by the installation of a 16 AWG heavy duty Y9 extension bought in USA from BixPower
   
• AstroPlan is allowing Targets to be scheduled with azimuths beyond Az.Limit (340°/342°) .  Although this issue actually helped uncover issues with Azimuth Checking / Hard Azim Limit  in the AstroMain program, the fact is that these targets shouldn't haven been scheduled unless their azmiuth positions lay within the safe zone (0-340°). If they're are allowed  through their observiing slots will end up being wasted when the AstroMain's protective azimuth checking subsequently throws them out.    Looking into a solution it is noted that using TheSky's Utils.ConvertRaDecToAzAlt add a considerable overhead to Schedule Building, therefore a user-built routine is needed.
    Fixed 2019-02-22 (AstroPlan 1.8)
   
  
• UPB Humidity Sensor values suddenly fell by 8% and remained stuck at 90%.   At 08:15 the humidity readings coming from the UPB Humidity Sensor suddenly fell from 98% to 90% and then remained stuck at 90% (for 5 hours+). Temperature readings from the sensor are normal.  Is this the second sensor to fail ?  See Fig 1 & Fig 2)  No condensation on the sensor or directly near the sensor when checked the following morning, but lots of condensation on the telescope mount/pier.  There had been dewing  on the front of the LX200 during the session and humidity readings were high.  UPB power switched off and the sensor brought inside for 3 hours in the hope that low humidities will allow the sensor to resume normal functioning.  (This problem continued for next 6 months; whenever the humidity reached 98% or above the UPB would put out a value of 90%, see example graph below). Problem eventually worked around by tracking the Humidity values and setting values to 98% before plotting or use (2020).  (Problem was due to a bug in the UPB firmware. Pegasus Astro originally promised a software update (including firmware update) that will fix the problem by end August 2019 but it still remains in UPB 1.5 (May 2020, but was fixed in subsequent release)
    Closed (because of workaround).  Jan 2020 (AstroMain & AstroWeather)
   
• Problems encountered after secondary protective measures slewed telescope to safe azimuth position.   This comprised a failure to inform the target executor that the target had been effectively aborted, and then problems with a second slewing attempt (code introduced in 2018 to make a second attempt at slewing to target if the first slew didn't end up near the target. Issue probably only surfaced because the Azmiuth Checking had allowed slew to target beyond 342/348°.  Unclear is this has been resolved or not ? (note added Q2 2021).  Likely closed/resolved, but there might still be an issue. Closed for time bing pending any new information on the subject.
    Closed after review (AstroMain / AstroGuard)
  

Minor issues

• Schedule Builder checking Target Azim against Azim Limit.   Alternate Schedule Buider (for cycle around a Target Set) doesn't seem to check Target Azim against the Azim Limit (340°).  for example GCVS TV Cas was scheduled when its azim is 350°.
    Fixed 2019-01-21  (AstroPlan 1.8)
   
• Observatory temperature readings became 'stuck' for a 5 hour period. At around 21:35 temperature reading became stuck at 9.4°C, remaining at this temperature or a new stuck reading of 6.4°C. until 01:30 when readings resumed again. Humidity values similarly froze during this period. 
    Known occasional glitch with the Oregon Scientific Weather System with temporary loss of communication between the  sensor and the base station. It's working again now
   
• Unable to download Comets or Minor Planets whilst Job Queue is executing This is because both processes are set up to use the 'athread'.   Finding that the athread is already running, the routine to download data from the internet is aborted.
    Fixed 2019-01-22 (AstroMain 3.9.4)
   
• Continued occasional flat-lining of Pulsar Shutter Health values in ASCOM trace log and derived graphs (Temperature, Volts etc).
  Look again at this problem and understand relationship or not to the starting & stopping of Dome Connections. Problem was eventually fixed by Pulsar Shutter Software Version 1.25 which was installed on 2021-03-21.
  Fixed 2021-03-31 (Pulsar Shutter Software 1.25)

Continuous Improvement

• Names with repeated space/underscore.  Should a name be accidently entered or created with a repeated space or repeated underscore it should be replaced with a single space or single underscore.
   Done 2019/2020 (AstroMain / AstroPlan)
   
• Setup a test to see if a Dome & Telescope Slew can be aborted by code ( and without destablising side-effects). This is find a way of achieve consistent fast target aborting , which is needed for GRB Detection project where scope needs to quick slew to ToO Target. Any code would eventually be entered in  obsconsole.AbortTargetExplicit (May need to switch scope from Synchronous to  Asynchnonous  mode?)
    Done 2019-01-22 (AstroMain 3.9.4, Abort Dome/Scope Slew added using objDome.AbortSlew and objScope.AbortSlew)

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