David's Astronomy - Notes 2019-09-19 (S00696)

Immediate Response at 06:05 to 06:37
- Problem noticed at 06:05 with status of AdvMain at end of session - last response at ~ 04:34
- Screen Captures taken before doing anything showing the status of all the different programs 06:07 to 06:15

- Disconnected Scope & ASI ZWO from PHD2. Then closed PHD2
- Disconnected Scope and Dome from POTH. Hub at 06:19
(this produced immediate responses from TheSKy6 : "POTH. The scope is not connected' at 06:19
and AstroGuard : "Exception in Main Loop. The dome is not connected" at 06:19 / 06:20
- Killed Stranded Process from AstroLaunch at 06:37
- AstroMain then crashed 'The RPC server is unavailable' but this is not likely to be related to earlier incident

Data Review

Post Incident Screen Captures
- CCDSoft window not responding (white form area)
- 'Image Link Progress' dialog not responding (white box)
- POTH Hub active (shows telescope 'paked at alt 0.00deg, az 180.00 deg, RA 04:56:14, Dec -32 40 50) at 06:10.
RA is consistent with LST at this time.
- TheSky6 active (with the 00696218 image seemingly linked, and telescope connected
- AstroGuard Active with an alert message at 04:49 saying that the Obs.Manager had been silent for 15 mins (i.e. since 04:34)
and messages reporting the shutdown of the observatory by AstroGuard (closed shutter 47s, parked dome 38s, parked scope 7s)
- AstroVOE Active, with VOEvent messages as late as 06:04 with valid altitude values (indicating TheSky6's Utils object is working)
- AstroMain sluggish, GUI slowly refreshing, last comment dates to linking locate image 00696218 at around 04:34.
- ObsViewer showing view at 04:34 with Scope at Az 12°, Alt 23°, Dec 55° (UMa), Target NGC 5473. Scope tracking ON. Dome at Az 12 & Slaved. Position is consistent with targets actual location at this time.
- Obs. Manager screen showing last Scorecard Time at 04:34 <1 minute ago, Shutter Open, Session Running -5.4 mins ahead of plan.

Report File
- Report Log shows normal operations up to and including Target 5/8 (U Gem, 04:03 to 04:11),
- Target 6/8 (GCVS RZ LMi, 04:12) fails with "Scope isn't pointing to the target (Ang Sep. = 28.2 arc degs)"
& Possible 'Timed out waiting for received data' problem
- Target 7/8 (GCVS SS Her, 04:23) fails with "Altitude [-23.6] lies below horizon"
- Target 8/8 (NGC 5473, 04:23) fails when taking 1st Locate frame, when CCDSoft presumably locked up

Slew/Pointing Files
- Last records related to U Gem targe which was the last succcessfull aquired target.

Monitor FIle
- Last record from 04:33:59 (so freeze of thread must have occured between 04:34 and 04:36)

Log File
- Show that a slew is attempted at 04:12 (50s), but the pre-slew/post slew analysis shows that the scope hasn't moved, leading to 'Slew Discrepency' failure. However slew attempted at 04:32 seems to have been successful.

- Post Slew Coords for Target 8/8 (NGC 5473) are correct. Logifile shows that the AstroMain job executor froze at 04:34:09.28 (time of last message ). It appears to have occcured during image linking of the first locate frame (00696218) for the target. Failure seemed to come during link testing with 3rd point (X:-1, Y:0), the first two failing to give an adequate match (stars only 4/4) .

Scope Pics (AllSky)
- These show the scope at the U Gem location (04:03 to 04:12) and then later on at the NGC 5473 location (04:32)
   (ie no apparent visit to RZ LMi or anywhere else in between)
- Archived AllSky Annotated Images show the scope at U Gem location from 04:03 to 04:23
   at which point annotations show the scope at RZ LMi location from 04:24 to 04:31

Obs Pics
- show the scope and dome at U Gem from 04:03 to 04:12
- show the scope and dome slewing to a location in LMi at 04:13, with coords Az 60°, Alt 21°.
- show the scope/dome slewing to NGC 5473 in UMa at 04:32,
- final picture at 04:34
- one further picture at 06:21 (still show scope/dome at NGC 5473), but both had been parked by this time

Post session Analysis
Coordinates of GCVS RZ LMi at 04:12 would have been
    Equatorial: RA: 09h 52m 16s Dec: +34°05'19"(current)
    Equatorial 2000: RA: 09h 51m 49s Dec: +34°07'24"
    Horizon: Azim: 97°04'35" Alt: +46°06'38"
There is nothing to indicate why the scope couldn't slew to the coordinates at this time

Coordinates of GCVS SS Her at 04:23 would have been
    Equatorial: RA:           16h 33m 52s Dec: +06°49'18"(current)
    Equatorial 2000: RA: 16h 32m 56s Dec: +06°51'30"
These would have indeed been at -23° 37' (-23.6°) and thus below the horizon.

Post session plate solution on the reduced version of the final frame (00696218) worked ok and showed that the scope had slew to within 10' of the NGC 5473 target

Interpretation & Preliminary Actions

a) Glitch at 04:12
After commanding the scope to slew to GCVS RZ LMi , execution returned after 50s, but the TheSky6 telescope produced post-slew coordinates that hadn't moved from the pre-slew coordinates. Since the post slew coordinates were alongway from the target coordinates a slewing discrepency was recorded and the target routine was exited with Status='Failed' and FailureReason='Slew'.

ObsPics however show the scope and dome slewing to a location in LMi at 04:13, with coords Az 60°, Alt 21°. These coordinates are consistent with those of GCVS RZ LMi at this time.   Pics show the scope and dome were moving at about the same time.

It seems the scope did respond as commanded, but the post slew scope coordinates produced by TheSky6 telescope object hadn't updated for some reason.   This is the first time this has been knowingly seen.

>> Prehaps there needs to be a short delay added before reading the scope's post-slew coordinates ?
>> May be read a second time to double-check the first readings ?

Further review shows that there was a call to WaitToEnd (2s) + DelayAfterSlew (1s) added before reading the post-slew Ra/Dec coordinates
Telescope.GetAzAlt(), ScopeAzPostSlew = Telescope.dAz are called before reading post-slew Ra/Dec. This also returned pre-slew values.

b) SS Her below horizon at 04:23

Job Executor has responded entirely correctly by checking SS Her coordinates before conducting any slew and upon determining that it lay below the horizon it has exited the target routine with Status='Failed' and FailureReason='BelowHorizon'

>> Why has AstroPlan allowed SS Her target to be programmed at this time. It's altitude coordinates are clearly invalid.

c) Image Linking Freeze at 04:34
There is no obvious reason for this. Apart from the small glitch at 04:12 , things had been working well before the incident at 04:34. Valid coordinates in the Locate Frame 00696218 taken at and apparent image link (though possibly with too few stars to pass post-link checks) show that CCDSoft and TheSky were working ok together at 04:33 . Src file shows 7 objects in image.

>> Cause of problem is inconclusive

d) Observatory Shutdown at 04:49
AstroGuard as responded exactly as per design. After 15 minutes of inactivity from Obs.Manager , Astroguard has closed the shutter, parked the dome and parked the scope. The one anomaly was that the time to park was recorded as being 7s . This is much shorter than normal and is why the Observatory was visited to check the precise physical position of the scope.

>> Review code and see if there is a reason why the monitored time for telescope parking was only recorded as only 7s.

Report File (extracts)

GCVS U Gem  (5/8)                       2019-09-20 04:03  (Local)
  Target:                     Ok        GCVS U Gem        (ID: 73)

  Target Checks
  Checking Target ...         Ok        Sidereal Target   (GCVS U Gem)
  Checking Coordinates ...    Ok        J2000 Coords      RA: 07 55 05.199, Dec: +22 00 04.99
  Checking Altitude ...       Ok        Altitude          25.6 degs
  Checking Airmass ...        Ok        Airmass           2.31
  Checking Azimuth ...        Ok        Azimuth           88.8 degs
  Checking Declination...     Ok        Declination       21.97 degs
  Checking Azimuth ...        Ok        Azimuth           88.8 degs

  Slewing
  Including Offset ...        Ok        Offsets           W 0.0, N 1.0 [arc mins]
  Updating Target ...         Ok        J2000 Coords      RA: 07 55 05.199, Dec: +22 01 04.99
  Slewing ...                 Ok
  Checking Dome Position ...  Ok        Dome Azimuth      90.8 degs

  Centering

  Centering 1
  Jogging ...                 Ok        Est. Scope Change: 6.08 arc mins (W= -3.96', N= 4.61')

  Centering 2
   Jogging ...                 Ok        Est. Scope Change: 0.38 arc mins (W= -0.24', N= 0.29')
  Acceptance test ...         Passed    Pointing within 1.2 arc mins

  Imaging
  Taking 45s image (V)...     Ok        [00696215] 03:09:25 (UT)  Full 3x3 45s V
    Taking 45s image (V)...     Ok        [00696216] 03:10:22 (UT)  Full 3x3 45s V
  Taking 45s image (V)...     Ok        [00696217] 03:11:14 (UT)  Full 3x3 45s V

GCVS RZ LMi (6/8) 2019-09-20 04:12 (Local)
Target: Ok GCVS RZ LMi (ID: 75)

  Target Checks
  Checking Target ...         Ok        Sidereal Target   (GCVS RZ LMi)
  Checking Coordinates ...    Ok        J2000 Coords      RA: 09 51 48.901, Dec: +34 07 24.00
  Checking Altitude ...       Ok        Altitude          21.6 degs
  Checking Airmass ...        Ok        Airmass           2.72
  Checking Azimuth ...        Ok        Azimuth           60.1 degs
  Checking Declination...     Ok        Declination       34.03 degs
  Checking Azimuth ...        Ok        Azimuth           60.1 degs

  Slewing
  Slewing ...                 Ok
  Checking Dome Position ...  Ok        Dome Azimuth      61.7 degs ALERT. 29.0 degs difference from the scope
  Scope Position Check..      Fail      Scope isn't pointing to the target (Ang Sep. = 28.2 arc degs)
  Checking Slew Issue...      Info      Possible 'Timed out waiting for received data' problem

GCVS SS Her  (7/8)                      2019-09-20 04:13  (Local)
  Target:                     Ok        GCVS SS Her       (ID: 172)

  Target Checks
  Checking Target ...         Ok        Sidereal Target   (GCVS SS Her)
  Checking Coordinates ...    Ok        J2000 Coords      RA: 16 32 55.502, Dec: +06 51 30.00
  Checking Altitude ...       Fail      Altitude [-23.6] lies below horizon

NGC 5473 (8/8) 2019-09-20 04:23 (Local)
Target: Ok NGC 5473 (ID: 421)

  Target Checks
  Checking Target ...         Ok        Sidereal Target   (NGC 5473)
  Checking Coordinates ...    Ok        J2000 Coords      RA: 14 04 43.501, Dec: +54 53 35.99
  Checking Altitude ...       Ok        Altitude          23.1 degs
  Checking Airmass ...        Ok        Airmass           2.55
  Checking Azimuth ...        Ok        Azimuth           11.4 degs
  Checking Declination...     Ok        Declination       54.81 degs
  Checking Azimuth ...        Ok        Azimuth           11.4 degs

  Slewing
  Slewing ...                 Ok
  Checking Dome Position ...  Ok        Dome Azimuth      11.8 degs

  Centering

  Centering 1
  Taking 15s image (C)...     Ok        [00696218] 03:33:07 (UT)  Full Locate C
  Linking image (UCA/USNO)...

Log File (extracts)

04:12:31.28 | GCVS RZ LMi Ok SlewToRaDecQSO | IamAlive: Slewing, Telescope.SlewToRaDec
04:13:21.34 | GCVS RZ LMi Ok SlewToRaDecQSO | IamAlive: Continue

04:13:24.38 | GCVS RZ LMi Data 
Scope (Pre-Slew) | RA= 07 56 34.483 Dec= +22 02 48.36 | Epoch Current
04:13:24.38 | GCVS RZ LMi Data 
Scope (Post-Slew) | RA= 07 56 34.483 Dec= +22 02 48.36 | Epoch Current
04:13:24.38 
| GCVS RZ LMi Data Slew Amount | 0.000 arc deg (0 deg 0 min)
04:13:24.39 | 
GCVS RZ LMi Data Slew Discrepancy | 1,692.03 arc min (W= -1,536.87', N= 719.11')

04:13:24.39 | GCVS RZ LMi Fail Slew Discrepancy | SLEWING Discrepancy OF AT 
LEAST 5 ARC MINS

04:32:48.99 | NGC 5473 Data Scope (Pre-Slew) | RA= 09 53 
02.164 Dec= +34 01 41.22 | Epoch Current
04:32:48.99 | NGC 5473 Data Scope 
(Post-Slew) | RA= 14 05 23.569 Dec= +54 46 15.48 | Epoch Current
04:32:48.99 
| NGC 5473 Data Slew Amount | 47.663 arc deg (47 deg 39 min)
04:32:48.99 | 
NGC 5473 Data Slew Discrepancy | 2.05 arc min (W= 0.22', N= 2.04')

04:32:48.99 | NGC 5473 Pass Scope Check | AngSep from Target = 0.0 degs

04:32:48.99 | NGC 5473 Ok AbortTarget | IamAlive: Start
04:32:48.99 | NGC 
5473 Ok ImageTargetT_QSO | IamAlive: CenterTarget
04:32:49.00 | NGC 5473 Info 
SetScopeMode | Setting Scope Mode to Centering (Mode 4)
04:32:49.00 | NGC 
5473 Ok ImageTargetT_CentreTar | IamAlive: CenterTarget
04:32:49.00 | 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

04:32:49.02 | NGC 5473 Data Locate Exp | 15s (Zone: 3-3, GPOffset 59.2, Alt 
23.1)
04:32:49.06 | NGC 5473 Ok ImageAndLink | IamAlive: Start
04:32:49.06 
| 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

04:32:49.08 | NGC 5473 Info TakeLocateImage | Locate Image No. 1
04:32:49.08 
| NGC 5473 Info Filter | Changing to C filter (1)
04:32:49.08 | NGC 5473 Ok 
TakeImage | IamAlive: Start
04:32:59.47 | NGC 5473 Ok SetFocus, Filter: 1 | 
FocPosition: 2452 (8.0 Â°C)
04:32:59.47 | NGC 5473 Ok TakeImage | IamAlive: 
TakeImage, Camera.TakeImage
04:33:24.88 | NGC 5473 Ok TakeImage | IamAlive: 
Continue
04:33:24.90 | NGC 5473 Ok TakeImage | IamAlive: ImageReview

04:33:25.66 | NGC 5473 Ok TakeImage | Exposure Time 15s (Recorded FITS Exposure 
Time 15s)
04:33:25.66 | NGC 5473 Ok TakeImage | [00696218] 3x3 15s 
|2019-09-20 03:33:07.462
04:33:25.74 | NGC 5473 Ok ImageAndLink | IamAlive: 
Continue
04:33:25.74 | NGC 5473 Ok ImageAndLink | IamAlive: LinkImage

04:33:25.74 | NGC 5473 Info Star Catalog | 2 - USCA2/USNOB
04:33:26.05 | NGC 
5473 Data Obj RA | 14 04 43.501
04:33:26.05 | NGC 5473 Data Obj Dec | +54 53 
35.99
04:33:26.05 | NGC 5473 Data Original ImageScale | 0.000 arc sec/pixel

04:33:26.05 | NGC 5473 Data Image File | [00696218] C:\DATA\CCD 
IMAGING\NEW\2019-09-19 S00696\00696218.NGC_5473.FIT
04:33:26.07 | NGC 5473 
Data CCDXBIN | 3 (will assume Image Scale of 1.326 arc sec/pixel)
04:33:27.75 
| NGC 5473 Data SmartCountStars | nObjects = 8, Stars=8
04:33:27.75 | NGC 
5473 Data ShowInventory | No. of Definite Stars = 8
04:33:27.78 | NGC 5473 
Info Search | Scale = 1.326
04:33:27.78 | NGC 5473 Info Search | ModRA = 
6.4355
04:33:27.78 | NGC 5473 Info Search | ModDec= 4.33160
04:33:27.78 | 
NGC 5473 Ok AbortTarget | IamAlive: Start
04:33:27.80 | NGC 5473 Info 
TriedCoords | (X:0, Y:0) RA= 14 04 43.331 Dec= +54 51 54.09
04:33:40.26 | NGC 
5473 Data InsertWCS (0\0) | Active Stars= 4 / 4 | Rms=0.23" | Rotation=179.22 | 
RA= 14 04 43.331 Dec= +54 51 54.09
04:33:42.95 | NGC 5473 Data Search 
Distance #0 | Best Match : 4 / 4 stars | RMS= 0.23" | Offset 0 / 0 | 
Rotation=179.22 | ImageScale=1.330
04:33:42.95 | NGC 5473 Ok AbortTarget | 
IamAlive: Start
04:33:42.96 | NGC 5473 Info TriedCoords | (X:-1, Y:-1) RA= 14 
04 17.589 Dec= +54 47 34.19
04:34:09.26 | NGC 5473 Data InsertWCS (-1\-1) | 
Active Stars= 4 / 4 | Rms=0.23" | Rotation=179.13 | RA= 14 04 17.589 Dec= +54 47 
34.19
04:34:09.26 | NGC 5473 Ok AbortTarget | IamAlive: Start
04:34:09.28 
| NGC 5473 Info TriedCoords | (X:-1, Y:0) RA= 14 04 17.589 Dec= +54 51 54.09


06:21:30.94 | NGC 5473 Ok AbortTarget | IamAlive: Start


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

	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0), Major Issues (1), Minor Issues (5), Continuous Improvement (5)
	Investigation - Slew Issues and Program Freeze at 04:34

	Images from 2019-09-19 >>

This Web Page:	Notes - Session 696 (2019-09-19)
Last Updated :	2023-11-26
Site Owner :	David Richards
Home Page :	David's Astronomy Web Site

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Notes - Session 696 (2019-09-19)

Session Aims & Highlights (2019-09-19)

Operational Issues (2019-09-19, S696)

Investigation - Slew Issues and Program Freeze at 04:34

David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 696 (2019-09-19)

Session Aims & Highlights (2019-09-19)

Operational Issues (2019-09-19, S696)

Investigation - Slew Issues and Program Freeze at 04:34

David's Astronomy Pages
Notes - Session 696 (2019-09-19)