David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 882 (2021-04-11)

Notes (S881)

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Notes (S883)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (3),  Continuous Improvement (0)
	Images from 2021-04-11 >>     [ Local Files >> ]

Session Aims & Highlights (2021-04-11)

Main aims

1. Targets. Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by conditions

Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, PHD2,  DeviceHub 6.5.1.0,  UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.5 SP1
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.9Dev4
   
• AstroMain 3.38.14,  AstroPlan 1.21.6,  AstroShCap 1.3.11, AstroGuard 1.6,   AstroVOE 1.7, AstroSN 1.5,  AstroProtect 1.6
  (AstroWeather 1.12.4, AstroAllSky 3.10.3, AstroObsCam 1.5.5 )

Highlights

•   HUE Switch.  HUE Remote Switch used to successfully restart SBIG Camera remotely without needing to visit the Observatory after initial connection to SBIG camera failed with Device Not Found issue.

Lowlights

•   Sky Conditions.   Conditions were cloudier than forecast predicted.

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance Dec Notes : Run 5 (black) failed due to cloud/lost star Run 2 (red) impacted by periods of ineffective Dec guiding Run 4 (orange) impacted by poor seeing/wind or anomalous Dec jumps

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 22:21:58 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity starting between 22:21 & 04:02 22:22:02 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (22:22) 22:22:46   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 22:22:48 Session Created Live Session Created (2021-04-11 S00882, ImageSaveNum: 882001) 22:22:50   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 22:24:07   Services Started Observatory Services started 22:25:29 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 22:25:32 Session Pending Session pending (2021-04-11) 22:25:34 Session Initiating Session initiating (2021-04-11) 22:25:36   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.21.6) 22:26:05   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (, Plan ID: 621) 22:26:11   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 22:26:16   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 22:26:26 Session Equilibration Session ready for dome & camera equilibration 22:27:12   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 46s) 22:27:33   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 22:28:33 Session Running Session running 22:28:36   Queue Started Observing Queue started (21 targets selected) 22:29:44       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 22:32:57       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 22:34:47       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 22:34:52       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 22:37:21       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 22:39:11       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 22:39:28       Focusing Checked Foc2 Focusing Check Succeeded 22:40:32     Target Started (1/21) Target started (1/21, C/2020 T2 (Palomar)) 22:47:24       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 23:02:53     Target Completed Target completed (1/21, C/2020 T2 (Palomar)) 23:07:54     Target Started (2/21) Target started (2/21, NGC 3310 w/SN2021gmj) 23:26:09     Target Completed Target partially completed (2/21, NGC 3310 w/SN2021gmj) 23:26:11     Target Started (3/21) Target started (3/21, GCVS AM CVn) 23:35:01     Target Completed Target partially completed (3/21, GCVS AM CVn) 23:35:04     Target Started (4/21) Target started (4/21, Nova Per 2020 (CV)) 23:39:20       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 23:48:58     Target Completed Target completed (4/21, Nova Per 2020 (CV)) 23:49:00     Target Started (5/21) Target started (5/21, UGC 6930 w/SN2020rcq) 23:50:15   SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 23:57:40 Critical RainThreat Alert Critical Rain Threat Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Shutter) 23:57:42   HardSuspend Called Hard Suspend is called due to Critical Conditions (threat of rain) 23:57:44   CCDSoft Issue CCDSoft has encountered an image save issue [0000] 23:57:46   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft restarting in attempt to fix image save issue [0000] 23:58:03   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -25°C) 23:59:42 Session Suspended Session suspended 00:00:14     Target Aborted (5/21) Target aborted (5/21, UGC 6930 w/SN2020rcq) due to threat of rain 00:00:16   Queue Paused Queue paused For Session Suspension 00:00:31   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 48s) 00:01:08     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (5/21, UGC 6930 w/SN2020rcq) due to wind 00:22:00     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (6/21, NGC 4227 w/SN2021biz) due to cloud 00:44:22     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (7/21, IC 3242) due to cloud 01:06:44     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (8/21, UGCA 304) due to cloud 01:28:36     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (9/21, NGC 5018 w/SN2021fxy) due to rain 01:50:28     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (10/21, NGC 4165 w/SN2021gno) due to cloud 02:12:20     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (11/21, IC 863 w/SN2021foa) due to cloud 02:34:12     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (12/21, IC 992 w/SN2021dwg) due to cloud 02:45:38     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (13/21, GCVS R CrB) due to cloud 03:11:19     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (14/21, UGC 10310) due to cloud 03:25:00     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (15/21, GCVS U Her) due to cloud 03:33:35     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (16/21, HIP 87937) due to cloud 03:42:55     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (17/21, GCVS BL Lac) due to cloud 03:52:05     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (18/21, GCVS HH And) due to cloud 04:00:20     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (19/21, WDS GRB 34) due to cloud 04:07:27     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (20/21, 61 Cyg) due to cloud 04:15:59 Session Resuming Session resuming 04:16:44   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 04:16:46 Session Running Session running 04:16:48     Target Started (21/21) Target started (21/21, AT2021hkn) 04:16:50   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 04:40:30     Target Completed Target completed (21/21, AT2021hkn) 04:40:33   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 04:40:36 Session Closing Session closing 04:41:26   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 45s) 04:42:01   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 27s), Az: 90.0 deg 04:42:51   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 42s) 04:43:21   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 04:44:08   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 04:44:10 Session Housekeeping Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 04:44:17 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time     Alert Detail 23:09:42 Dome Discrepency Difference between Telescope Az and Dome Az is > 8 deg (NGC 3310) 23:57:42 CCDSoft Image file [0000] hasn't been saved to disk, possible CCDSoft issue 04:19:50 CCDSoft Image file has been saved to disk following CCDSoft Restart

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Operational Issues (2021-04-11 S882)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (0)
• Minor Issues (3)
• Continuous Improvement (0)

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Unable to initially commence session due to SBIG Camera Issue (Device Not Found). Autostart unable to begin session when its initial checks showed the error 'SBIG Driver. Device not found' when trying to test the connection to the SBIG Camera.   Issue spotted and manually resolved by remotely switching off/switching on power to SBIG Camera using the installed HUE Smart Plug operated from IPAD tablet.  Issue also occurred during a session attempt the previous evening (2021-04-10), whilst that incident was attributed to a frozen CCDSoft program, it is less clear why the issue occurred at start of S882 session.
  Resolved Remotely 2021-04-11 (Observatory / CCDSoft)
   
• CCDSoft encountered image save issue  (23:57).  Image file [0000] wasn't saved to disk  at 23:37 whilst taking images for Target 5/21 (UGC 6930 w/SN2020rcq) which is a known occasional issue.   Issue automatically resolved by restarting CCDSoft without further loss of images.  Issue occurred at same time the session was performing a hard abort, and aborting CCDSoft Image may have produced the issue on this occasion.
  Automatically resolved 2021-04-11 (AstroMain)
   
• Calculated position of comet in TheSky6 and drawn as cross-hairs in ImageBuilder in Jun 2022, doesn't match that of the actual position of the comet or the position calculated  in Apr 2021 (post-session analysis in 2022). Whilst performing a backlog analysis of images from session S882 (taken 2021-04-11 but analysed 14 months later on 2022-06-14) the position of comet C/2020 T2 (Palomar) calculated in TheSky6 & drawn in ImageBuilder tool was noted to be around 4' away from the comet's actual position in the stacked image. A similar problem was previously noted during backlog analysis of comet images from S877 (2021-03-29).   Checking times:  the date/ time of C/2020 T2 (Palomar) image from S882 was 2021-04-11 21:48 UT, the TheSky6 time for the calculated position is 2021-04-11 21:48 UT (= 22:48 BST) so this matches up ok. The measured position of the comet (pretty much centered in image) is RA 13 58 13, Dec +34 21 51 (J2000) , whilst the calculated comet position in TheSky6 is RA 13 58 22, Dec +34 18 15 (J2000). The latter is based on a relatively recent comet.cmt file (downloaded 2022-06-09).  At the time of target acquistion & imaging the predicted comet position, taken from the Comets.cmt file in use in Apr 2021, was RA: 13 58 13.053, Dec: +34 21 49.97) which is close to the comet's measured position.   The issue is thought to be due to a small change in the orbit of C/2020 T2 (Palomar) as it passed through the inner solar system,  such that retrospective prediction of the comet's position in Apr 2021 (made using current orbital data that is based on data including its current receding path) is no longer appropriate/no longer correct for when it was on it was on its approach path.  Issue is understood.   Whilst the original Comets.cmt is no longer accessible, the original predicted coordinates for the comet in Apr 2021 are nevertheless still available as they are present in the FITS Image file header under the keywords TAG-RA (13 58 13.053)  and TAG-DEC (+34 21 49.97).   A separate continuous improvement ticket has been raised on the to utilise the TAG-RA / TAG-DEC (where available) when performing post-session Image Analysis. This was later raised to being a small defect as TAG-RA & TAG-DEC were initially being used, but were then overwritten by values from TheSky6 (see 2022-06-12 Notes )
  Closed 2022-06-14 (AstroMain/Analysis, TheSky6)
   
• CCDSoft encountered image save issue  (23:57).  Image file [0000] wasn't saved to disk  at 23:37 whilst taking images for Target 5/21 (UGC 6930 w/SN2020rcq) which is a known occasional issue.   Issue automatically resolved by restarting CCDSoft without further loss of images.  Issue occurred at same time the session was performing a hard abort, and aborting CCDSoft Image may have produced the issue on this occasion.
  Automatically resolved 2021-04-11 (AstroMain)

Continuous Improvement

• None

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