David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 671 (2019-03-04)

Notes (S670)

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Notes (S672A)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (2),  Minor Issues (3),  Continuous Improvement (2)
	Images from 2019-03-04  >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2019-03-04)

Main aims

1. Mixed Targets - Image selection of targets including Variable Stars, Comets and Deep Sky Targets
2. 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 3.9.5  AstroPlan 1.8.1

Highlights

• Azmiuth Checking shown to be now working corrrectly,  stopping a slew to target 6 (GCVS TV Cas) at 358.8°.

Lowlights

• Poor sky conditions

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan (2019-03-04, S671)

Observing Result (2019-03-04, S671)

Night Sky Summary Plot - 2019-03-04, S671 Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s) Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Session Event Log (2019-03-04, S671)

Time   Event Detail 20:50 Session Created Live Session Created (2019-03-04 S00671, ImageSaveNum: 671001) 20:51 Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 20:52 Services Started Observatory Services started 20:52 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 20:52 Session Pending Session pending (2019-03-04) 20:52 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-03-04) 20:52   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan () 20:58   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-03-04 V1 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 300) 20:58   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 20:58   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 20:59 Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 46s) 20:59 Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 21:03 Equilibration Ended Dome Equilibration ended (4.0 mins total) 21:03 Session Running Session running 21:03   Queue Started Observing Queue started (17 targets selected) 21:04     Target Started (1/17) Target started (1/17, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner) 21:10     Target Aborted (1/17) Target aborted (1/17, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner) due to Prority 1 ToO Target 21:10     Target Started (2/18) Target started (2/18, NGC 3254 SN2019np) 21:13   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:15   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 21:19 Session Resumed Live Session Resumed (2019-03-04 S00671, ImageSaveNum: 671011) 21:20 Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 21:20 Services Started Observatory Services started 21:20 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 21:20 Session Pending Session pending (2019-03-04) 21:20 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-03-04) 21:20   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-03-04 V1 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 300) 21:20   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 21:20   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 21:20 Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 21:20 Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 21:20 Session Running Session running 21:20   Queue Started Observing Queue started (16 targets selected) 21:21     Target Started (2/17) Target started (2/17, NGC 2301) 21:23   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:25   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 21:30     Target Completed Target completed (2/17, NGC 2301) 21:31     Target Started (3/17) Target started (3/17, NGC 2335) 21:34   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:37   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 21:42     Target Completed Target completed (3/17, NGC 2335) 21:42     Target Started (4/17) Target started (4/17, C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)) 21:44   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:46   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 21:56     Target Completed Target completed (4/17, C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)) 21:56     Target Started (5/17) Target started (5/17, GCVS RR Tau) 21:57   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:59   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 22:06     Target Completed Target completed (5/17, GCVS RR Tau) 22:06     Target Started (6/17) Target started (6/17, GCVS DX Cnc) 22:08   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:11   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 22:14     Target Aborted (6/17) Target aborted (6/17, GCVS DX Cnc) due to Prority 1 ToO Target 22:14     Target Started (7/18) Target started (7/18, NGC 3254 SN2019np) 22:16   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:18   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 22:34 Session Resumed Live Session Resumed (2019-03-04 S00671, ImageSaveNum: 671072) 22:34 Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 22:34 Services Started Observatory Services started 22:34 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 22:34 Session Pending Session pending (2019-03-04) 22:34 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-03-04) 22:34   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-03-04 V1 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 300) 22:34   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 22:34   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 22:34 Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 22:34 Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 22:34 Session Running Session running 22:34   Queue Started Observing Queue started (11 targets selected) 22:34     Target Missed (7/17) Target Missed (7/17, GCVS SY Cnc) 22:34     Target Started (8/17) Target started (8/17, GCVS U Mon) 22:40     Target Completed Target partially completed (8/17, GCVS U Mon) 22:40     Target Started (9/17) Target started (9/17, GCVS U Gem) 22:43   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:45   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 22:48     Target Completed Target completed (9/17, GCVS U Gem) 22:48     Target Started (10/17) Target started (10/17, 46P/Wirtanen) 22:51   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:54   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 23:07     Target Completed Target partially completed (10/17, 46P/Wirtanen) 23:07     Target Started (11/17) Target started (11/17, D100) 23:28     Target Completed Target completed (11/17, D100) 23:28     Target Started (12/17) Target started (12/17, GCVS AM Her) 23:31   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:33   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 23:38     Target Completed Target completed (12/17, GCVS AM Her) 23:39     Target Started (13/17) Target started (13/17, GCVS S Cyg) 23:42   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:44   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 23:54     Target Completed Target partially completed (13/17, GCVS S Cyg) 23:54     Target Started (14/17) Target started (14/17, GCVS U Her) 00:00     Target Started (15/17) Target started (15/17, GCVS R CrB) 00:02   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:04   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 12) 00:07     Target Completed Target completed (15/17, GCVS R CrB) 00:08     Target Started (16/17) Target started (16/17, GCVS CN Leo) 00:10   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:13   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 13) 00:20     Target Aborted (16/17) Target aborted (16/17, GCVS CN Leo) due to Prority 1 ToO Target 00:20     Target Started (17/18) Target started (17/18, TrES-3) 00:24   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:52     Target Completed Target completed (17/18, TrES-3) 03:52     Target Missed (18/18) Target Missed (18/18, GCVS AM CVn) 03:52 Queue Completed Job Queue completed 03:52 Session Initiating Session initiating (2019-03-04) 03:52   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan () 03:52   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-03-04 V2 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 301) 03:52   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 03:52   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 03:52 Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 03:53 Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 03:53 Session Running Session running 03:53   Queue Started Observing Queue started (10 targets selected) 03:55     Target Started (1/10) Target started (1/10, GCVS U Her) 03:57   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:59   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 14) 04:07     Target Completed Target completed (1/10, GCVS U Her) 04:07     Target Started (2/10) Target started (2/10, GCVS S Cyg) 04:09   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:11   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 15) 04:21     Target Completed Target completed (2/10, GCVS S Cyg) 04:22     Target Started (3/10) Target started (3/10, GCVS SS Cyg) 04:24   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:26   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 16) 04:29     Target Completed Target completed (3/10, GCVS SS Cyg) 04:35     Target Started (4/10) Target started (4/10, GCVS AM Her) 04:38   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:40   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 17) 04:45     Target Completed Target completed (4/10, GCVS AM Her) 04:45     Target Started (5/10) Target started (5/10, GCVS R CrB) 04:49   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:51   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 18) 04:54     Target Completed Target completed (5/10, GCVS R CrB) 04:54     Target Started (6/10) Target started (6/10, GCVS SS Her) 04:57   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:59   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 19) 05:03     Target Completed Target completed (6/10, GCVS SS Her) 05:03     Target Started (7/10) Target started (7/10, GCVS CY Lyr) 05:05   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:07   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 20) 05:11     Target Completed Target completed (7/10, GCVS CY Lyr) 05:11     Target Started (8/10) Target started (8/10, GCVS CI Cyg) 05:13   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:15   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 21) 05:19     Target Completed Target completed (8/10, GCVS CI Cyg) 05:19     Target Started (9/10) Target started (9/10, GCVS WZ Sge) 05:21   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:23   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 22) 05:28     Target Completed Target completed (9/10, GCVS WZ Sge) 05:30     Target Started (10/10) Target started (10/10, GCVS V Sge) 05:31   Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 05:34   Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 23) 05:42     Target Completed Target completed (10/10, GCVS V Sge) 05:42 Queue Completed Job Queue completed 05:42 Session Closing Session closing 05:43 Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 50s) 05:43 Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 10s) 05:43 Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 38s) 07:11 Observatory (Manual) Observatory placed in Manual Mode 07:11 Services Stopped Observatory Services stopped

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Operational Issues (2019-03-04, S671)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (2)
  
• Minor issues (3)
• Continuous Improvement (2)

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• Computer unexpectedly rebooted shortly before the session was started.   Computer crashed or otherwise decided to reboot itself improperly prior to starting the session.  This delayed the start of the session whilst the login was completed and software restarted.  Underlying reason for the issue continues to be unknown, though the frequency of reboots has decreased in the last 3 week.  Event viewer again records a Kernal-Power Type ID 41 critical event / BugCodeCheck 209 which notes that an unexpected roboot without a proper shutdown had occurred at around xx:xx.  Monitored for further crash occurences (both during and out-with observing sessions).  Problem has become less frequent through Q2/Q3 2019 and eventually resolved itself. Issue closed Nov 2020.
    Closed, Nov 2020 (Observatory Computer)
   
• AstroMain failed with a unhandled exception. Program restarted. After a second occurance JIT debugging was used to identify a bug in PHD2 module where there was to a cdbl (string to double) error in StartPhd2Guiding (PHD2 module)
   Fixed 2019-03-04 (AstroMain 3.9.6)

Minor issues

• Immediate ToO need to perform a Camera Abort in order to stop the current frame of the current target in order to start the ToO as soon as possible.  After submitting a ToO Target (NGC 3254 SN2019np) for immediate imaging, the Execution manager still proceeded to finished the current frame for the current target (21P/Giacobini-Zinner) before aborting and starting the ToO.  This may be ok for an ad-hoc ToO submitted manually by user, but is too slow for acting upon a GRB Alert where the current frame might take 180s to finish, representing a huge delay to the aim of slewing to the GRB target as soon as possible.
   Fixed.  This seems to be working ok during session 2019-03-09 S672 (AstroMain 3.9.6)
   
• Multiple messages reporting a date parsing exception in AstroGuard / FetchObservatoryStatus.  Exceptions were most-likely due to a corruption of 'ObsStatus.dat' file as a consequence of the unexpected reboot of the computer prior to the session.
  Fixed 2019-09-07 (AstroGuard 1.2.4).
   
• The duration of a target reported as part of Target End reporting is 360 times too large.  Checking the code revealed a bug where durations in secs was mutiplied by 60 instead of dividing by 60 in order to calculate duration in mins
   Fixed 2019-03-05 (AstroMain 3.9.6)

Continuous Improvement

• Program Lists to be alphabetically sorted on AstroPlan Forms (Program Form, Target List Form, Target Form)
   Done 2019-03-12 (AstroPlan 1.9)
   
• Prevent AstroVOE from submitting ToO targets for two or more GRB Alert tests in a row.  Whilst Test Alerts can be totally ignored altogether via a checkbox setting when a test is required their GRB Alerts will sometimes arrive in batches of 3 with one test for Swift BAT, one test for Fermi and one test for Agile etc. Code needs to be modified to allow just one of these test alerts (say no more than 1 Alert allowed in a 2 hour period). In practice this isn't ever likely to be an issue since the large positional errors associated with Fermi alerts means these alerts are inevitably screen-out.  Issue closed
  Closed / Not done (AstroVoE)

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