;
Gray: 
phase 
;
Bright: phase 
.
C. Bailyn (Yale), H. Cohn (IU), R. Mathieu (UW), D. Silva (NOAO)
22 Sept 1993
As revised by WIYN SAC: 23 Sept 1993
As approved by WIYN Board: 24 Sept 1993
Introductory Note
This document establishes guidelines for the SCHEDULING of NOAO, University and T&E time on the WIYN Observatory. As an overview, the scheduling of WIYN observing time will proceed in two steps. First, at intervals coordinated with NOAO scheduling periods, specific dates will be assigned to NOAO, the Universities and T&E through a joint process described here. Second, NOAO and the Universities will thereafter independently schedule programs for each of their assigned dates, when and how each sees fit. This document addresses only the first step, and herein the Universities are considered as a single, joint institution. (Note that this document does not address the ALLOCATION of WIYN observing time to observers; a fundamental premise is that such allocations will be done independently by each of the four institutions.)
Herein, ``scheduling" refers to assignment of a specific date(s) to an institution or observer. ``Allocation" refers to assignment of an amount of observing time to an observing program, without specified date. ``Time critical" describes an observation which must be made on a certain date(s) and which can be predicted prior to the scheduling period. In contrast, ``target of opportunity" is an unanticipated or unpredictable observing opportunity of unusual importance which cannot be requested prior to the scheduling period.
The plan presented here requires establishment of a Scheduling Committee consisting of one member from each institution. The Chair of the Committee will rotate among the institutions, changing each scheduling period. Tenure of membership is left to each institution, but it is advised that typical tenures be at least a year so as to provide a memory to the process.
A detailed plan for assigning NOAO, University and T&E nights follows:
(1) Up to two (2) T&E nights near or at full moon will be set aside by the consortium for routine preventive maintenance and upgrades of the telescope, the general use instruments, and other related consortium maintained facilities.
These nights shall be considered consortium time and shall be scheduled before science time is divided between NOAO and the Universities. T&E activity during these nights shall be coordinated by the WIYN Site Manager. Since it is unlikely that all these nights will be needed for T&E, these nights will be pre-designated as NOAO or University nights. Typically this assignment will be driven by the scheduling of contiguous nights, with the constraint of maintaining the agreed upon division of WIYN time. In the event that the WIYN Site Manager concludes that one of these nights is not required for T&E, the night would then revert to the pre-scheduled institution.
For operations personnel reasons, these T&E nights should not fall on Friday--Sunday nights or on nights of major NOAO holidays.
(2) All other WIYN telescope time will be divided into semi-floating blocks. Typically NOAO blocks will be eight (8) days and University blocks will be twelve (12) days in duration.
An initial block schedule will be created automatically with the following constraints: (i) Up to two (2) T&E nights will first be scheduled each lunation, with one exception noted in (iv) below; (ii) T&E nights will not fall more than two (2) nights from full moon; (iii) T&E nights will not fall on Friday--Sunday or on major NOAO holidays; (iv) if constraint 2 conflicts with constraint 1, then only one T&E night will be scheduled; (v) NOAO and University blocks will then be scheduled in the remaining time in a continuous alternating sequence; (vi) scheduling will commence by continuation of the pattern at the end of the previous scheduling period.
In addition to the preliminary schedule for the immediate scheduling period, the Site Manager will also submit to the Scheduling Committee a preliminary schedule for an additional twelve (12) months. This additional schedule will begin at the end of the current scheduling period. The Scheduling Committee will review and approve this preliminary schedule after which if will be provided to NOAO and the Universities for planning purposes. If they choose, NOAO and the Universities may announce this preliminary schedule to their respective user communities as long as the preliminary nature of this schedule is clearly stated.
(3) This initial schedule will be submitted by the Site Manager to the Scheduling Committee. The Committee will review the schedule, with particular emphasis on ensuring access for the time-critical observations of each institution. With unanimous agreement, the Committee may modify the schedule as necessary. Recognizing the desirability of maintaining the nominal block sizes, it is anticipated that typically, but not always, adjustments will be in the form of shifting entire blocks by at most a few nights rather than dividing blocks.
The Scheduling Committee will be charged with resolving situations of competing NOAO and University proposals for time-critical events, and other scheduling conflicts as they arise. Failing unanimous resolution by the Scheduling Committee, the night will remain as initially allocated.
The Scheduling Committee will be also be charged with monitoring the distribution of non-Consortium time in order to maintain the correct division of total nights, dark nights, gray nights and bright nights on a yearly basis. Currently, those fractions are: NOAO 40%, the Universities 60%. For the purposes of accounting, dark, gray and bright nights will be defined by the following lunations at KPNO local midnight:
Dark: phase ;
Gray: phase ;
Bright: phase .
In each scheduling period, the Committee will adjust the schedule to compensate as closely as possible for any inequities which may have arisen in previous scheduling periods. The Committee will also attempt to ensure an approximately equitable division of time with respect to time of year.
(4) The process outlined in point 3 will occur no more than two (2) weeks after NOAO time allocation is completed. This constraint acts as the deadline for the Universities to determine their time-critical time allocations.
(5) In the event of time allocation by both NOAO and the Universities for a time-critical event(s), the Scheduling Committee will first attempt to resolve the conflict by a modification of the schedule. The goal of such modifications will be to provide equitable access to the time-critical event for each proposing institution. (For example, CCD photometric monitoring of an event by one institution does not necessarily preclude spectroscopy by another.) Failing unanimous resolution, the night will remain as initially allocated.
(6) From time to time Targets of Opportunity (TOO) may arise. Ordinarily such situations will be handled by ad hoc arrangements with the scheduled observer. If the TOO observer and the scheduled observer are from different institutions, the Scheduling Committee will re-establish scheduling parity in the subsequent scheduling cycle.
(7) It is expected that the WIYN telescope will be closed for major maintenance activities for two (2) weeks in July or August every two (2) or three (3) years, and that the first such shutdown will occur during July or August 1996.
Like the monthly T&E nights discussed above, these two week shutdowns shall be considered consortium time and be scheduled before science time is divided between NOAO and the Universities.
(8) This agreement is subject to Board review and modification at any time.