David's Astronomy - Notes 2021-06-05 (S0900)

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Notes - Session 900 (2021-06-05)

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(S900A)

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Notes
(S901)


	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result - Night Summary Plot - Session Event Log

	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0), Major Issues (1), Minor Issues (7), Small Defects (1), Continuous Improvement (0)

	Images from 2021-06-05 >> [ Local Files >> ]

Session Aims & Highlights (2021-06-05)

Main aims

AstroMain. Try out AstroMain 3.40.4, following further refactoring of code connected with plate-solving. Check out fixes and enhancements. Check for any new issues / introduced bugs.
Guiding. Collect information to understand the impact of focuser movements & associated change in weight distribution on guiding
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, PHD2, DeviceHub 6.5.1.4, MeadeLX200GPS / MeadeGeneric 1.1.0.337, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.5 SP1
Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
SharpCap 3.2, PHD2 2.6.9Dev4
AstroMain 3.40.4, AstroPlan 1.22.1, AstroShCap 1.3.11, AstroGuard 1.6, AstroVOE 1.7, AstroSN 1.5.1, AstroProtect 1.6
(AstroWeather 1.12.4, AstroAllSky 3.10.4, AstroObsCam 1.5.5)

Highlights

AstroMain. A few issues with AstroMain 3.40.4 including a showstopping bug that required a quick in-session fix and reinstallation.

AutoStart Details:
AutoStart Monitoring                    2021-05-31 23:00  (Local)
  AutoStart Reference:        Info      2021-06-01 00:17 (Local, Sun Altitude -10.0 degs)
  AutoStart Window:           Info      2021-05-31 23:47 (Local, Earliest Start)
                              Info      2021-06-01 01:12 (Local, Latest Start)
  Waiting...                  Info      Waiting till the beginning of AutoStart Window at 23:47
  Delaying AutoStart...       Info      Unable to begin AutoStart at 23:47 due to too few stars
                                         (Few Stars Threshold = 2)
  Waiting...                  Info      Waiting till conditions are fully suitable for observing

  AutoStart Check             Ok        Conditions at 00:02 are suitable for starting an observing session

Session Equilibration                   2021-06-01 00:06  (Local)
  Now                         Info      2021-06-01 00:06  ( -24 mins )
  Expected Shutter Opening    Info      2021-06-01 00:06  ( -24 mins ) Actual 00:06
  Expected Equilbrat'n Start  Info      2021-06-01 00:07  ( -23 mins )
  Expected Run Start          Info      2021-06-01 00:13  ( -17 mins ) Actual 00:13
  Expected Near-Zenith Foc1   Info      2021-06-01 00:14  ( -16 mins ) Actual 00:13
  Expected Near-Zenith Foc2   Info      2021-06-01 00:22  (  -8 mins ) Actual 00:19
  Expected Queue Start        Info      2021-06-01 00:28  (  -2 mins )
  Plan Queue Start            Info      2021-06-01 00:30  ( On Track ) Actual 00:23

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance
Dec Notes : Run 2 (black) failed due to lost star on second frame.

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
23:49:51		Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 23:52 & 01:20
23:52:15		AutoStart Waiting	AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 23:52
23:52:16		AutoStart Delayed	Session delayed due to too few stars
00:04:37		Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (00:04)
00:05:21		Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera Connected (set point -10°C)
00:05:23		Session Created	Live Session Created (2021-06-05 S00900, ImageSaveNum: 900001)
00:05:25		Scope Switched On	Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox.
00:07:04		Services Started	Observatory Services started
00:07:11		Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
00:07:14		Session Pending	Session pending (2021-06-05)
00:07:16		Session Initiating	Session initiating (2021-06-05)
00:07:18		Plan Requested	Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.22.1)
00:08:25		Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (, Plan ID: 639)
00:08:30		Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C)
00:08:35		Telescope Connected	Telescope Connected (TheSky6)
00:08:52		Session Equilibration	Session ready for dome & camera equilibration
00:15:48		Dome Opened	Dome opened (opening time 45s)
00:15:50		Session Running	Session running
00:15:52		Queue Started	Observing Queue started (9 targets selected)
00:15:54		Target Started (NrZen)	Target started (Focus Field 16, HIP 78946)
00:29:38		Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 00:29 & 01:20
00:29:42		AutoStart Delayed	Session delayed due to cloud
00:29:52		Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (00:29)
00:30:21		Session Resumed	Live Session Resumed (2021-06-05 S00900, ImageSaveNum: 900001)
00:30:58		Services Started	Observatory Services started
00:31:05		Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
00:31:07		Session Pending	Session pending (2021-06-05)
00:31:09		Session Initiating	Session initiating (2021-06-05)
00:31:12		Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (, Plan ID: 639)
00:31:25		Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C)
00:31:31		Telescope Connected	Telescope Connected (TheSky6)
00:31:47		Session Equilibration	Session ready for dome & camera equilibration
00:31:49		Session Running	Session running
00:31:51		Queue Started	Observing Queue started (9 targets selected)
00:31:53		Target Started (NrZen)	Target started (Focus Field 16, HIP 78946)
00:32:59		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:35:52		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide)
00:37:32		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1)
00:37:35		Focusing Started-Foc2	Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap)
00:40:02		Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide)
00:41:55		Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2)
00:42:19		Target Completed	Target completed (Focus Field 16, HIP 78946)
00:42:22		Target Missed (1/9)	Target's time slot was missed (1/9, GCVS BL Lac)
00:42:24		Target Started (2/9)	Target started (2/9, HIP 87937)
00:46:12		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
00:47:53		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3)
00:50:28		Target Completed	Target completed (2/9, HIP 87937)
00:53:31		Target Started (3/9)	Target started (3/9, AT2021bur (CV))
01:01:22		Target Completed	Target partially completed (3/9, AT2021bur (CV))
01:01:25		Target Started (4/9)	Target started (4/9, GCVS R CrB)
01:04:34		Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
01:06:03		Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4)
01:07:15		SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (reducing clarity)
01:07:35		SoftSuspend Cancelled	Soft Suspend is cancelled due to Improved Conditions
01:08:20		SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (reducing clarity)
01:08:40		SoftSuspend Cancelled	Soft Suspend is cancelled due to Improved Conditions
01:09:06		Target Completed	Target completed (4/9, GCVS R CrB)
01:09:09		Target Started (5/9)	Target started (5/9, GCVS U Her)
01:09:45		SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (reducing clarity)
01:10:15		Critical Cloud Alert	Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter)
01:10:17		HardSuspend Called	Hard Suspend is called due to Critical Conditions (cloud)
01:10:19		Target Aborted (5/9)	Target aborted (5/9, GCVS U Her) due to cloud
01:10:21		Queue Paused	Queue paused for Session Suspension
01:10:23		Session Suspended	Session suspended
01:11:10		Dome Closed	Dome closed (closing time 50s)
01:16:35		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (5/9, GCVS U Her) due to cloud
01:27:16		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (6/9, GCVS AM Her) due to cloud
01:37:19		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (7/9, GCVS CY Lyr) due to cloud
01:46:47		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (8/9, GCVS CI Cyg) due to cloud
02:06:20		Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (9/9, KIC 8462852) due to cloud
02:06:25		Queue Completed	Job Queue completed
02:06:30		Session Closing	Session closing
02:06:35		Dome Closed	Dome already closed (closed at 01:11, closing time 50s)
02:07:35		Dome Parked	Dome parked (parking time 52s), Az: 90.0 deg
02:08:37		Telescope Parked	Telescope parked (parking time 54s)
02:08:52		Telescope State	Scope parked Turn scope off. (Handbox)
02:09:12		Telescope Switched Off	Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch.
02:10:02		Services Stopped	Night Services stopped
02:10:04		Session Housekeeping	Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files)
02:10:11		Session Finished	Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time		Alert	Detail
--		No Alerts	--

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Operational Issues (2021-06-05, S900)

Critical Issues (0)
Major Issues (1)
Minor Issues (7)
Small Defects (1)
Continuous Improvement (0)

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Critical Issues

None

Major Issues

AstroMain crashed ahead of making first telescope slew with an InvalidCastException. Exception (conversion from string to type double is not valid) occured whilst checking the target azimuth ahead of making slew to Near Zenith Focus Field. Exception was associated with a recently modified code line which had introduced a bug (instead of reporting 'string + string ' the code was written with 'string + + string'). Fixed in-session, code recompiled and installed onto observatory computer and the session restarted.
Fixed in session 2021-05-05 (AstroMain 3.40.4)

Minor Issues

Data Charts (Focus Position, Focus Temperature, CCD2 Temperature, Zenith FWHM) show incorrect Time Scale and are missing data from the main part of the session. Graphs have a Y Axis starting at 08:30 though some show evidence of Y axis starting at 23:30 or 00:00. Examining the log file shows a exception ocurred at 00:30:12 whilst reading Session.dat data. This occurred after the session had to restarted following program crash and installation of new program build with bug fix, and it is assumed that Session.dat file was being written when the program crash occured and the resulting 'corrupt' or locked file prevented critical information about the Data Graphs from being accessed. Since this was an exceptional situation it is decided that issue can be closed. It is possible that some mitigation should be put in place to check/recover a problem Session.dat file, when restarting a session.
Closed. Issue understood 2021-06-06 (Session)
First Target (Barnards Star) was acquired with CCD temperatures of -13.5 to -12.7°C. First target acquired with CCD Temperature around 1.5 to 2°C above Set Point Temperature (-15°C). Set Point Temperature was initially set to -10°C at start of session at 00:05:30 based on ambient temperature of 10.4°C. After session restart at 00:30 the Set Point Temperature was reset to -15°C at 00:31 based on ambient temperature of 10.5°C. Barnards Star Locate Frames were started at 00:42 with Main Frames started at 00:47. CCD Monitor indicated that 'Av. Cooler Power (100.0%) is above Upper Threshold' & 'SetPoint Temperature needs to be raised' at between 00:46:48 and 00:50:25, and at end of target the CCD Temperature SetPoint has been raised to -10.0°C at 00:50:28, and temperatures were deemed to have stablised at new set point at 00:53:30. Monitor file shows that Av. Cooler Power was 100% between 00:32 and 00:50, so why the ;'need' to raise set point temperature only raised/logged at 00:46 onwards. There seems to have been plenty of time for automated intervention to have been made and set point temperature raised before starting the Barnards Star target or before its conducting main frames. Set Point Temperature chosen at start or at resumption of a session is determined from the GetProposedCcdTempSetPoint(ambient) routine. At the moment CCD Monitor waits at least 15mins since last SetPoint change (PhaseStartTime) before is can again raises a flag to raise or lower the CCD setpoint temperature (15 mins is from settling time (10min) + grace time (5 mins) ) . With SetPoint set at -15°C at 00:31 (PhaseStartTime) the CCD Monitor would only have begun raising a flag to change SetPoint temperature at 00:46 which nicely corresponds with the time that log messages begin to record the need to raise the CCD Set Point. The Settling/Grace times are too long to wait in cases where Av.Cooler is 100%. If after 5 mins the CCD Temp isn't changing by more than 1 deg over a 2 minutes period and Power Level is still 100% then the Set Point temperature clearly needs to be raised. Currently the 'GetProposedCcdTempSetPoint' routine returns a Proposed SetPoint of -15°C if Ambient is >=6 and < 11°C, or -10°C is ambient is >= 11 and < 16°C. The threshold for setting a -10 or -15°C setpoint is changed to being 10°C in AstroMain 3.40.5.
Fixed Attempt 2021-06-06 (AstroMain 3.40.5)
Observing Result graph is showing an anomolous 'Scheduled End (01:14)' annotation in middle of night. Scheduled end is being annotated at time/position which is nearly 1 hour before the actual end of the scheduled plan (02:07). It appears to be plotted at -10° Sun Altitude position. Issue is present in other session, but has become noticeable during the summer twilight conditions in which the the summer barely reaches -10° sun altitude. 'Scheduled End' is drawn at 'End' time corresponding to 'Start/End Sun Alt value shown on the Schedule Builder Form. Default value is -10° in summer time rather than the -9° that is used when 'Auto-Select Start/End' is checked. Fixed in AstroPlan 1.22.3 so that Auto-Select Start/End Alt is checked and Start/End End is automatically called whenever a Session Result chart is drawn.
Fixed 2021-06-06 (AstroPlan 1.22.3)
Changes to AutoStart Window are not necessarily being reflected/used. After making a change to AutoStart Window on More tab, the change becomes overwritten if the Program Settings form is accessed. Workaround added to AstroMain 3.40.5 by addition of a 'Save' button to allow the AutoStart Window changes to be saved to the SU array. SU array definition and conversions changed to make .AutoStartWindowSunAlt1 (Start) and .AutoStartWindowSunAlt2 (End) variables have type double instead of type integer.
Fixed 2021-06-06 (AstroMain 3.40.5)
Changes to AutoStart Window are not always being used and/or get overwritten. After making a change to AutoStart Window on More tab, the change becomes overwritten if the Program Settings form is accessed. Workaround added to AstroMain 3.40.5 by addition of a 'Save' button to allow the AutoStart Window changes to be saved to the SU array. SU array definition and conversions changed to make .AutoStartWindowSunAlt1 (Start) and .AutoStartWindowSunAlt2 (End) variables have type double instead of type integer.
Fixed 2021-06-06 (AstroMain 3.40.5)
Errors found in the calculation of XY coordinates from RaDec coordinates in the CalcRaDecToXY() routine (2021-06-07). During work on VMA routines to handle images plate solved using ASTAP errors were found in the selection of correct rotational angle required to rotate XY offsets that are referenced to equatorial axes to XY offsets that are referenced to image axes. 'Angle = 180 - Angle' is the required statement to give the angle form for the rotation transform. CalcRaDecToXY() routine fixed and re-factored in AstroMain 3.40.5 (2021-06-07).
Fixed 2021-06-07 (AstroMain 3.40.5)
Errors found in the calculation of Image Rotation Angle in PlateSolveWithASTAP() routine (2021-06-07). During work on VMA routines to handle images plate solved using ASTAP an error was found in the reading of CROTA2 angle from .INI file that is created during plate solution. The equation used to transform the rotation angle into the format used by TheSky6 is corrected to 'Rotation = CROTA2 + 180'. PlateSolveWithASTAP() routine fixed in AstroMain 3.40.5 (2021-06-07).
Fixed 2021-06-07 (AstroMain 3.40.5)
Workaround developed for that long standing issue that VMA (variable star magnitude analysis) of DY Per always fails (2021-06-07). Investigation shows that DY Per (GSC 3691:1782) fails because offset of the star's actual coordinates from the star's catalogue coordinates is around 5.6" which is greater than the current allowed tolerance of 5.0". A workaround is hard-coded into AstroMain 3.40.5 to increase the offset tolerance for DY Per from 5.0' to 10.0' A similar hard-coded workaround is added for GSC 394:1211 ( the C (Comparison) Star for the variable star SS Her).
Fixed 2021-06-07 (AstroMain 3.40.5)

Small Defects

The position at which the start of target *************** line was written to LogFile is too late (00:53). The *************** line is written too late when szTargetName has already changed ahead of checking/modifing the CCDSetPoints.00:50:28.20 | Obs. Manager Change CCDSetPoint Info | CCD Temperature SetPoint has been raised to -10.0 degC (00:50) 00:50:28.20 | AT2021bur WaitOn Camera.CCD Cooler Info | Waiting for CCD Temperature to stabilise at new Set Point 00:50:28.20 | AT2021bur Set ScopeMode(2) Info | Setting Scope Mode to Waiting 00:50:35.56 | CCD Monitor Check CCD SetPoint Info | CCD Temperature Set Point has changed to -10.0 degC 00:53:30.68 | CCD Monitor Check CCD Temp Info | CCD Temperatures have stabilised at Set Point +/- 1 degC 00:53:30.97 | AT2021bur WaitOn Camera.CCD Cooler Info | CCD Temperature has stabilised. Wait is finished. 00:53:30.97 | ********************************************************************************************************* 00:53:30.97 | AT2021bur Start Target 3/9 Try | Target : AT2021bur 00:53:31.00 | AT2021bur (trace) Proceed Ok | - IamAlive: ExecuteQueue Fixed 2021-06-06 (AstroMain 3.40.5)

Continuous Improvement

None

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Last Updated :	2024-09-30
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