David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1011 Attempt (2022-05-19)

Notes (S1010)

Notes Main

Home Page

Notes (S1011)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (3),  Minor Issues (1),  Small Defects (1),  Continuous Improvement (5)
	No Images >>         [ Local Files >> ]

Session Aims & Highlights (2022-05-19)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by time & conditions.
2. AstroMain.  Check out new 3.15.8 version, ensure that it has not introduced any new issues or problems.

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.6.0.8,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.3.373, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.10
   
• AstroMain 3.51.8,  AstroPlan 1.30.5,   AstroShCap 1.3.12, AstroGuard 1.8
  AstroVOE 1.10  AstroSN 1.8.2,  AstroProtect 1.7,  AstroMove 1.9.1
  (AstroWeather 1.17, AstroAllSky 3.16,  AstroObsCam 1.9, AstroLaunch 1.9.1)

Highlights

•  Session. Session failed shortly after starting
•  Targets. No targets were acquired
•  AstroMain.   No specific issues / problems associated with new 3.51.8 version, but testing limited due to SBIG Camera/CCDSoft failure

Notes:

  Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

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

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 22:24:31 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 23:04 & 01:53 22:24:33   AutoStart Waiting AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 23:04 23:04:12   AutoStart Delayed Session delayed due to too few stars 23:49:47 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (23:49) 23:50:15 Session Created Live Session Created (2022-05-19 S01011, ImageSaveNum: 1011001) 23:50:17   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 23:52:00   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:52:07 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 23:52:09 Session Pending Session pending (2022-05-19) 23:52:11 Session Initiating Session initiating (2022-05-19) 23:52:13   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.30.5) 23:52:49   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 770) 23:53:12   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -15°C) 23:53:19   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 23:53:20 Obs.Monitor Frozen Obs.Monitor appears to be frozen at around 23:53 in section Monitor Focuser1 23:53:43 Session Equilibration Session ready for dome & camera equilibration 23:54:00 Program Hung Session Hung after SBIG Failure caused CCDSoft to freeze 23:54:43   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 23:55:13 Session Running Session running 05:13:08 Observatory (Manual) Observatory placed in Manual Mode 05:22:00   Telescope Parked Telescope Parked (from DeviceHub / under manual control) 05:23:34   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 05:29:48   Services Stopped Observatory Services stopped 05:31:00 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time     Alert Detail 23:53:51 Obs.Monitor Obs.Monitor appears to be frozen in section Monitor Focuser1 (last cycle at 23:53:20)

Back to Top

Operational Issues (2022-05-19, S1011A)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (3)
• Minor Issues (1)
• Small Defects (1)
• Continuous Improvement (5)

[ Prev | Next ]

Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• Obs.Monitor froze (23:53). ObsMonitor froze at 23:53:20 whilst Session was in 'Starting' state.  This is believed to be due to a failure of CCDSoft / SBIG Camera  (since CCDSoft was frozen  / not responding when session checked in morning &  SBIG driver reporting 'Camera not found' error), however  Obs.Overseer reports that Obs.Monitor was frozen in the section : Monitor Focuser1, which might contradict this.   Obs.Manager froze at 23:55:26 shortly after Session State set to 'Running'
  To review (AstroMain 3.51.9)
   
• CCDSoft not responding.  CCDSoft program found to be not responding when session checked in morning. This is believed to be due to failure of SBIG Camera.   After restarting CCDSoft there was a SBIG driver error upon trying to connect to camera (Camera not found, Error code = 100) suggesting that there was a problem with SBIg Camera connection (cause or effect ?) . Camera problem resolved by remotely power cycling the SBIG Camera using Philips Hue Smart Plug & IPad.
  Resolved post-session (Session, CCDSoft/SBIG)
   
• Dome was allowed to open whilst Obs.Monitor was frozen (23:53). ObsMonitor froze at 23:53:20 whilst Session was in starting state due to failure of CCDSoft / SBIG Camera.  Dome opened at  23:53:58 whilst session was in equilibration state at point when obs.monitor was frozen for 36s.  Session shouldn't proceed to open the dome whilst obs.monitor is frozen and the session is running in automated mode. ObsManager.CanOpen() extended to check that SecondsSince(ObsMonitorCycleTimePoint) < 10, and if not to return False (reason = hardware).   ObsManager.CanResume() will also return False (reason = hardware) as it calls CanOpen().  Reason=HardWare returned as this is the most-likely (but not sole) reason that ObsMonitor loop has frozen.
  Fixed 2022-05-20 (AstroMain 3.51.9)

Minor Issues

• Dome was allowed to remain open with Obs.Monitor /Obs.Manager frozen and session essentially stalled / stuck in Equilibration state. Dome opened at 23:53:20 by Obs.Manager. Dome was evidently closed at 03:58:12 by AstroGuard based apparently on a light level warning and Pulsar log information .  AstroGuard modified so that it closes Dome shutter and makes Observatory safe if Obs.Manager has been silent for 15 minutes (only 5 minutes if Synopsis/Scorecard has also been silent for 5 minutes). 15 mins is used in case there is active maintainance/reconfiguration being carried out by the user.  A separate continuous item ticket has been raised concerning the need for AstroGuard to report time of warnings/actions.  AstroMain's Obs.Overseer modified so that it close Dome shutter and makes Observatory safe if Obs.Manager has been frozen for more than 120s.
  Fixed 2022-05-20 (AstroGuard 1.8.1,  AstroMain 3.51.9)

Small Defects

• Last Session page for AT2021kkh was incorrectly reported as 202 instead of 965 (post session analysis, S958).
  There were no sessions prior to S958 and the FindLastStoreSession() routine should have given the number of the first session that came after S958 in this situation. It is presumed that the presence of file 'AT2021kkh.20220220.RefImage_DSS2.jpg' in store folder is why '202' was returned rather than '965' from AT2021kkh.20220206.im965016-19.av3x180s.C.sqrootscale.  Bug fixed in AsttoMain 3.51.9 (2022-05-25).
  Fixed 2022-05-25 (AstroMain 3.51.9)

• Target names currently in format AT2022xyz w/AT 2022xyx (type) in Must Include Targets forms to be shown as AT 2022xyx (Type) . Change recently made to Target List Form needs to be prograted to Must Include Targets form.
  Done (AstroPlan 1.30.6)
   
• AstroGuard to report time that it is carrying out action (such as Closing Dome). AstroGuard's reported a Telescope Safety Warning "Light conditions are on a warning state" and a Dome Safety Action "Closing Dome due to Light Conditions" but didn''t provide a time when this occurred. This needs to be reported/logged.
  Done 2022-05-20 (AstroGuard 1.8.1)
   
• Modify 70, 100, 125, 150, 175, 382, 500  buttons on Analysis/ImageSets/Image tab to directly call Build Picture.
  Done 2022-05-23 (AstroMain 3.51.9)
   
• Save Prior (Existing) Session to settings file, and allow it to be quickly used after restarting AstroMain / Analysis.  When working on post-session analysis of a backlog session over the course of several days or after testing a new AstroMain version, it would be helpful if the 'active/existing' session can be saved and quickly reused rather than having to reselect session from list.
  Done 2022-05-25 (AstroMain 3.51.9)
   
• Add TargetID to Analysis/ImageSets/Target tab.  This would have been a useful facility for diagnosing the Minor Issue experienced with the 'Comet_110P_Hartley 3x3 60s C' image set from in an earlier session (see S959, 2022-01-25)
  Done 2022-05-26 (AstroMain 3.51.10)

[ Prev | Next ]

Back to Top