WIYN Shared Risk Queue Observing Program Information Version 1.1: 2 February 1995, Dave Silva ************************************************************************** Contents 1. Program Overview 2. Instrument Information 3. Calibration Information 4. Application Instructions 5. Final comments 6. EMAIL ADDRESSES 7. Addendum on Target-of Opportunity Observations ************************************************************************** 1. Program Overview The WIYN 3.5m telescope is in the process of being commissioned at KPNO. The current median WIYN delivered image quality is 0.7" FWHM (see article in March 1995 NOAO Newsletter). This state-of-the-art alt-az telescope has a wide-field CCD Imager and wide-field multi-object fiber spectrograph (MOS/Hydra) mounted at its two Nasmyth foci. When science operations begin (1 June), NOAO will be allocated 40% of WIYN telescope time by the WIYN (Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO) Consortium. All of the NOAO observing time will be carried out in "queue mode"---i.e., observations will be carried out by the WIYN science staff. We are now soliciting WIYN proposals for the Fall 1995 semester (1 Sept 1995 to 31 Jan 1996). Proposers should use the standard KPNO observing proposal form, and submit the additional WIYN queue observing program attachment (see below) to provide full observational details of the program. This shared-risk observing phase is a shakedown period during which NOAO will begin scientific operations using observers' programs to complete the commissioning of the telescope, instrumentation, and operations plan. "Shared-Risk" is defined as follows: NOAO will accept proposals for WIYN observations, and will attempt to complete approved programs in an expedient manner and to provide scientific grade data. NOAO cannot guarantee, however, that approved observations will be completed. Nevertheless, NOAO will work to assure that any data that is obtained and released during this period is of high scientific quality. User input will be critical during this stage as we dynamically refine the WIYN science program. We expect the shared-risk phase will begin no earlier than 1 June 1995 and last for approximately 6 - 8 months. NOAO expects to be allocated between 9 and 12 nights per month by the WIYN Consortium. Most science observations will be done in queue/service mode to allow us to maximize the data quality while achieving our technical goals with a minimal impact on and from observers. We also hope that the availability of the queue observing mode and the opportunity to obtain data for small programs will permit broader access by the community to KPNO facilities. Operating in a queue mode also allows NOAO to develop new observing strategies for application to the Gemini 8m telescopes. A few projects with special or unusual requirements may also be scheduled in the traditional manner with observers present on the mountain. NOAO will support the two major WIYN facility instruments, the WIYN CCD Imager and the HYDRA Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) formerly available at the 4m. Commissioning of these instruments will not be completed before 1 June 1995. Details of these two instruments are available in separate files available via WWW, FTP, or the KPNO Director's Office as described below. The telescope is designed to switch quickly between these two instruments. Observing programs of all lengths will be accepted for review. Long Programs (which require more than 2 hours of telescope time) will be reviewed by the normal external KPNO TACs and ranked by scientific merit. Short Programs (those requiring less than 2 hours of observing time) will be reviewed by an internal KPNO TAC. The goal of a typical Short Program might be to obtain a small dataset to complete a larger project or assess the feasibility of a particular type of observation before the submission of a Long Program proposal. Individual Short Program principal investigators or co-investigators will be allocated at most six (6) hours (i.e. a maximum of three separate Short Program proposals) of WIYN telescope time during "shared risk" operations. Proposers should remember that not all observing time will be photometric with 0.5" seeing and should consider submitting proposals which take this into account. Successful observations will be made available to the program principle investigator as quickly as possible. Typically, datasets will be sent to he principal investigator in FITS format on Exabyte or DAT tapes within seven (7) working days of completing their program. Small datasets may be transmitted to the principal investigator via FTP. To protect proposers' access, such datasets will not be available from NOAO via anonymous FTP. Instead, such transfers will be from NOAO to a site designated by the principal investigator. Detailed WIYN proposal information and the WIYN attachment to the standard KPNO proposal form are available electronically or on paper from the same sources as other KPNO observing proposal materials: WWW via MOSAIC: http://www.noao.edu click on the "KPNO" Page, and then on "How to Get Observing Time" ANONYMOUS FTP: ftp.noao.edu cd kpno/kpnoforms mget * bye EMAIL: kpnoprop-request@noao.edu send email to this address to receive KPNO Proposal Information by return e-mail PAPER: KPNO Observing Support Call (602) 325-9279 Office to request us to send materials to you. Updated information about WIYN "shared risk" operations will be published in the September 1995 NOAO Newsletter. Further information about WIYN science operations, including the latest instrument characteristics information as commissioning proceeds, may be obtained via the NOAO Mosaic home page (/http://www.noao.edu) or anonymous FTP from ftp.noao.edu in the directory wiyn/sciops/shared. Questions about the WIYN proposal process should be directed to the KPNO Directors Office (kpno@noao.edu); questions about expected instrument performance of MOS/Hydra should be directed to Sam Barden (sbarden@noao.edu) or Taft Armandroff (tarmandroff@noao.edu); questions about the WIYN imager should be directed to Dave Silva (dsilva@noao.edu) or Taft Armandroff; questions about WIYN operations status and queue observing should be directed to Dave Silva. ************************************************************************** 2. Instrumentation Information At this time (February 1995), instrument commissioning has just commenced, so actual instrument performances at WIYN are unknown. As commissioning proceeds, we will try to make this information available as quickly as possible as described above. Nevertheless, we list general instrument characteristics below. MOS/Hydra --------- The Hydra Milti-Fiber Positioner and the Bench Spectrograph have been removed from the KPNO 4m Telescope in preparation for use on the new 3.5m WIYN telescope starting in the Spring, 1995. A general description of the instrument may be found in the Hydra Users Manual, available via anonymous FTP (ftp ftp.noao.edu, cd kpno/manuals, binary, get hydramanual.ps.Z) or from the KPNO Observing Suppport Office. Changes include the expected availability of a new, faster focal ratio camera (described below) and a more limited inventory of gratings. Hydra/Bench Characteristics at WIYN |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Full unvignetted field | 60 arcmin | | diameters | | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Fiber diameters | 3 arcsec (blue fibers) | | | 2 arcsec (red fibers) | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Fibers available | 96 blue fibers | | | 96 red fibers | | | 12 field orientation probes | | | 84 locations for future fibers| |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Minimum fiber separation | 37 arcsec | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Configuration time | 20-25 minutes | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Estimated positioning | 0.22 arcsec (20 um) | | accuracy | | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Grating | 316 line/mm, blaze angle 7 d (B&L 181) | | | 600 line/mm, blaze angle 13.9 d (B&L 420) | | | 860 line/mm, blaze angle 30.9 d (KPC-24) | | | 1200 line/mm, blaze angle 21.1 d | | | 316 line/mm echelle, blaze angle 63.4 d | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Cameras | All-refractive bench camera (285 mm focal length) | | | Simmons camera (381 mm focal length) | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Collimators | 6 inch f/6.7 paraboloid | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Detector | 2048 x 2048 thinned Tektronix CCD (24 um pixels) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| For the purpose of estimating exposure times, proposers should assume that the WIYN/MOS combination has equivalent throughput to the 4m/Hydra throughput as described in the Hydra manual. After scientific review, some attempt will be made to minimize the total number of spectrograph configurations. Some proposers may be asked to adopt slightly different configurations than they requested. All affected proposers will be notified and asked for approval. A revised "setup" program is also available for defining the spectrograph configuration and planning observations. The setup program is available via anonymous FTP or Mosaic. CCD Imager ---------- The WIYN CCD Imager will include a shutter and filter wheel assembly under construction at Indiana University and a CCD dewar and detector provided by NOAO. The initial WIYN CCD system will be a thinned 2048x2048 STIS chip with 21 micron (= 0.2") pixels. This CCD has been designated S2KB. The quantum efficiency curve of this CCD is comparable or better than T2KB, the standard 4m CCD. A detailed QE curve was published in the December 1994 NOAO Newsletter. It has a read noise of 8 e- and good cosmetics. NOAO and WIYN are very grateful to the STIS project (Bruce Woodgate, PI) for making this excellent detector available. The standard KPNO Harris UBVRI filters as well as the Gunn uvgri filters will be available. Three H-alpha filters with three different bandwidths (15 A, 50 A, and 400 A) will also be available. Other filters may be available by special request from the NOAO collection. Investigators may provide special filters as well. The filter holder accepts filters up to 4 x 4 inches in size. ************************************************************************** 3. Calibration Information For each instrument, we will establish a calibration procedure which is general enough that it will allow us to combine observing programs. The preliminary calibration plan is as follows: CCD Imager: We will take 9 full bias frames and 5 dome flats through each active filter at the start of each night. We will take twilight flats for any program which requires large scale flat fielding although we cannot guarantee that they will be taken the night of the program exposures. We will only use 3 - 5 different filters per night. For photometric programs, we will observe each night a minimum of 12 Landoldt (B-V=0.4 to B=-V=1.2), Gunn, or KPNO Spectrophotometric standards, depending on the active filters. On one photometric night we will observe a set of standards over a large range of airmass to establish extinction coefficients. We will observe objects at airmasses of 1.5 or less unless specifically instructed to observe at higher airmass. MOS/Hydra: We will take 9 full bias frames at the start of each night. We will constrain the number of spectrograph configurations to no more than (1) one per night. Comparison lamp exposures will be taken immediately after every program exposure. Dome flat exposures will be taken once per Hydra configuration. We will take twilight flats at the start and end of each night (provided it is clear) unless the spectrograph configuration has not changed since the previous spectrograph configuration. We will observe objects at airmasses of 1.5 or less unless specifically instructed to observe at higher airmass. We will observe at least one spectrophotometric standard with each spectrograph setup used each night. Proposers will be told how to submit MOS/Hydra configuration data after the proposal review process is completed. These procedures are preliminary. After all proposals are reviewed, we will send you a final description of observing procedures along with the list of your proposed observations and ask you to confirm that they are acceptable. Note that if you require any special calibration exposures, in addition to the bias frames, flat fields, photometric and spectrophotometric standards that we choose, you must specify these as program objects. For example, radial velocity standards should be included in your request. The observations will be made by a combination of KPNO scientific and support staff. The aim is to produce explicit enough observing procedures that the quality of the data is not tied to the observer. Regardless of the observer, all the data will be reviewed by a scientific staff member to ensure that there have been no unnoticed problems. The goal of this program is to increase the efficiency of the telescope by allowing us to schedule the observations in such a way to minimize overhead and mix programs depending on the conditions. Therefore, we will develop/acquire software for dynamically scheduling observations taking account of the atmospheric conditions, the positions of prospective targets, and the overhead of changing instrument configuration. Because this is an experiment and a learning process for us, we reserve the right to use this time to try different algorithms and software packages. The proposers will have no real-time input into the observing, but we will establish a mechanism for you to find out if your observations have been made. ************************************************************************** 4. Application Instructions Applying for WIYN "shared-risk" observing requires submitting the following: (1) a regular KPNO observing proposal form (2) a WIYN queue observing program form These forms can be acquired in the following ways: WWW via MOSAIC: http://www.noao.edu click on the "KPNO" Page, and then on "How to Get Observing Time" ANONYMOUS FTP: ftp.noao.edu cd kpno/kpnoforms mget * bye EMAIL: kpnoprop-request@noao.edu send email to this address to receive KPNO Proposal Information by return e-mail PAPER: KPNO Observing Support Call (602) 325-9279 Office to request us to send materials to you. The proposal forms are designed to be processed by LaTeX macros. Briefly, the proposal form consists of a series of keywords followed by fields in which you fill in the information. After editing this information into the form, you may produce a hardcopy by running it through LaTeX and sending it to your laser printer. IMPORTANT NOTES FOR KPNO PROPOSAL FORM: (1) If you are applying for Long Program observations, specify "WIYN" as the telescope. (2) If you are applying for Short Program observations, specify "WIYN---2hr" as the telescope. (3) Short Program scientific justifications should be kept a half page or less. Proposers will be told how to submit MOS/Hydra configuration data after the proposal review process is completed. Electronic submission of WIYN proposals will be a two-step process. Both steps must be completed by midnight MST 31 March 1995. These steps are: (1) Submit the regular KPNO proposal form to kpnoprop-submit@noao.edu. Proposals will be promptly acknowledged by e-mail. This acknowledgement will contain the proposal ID, and instructions for submitting any encapsulated post-script figures as well as instructions for submitting the WIYN queue form. (2) Submit the WIYN queue form to "kpnoprop-submit@noao.edu", following the instructions explictly in the previous acknowlegement. If all goes well, you should then receive an additional acknowledgement. For non-electronic submission, both the standard KPNO proposal form and the WIYN queue observing proposal form MUST be received by KPNO (950 N. Cherry, Tucson, AZ 85719 if sending by courier; P.O. 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726-6732 if sending by US Mail) before 5 PM March 31, 1995. Questions about the application process should be directed to the KPNO Director's office (kpno@noao.edu). ************************************************************************** 5. Final Comments Queue observing at WIYN is still very much in the development stage. We know that we haven't thought of everything. We will be very interested in comments and suggestions, both ahead of time and afterwards. We realize that not all programs lend themselves to this approach, but we believe that substantial gains can be made in efficiency and in guaranteeing that the highly ranked proposals are completed. If you have specific questions or comments on this program, please send them to the KPNO Director's office (kpno@noao.edu). ************************************************************************** 6. EMAIL ADDRESSES kpnoprop-request@noao.edu Send request here to receive electronic KPNO proposal form and WIYN queue form. kpnoprop-submit@noao.edu Submit completed proposal forms here. kpno@noao.edu Send questions or comments here. Mail sent here will be examined by a real person. ************************************************************************** 7. Addendum on Imager Target-of Opportunity Observations In addition to preplanned observations, we will consider making Imager observations on targets of opportunity. These might include such objects as supernovae, gamma ray bursters, comets, or variable stars which are exhibiting unusual behavior. Because observations are scheduled dynamically, such additional objects can be inserted into the program with minimum impact. However, because projects which have been judged scientifically important will be delayed, we will also require a short scientific justification for observations of targets of opportunity. MOS/Hydra Target-of-Opportunity observations will not be allowed at this time. We can accomodate target-of-opportunity proposals which adhere to the following procedure: 1) Proposals for targets of opportunity must be submitted on the standard KPNO LaTeX template form but with the scientific justification limited to 250 words. The LaTeX WIYN queue observing program addendum form must also be submitted. The justification should mention why immediate observations are required and over what timescale the observations would be interesting. 2) Any proposal received before 2 PM MST on a day during which observations will be made may be scheduled for that night. **************************************************************************