David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 657 (2019-02-04)

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Notes (S658)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (2),  Major Issues (1),  Minor Issues (4),  Continuous Improvement (5)
	Autofocussing - FWHM & HFD Profiles
	Images from 2019-02-04  >>
	Aurora Images/Video from 2019-02-04 >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2019-02-04)

Main aims

1. Targets. Images of a range of targets (comets, variable stars, nearby stars and deep sky objects) during a night of expected good weather conditions
2. Software.  Test AstroMain 3.8.7 program to confirm recent fixes & enhancements are working and check for any newly introduced issues
3. Stability. Continue confirmation of robust Observatory System (hardware & software combined)

 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 3.8.7,  AstroPlan 1.6.2

Highlights

• Images.  35 targets out of 65 targets on the night's observing plan were successfully imaged  (a further 4 were partially imaged)

Lowlights

• Computer Crash.  A computer crash/reboot at 23:50 caused the lost of  5 hours of potential observing time.

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan (2019-02-04, S657)

Observing Result (2019-02-04, S657)

Night Sky Summary Plot - 2019-02-04, S657 Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s) Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Session Event Log (2019-02-04, S657)

Time     Event Detail 18:20:11 Session Created Live Session Created (2019-02-04 S00657, ImageSaveNum: 657001) 18:20:12   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 18:20:57   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 18:20:58   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 18:24:56   Equilibration Ended Dome Equilibration ended (4.0 mins total) 18:24:57   Queue Started Observing Queue started (51 targets selected) 18:24:58     Target Started (1/51) Target started (1/51, GCVS BL Lac) 18:31:53     Target Completed Target completed (1/51, GCVS BL Lac) 18:33:55       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 18:37:56       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 18:42:00   Program Hung AstroMain program froze and stopped responding 18:55:11 Session Resumed Live Session Resumed (2019-02-04 S00657, ImageSaveNum: 657014) 18:55:28   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 18:55:29   Services Started Observatory Services started 18:56:47 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 18:56:50 Session Pending Session pending (2019-02-04) 18:56:51   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (2019-02-04 V1 BEST PLAN, Plan ID: 269) 18:57:03   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 18:57:06   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 18:57:09   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 18:57:10   Queue Started Observing Queue started (49 targets selected) 18:57:11     Target Missed (3/51) Target Missed (3/51, WDS GRB 34) 19:04:47     Target Completed Target completed (5/51, GSC 1224:29) 19:08:25     Target Completed Target completed (6/51, GCVS FU Ori) 19:10:37     Target Started (7/51) Target started (7/51, GCVS DX Cnc) 19:11:51   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 63,684,904,311s) 19:12:36   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 19:18:16     Target Completed Target completed (7/51, GCVS DX Cnc) 19:20:29     Target Started (8/51) Target started (8/51, NGC 2681) 19:39:01     Target Completed Target completed (8/51, NGC 2681) 19:42:21     Target Started (9/51) Target started (9/51, GCVS CN Ori) 19:44:46       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 19:47:33       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 19:50:34   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 63,684,906,634s) 19:51:19   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 19:51:25     Target Completed Target completed (9/51, GCVS CN Ori) 19:59:22     Target Completed Target completed (10/51, NGC 2244) 20:00:48     Target Started (11/51) Target started (11/51, GCVS RR Tau) 20:06:50 Critical Conditions Alert Critical Conditions Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter 20:06:52     Target Aborted (11/51) Target aborted (11/51, GCVS RR Tau) due to other condition 20:06:58 Session Suspended Session suspended 20:07:46   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 48s) 20:09:01 Session Resuming Session resuming 20:09:46   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 20:11:22     Target Started (12/51) Target started (12/51, NGC 2204) 20:19:27   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 749s) 20:19:48     Target Completed Target completed (12/51, NGC 2204) 20:20:12   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 20:21:28     Target Started (13/51) Target started (13/51, GCVS U Gem) 20:27:51     Target Completed Target completed (13/51, GCVS U Gem) 20:30:31     Target Started (14/51) Target started (14/51, NGC 2628) 20:50:33     Target Completed Target completed (14/51, NGC 2628) 20:52:23     Target Started (15/51) Target started (15/51, GCVS GK Per) 20:59:57     Target Completed Target completed (15/51, GCVS GK Per) 21:00:14     Target Started (16/51) Target started (16/51, GCVS FO Ori) 21:08:25     Target Completed Target completed (16/51, GCVS FO Ori) 21:13:12   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 3,974s) 21:13:57   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 21:17:19     Target Completed Target completed (17/51, NGC 2360) 21:18:28     Target Started (18/51) Target started (18/51, GCVS U Mon) 21:28:45     Target Completed Target completed (18/51, GCVS U Mon) 21:37:53     Target Completed Target completed (19/51, GCVS NV Ori) 21:40:32       Focusing Started (Foc1) Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 21:43:49       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 21:52:41     Target Completed Target completed (20/51, NGC 2158) 21:59:03     Target Completed Target completed (21/51, LAMOST-HVS1) 22:07:48     Target Completed Target completed (22/51, 38P/Stephan-Oterma) 22:17:00     Target Completed Target completed (23/51, GCVS RZ LMi) 22:18:56     Target Started (24/51) Target started (24/51, NGC 2841) 22:39:18     Target Completed Target completed (24/51, NGC 2841) 22:40:48     Target Started (25/51) Target started (25/51, UGC 1626) 22:43:28     Target Completed Target completed (25/51, UGC 1626) 22:48:54     Target Aborted (26/51) Target aborted (26/51, GCVS HH And) due to other condition 23:07:08     Target Completed Target completed (27/52, UGC 1626) 23:10:05     Target Started (28/52) Target started (28/52, GCVS U And) 23:20:38   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 11,620s) 23:21:23   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 23:26:03     Target Completed Target completed (28/52, GCVS U And) 23:35:24     Target Completed Target completed (29/52, NGC 1502) 23:46:24   Shutter Closed Shutter closed (closing time 13,166s) 23:47:09   Shutter Opened Shutter opened (opening time 45s) 23:50:00 Computer Crash Obs. Computer unexpectedly crashed & rebooted 23:52:00 Observatory Shutdown Observatory Shutdown by AstroProtect, Shutter & Dome 05:18:58 Session Resumed Live Session Resumed (2019-02-04 S00657, ImageSaveNum: 657194) 05:20:22   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 05:20:30   Services Started Observatory Services started 05:21:31   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 05:22:38   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 05:28:13   Telescope Parked Telescope parked 05:29:13   Camera1 Disconnected SBIG Camera closed down & disconnected 05:30:00 Session Finished Session Finished (Manual)

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Operational Issues (2019-02-04, S657)

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

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Critical Issues

• Computer unexpectedly rebooted itself during session at 23:50.   Computer crashed or otherwise decided to reboot itself improperly during unattended operation of the Observatory which prevented the normal full completion and shutdown of the session. Underlying reason for the issue continues to be unknown.  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 23:52.  Upon auto-reboot of the computer the AstroProtect Program operated to close the dome shutter and to park the dome. The problem was recognised when attempting to checking the run remotely at 05:20 at which point the computer was logged into, and the telescope parked  (prior to parking the telescope had tracked to Az: 253.4, Alt: 63.8) 
  
  Issue is difficult to address without new information.  Problem persisted through Q1 2019,  but reduced in occurance in Q2-Q3.
  AstroProtect software was introduced 2019-02-06 to provide protection to the observatory in the event of a computer reboot.
  Problem seemed to resolve itself.  Computer operating well in 2020 with no reboots of the type experienced during session.
    Resolved (Obs.Computer)
    
• Telescope continued tracking after unexpected reboot of observatory computer.  When computer crashed at 23:50 the telescope was operating at Azimuth 91°, Altitude 55°.  When Observatory was checked in early morning (05:20) the telescope had tracked to Azim 253° , Alt 64°.   If telescope had been pointing in western sky when the crash occured the scope would have now been pointing past the north position where cable wrap /damage starts to become likely.  This problem had occurred previously in session on 2019-02-02.
    Fixed 2019-02-06 (AstroProtect 1.2,  program extended to park the telescope in the event of a computer crash/reboot)
  

Major Issues

• Shutter unexpectedly closing in good conditions.  The Shutter unexpectedly began closing on 6 occasions during the 5.3 hr session (19:11, 19:49,  20:18, 21:12, 23:19 & 23:45). In each case the sky conditions were good (no rain, no light, clarity > 40).  AstroMain worked as per the new 3.8.7 design to reopen the Dome again after checking that conditions are entirely ok.   The incidence of this unexpected closing is at a much higher frequency than in previous sessions (where there have typically been just one occurance per session). Since the last session, the Relay Configuration was been changed taking out the 5.5v DC supply and using the power from the Pulsar Controller relay itself.   Relay delay is on a 0 seconds delay (set that way for testing)
    Resolved 2019-02-06 (Relay delay was increased to 30s from 0s and this appears to have fixed the problem -  there were no incidents of the problem in sessions 2019-02-06 S659 and 2019-02-07 S660 that followed the change)

Minor Issues

• Invalid Shutter Close Times are reported for Unexpected Dome Closures
    Fixed 2019-02-06 (AstroMain 3.8.8)
    
  
• Pegasus UPB software produced a Net Framework exception message associated with Environmental charts resource issue.  Exception message noticed during attended operation and was accompanied by a white box with red cross where the UPB Temperature Chart would normally appears. The same issue has been noted in Session S654 (2019-01-31) and earlier sessions back in December
  Note sent to Pegasus Astro on 2019-02-05
   
• Average near-focus HFD measurements can be thrown slightly off by one spurious reading.   Although multiple HFD measurements are made at the near focus position (6 at present) which are then averaged a single measurement can be so far off that it affects the measurement.   During Focus Run 6, the individual measurements were 7.10,7.26, 7.63, 8.55 & 11.05.  These have a mean value of 8.31 vs a mean of 7.76 without the spurious reading.    Simply removing the highest value reading  (the one most likely to be wrong) introduces a biased result when there are no spurious points.  Dropping the lowest and highest readings is unbiased and gives a mean for the remaining points of 7.92.   This compares well with the median value of 7.94 which is another statistically valid method.  The difference between 8.31 and 7.92 makes a 46 steps difference in the calculated best focus position which is not insignificant.
    Closed 2020 (HFD focusing no longer considered important)
   
  
• Session stayed as the Previous Night's Live Session until manually switched to a general Session at 12:40. AstroMain / Obs.Manager code modified to automatically progress the Session at Night Date Switch Time (09:00)
    Fixed (2019) (AstroMain)
  

Continuous Improvement

• AstroProtect program to confirm that dome has actually Parked after commanding the dome to park. 
    Fixed 2019-02-06 (AstroProtect 1.2)
   
• Consider a new application to faciliate the loading of the session Fits Summary.dat and its inclusion in a correctly named Session Summary Workbook.   This would speed up pre-processing of the sessions image data compared to current method. This is probably best done as an excel program that autoruns a macro upon loading that reads a configuration file created by AstroMain
    Done 2019-02-07 (New routine in AstroMain / Reduction called 'CreateSessionWorkbook' that calls an auto-running Excel Workbook called 'Fits_Summary_Loader.xlsm' to create a Session Workbook based on the specification given in the intermediary file called NewSessionDetails.dat )
   
• Build a new routine that will measure focus at different altitudes. Could be based on an existing Measure Sky Brightness routine which measures sky brightness at different altitudes (and in different directions E,S,W).  Routine could be extended to measure focus using FWHM Profile and HFD V Slope Methods. This might eventually allow a altitude focus correction term if data supports it.
    Done 2019-02-08 (AstroMain 3.9)
   
• Redo NGC 2360 target (low in southern sky) when it is optimally placed and focused precisely.  Looks a great target (open cluster) from first images but stars a bit bloated which may be due to heat rising off houses below.    Review in Sept 2020 shows that the target has still not been re-acquired - this was due to target having a 'Completed' status. Target was reassigned as 'Reschedule'.  Target was eventually reimaged in Session S821 (2020-10-24).
    Done 2020-10-24 (Session S821)
   
• Redo NGC 2158 as a mosaic.    Looks a great target ( open cluster) from first images but target needs a wider field of view.  Review in Sept 2020 shows that the target has still not been re-acquired - this was due to target having a 'Completed' status. Target was reassigned as 'Reschedule' and set up as a 4x4 Mosaic including adjacent M35 open cluster.  There were attempts to create mosaic of NGC 2158 in sessions S814 & S821 (2020-09-29 & 2020-10-25), which were broadly successful.
    Done 2020-09-29 (Session S814)

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