David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1016 (2022-06-03)

Notes (S1015)

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Notes (S1017)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (0),  Minor Issues (3),  Small Defects (3),  Continuous Improvement (0)
	Images from 2022-06-03 >>         [ Local Files >> ]

Session Aims & Highlights (2022-06-03)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by time & conditions.
2. DeviceHub. Check out new version 6.6.0.10 version of DeviceHub, and continue testing for Dome Slew Anomaliies

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.6.0.10,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.5.414, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.10
   
• AstroMain 3.51.13,  AstroPlan 1.30.7,   AstroShCap 1.3.12, AstroGuard 1.8.1
  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

•  Targets. 10 targets were successfully acquired.

Notes:

• Summer Twilight . Twilight conditions for session. (Sun Alt -10.3° at local midnight)

  Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

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 21:22:57 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 23:42 & 00:57 21:23:00   AutoStart Waiting AutoStart waiting till earliest start time at 23:42 23:42:42 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (23:42) 23:43:09 Session Created Live Session Created (2022-06-03 S01016, ImageSaveNum: 1016001) 23:43:12   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 23:44:53   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:45:00 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 23:45:02 Session Pending Session pending (2022-06-03) 23:45:04 Session Initiating Session initiating (2022-06-03) 23:45:06   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.30.7) 23:45:44   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 776) 23:46:07   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera Connected (set point -20°C) 23:46:14   Telescope Connected Telescope Connected (TheSky6) 23:46:38 Session Equilibration Session ready for dome & camera equilibration 23:47:53   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 23:48:09   Equilibration Started Dome Equilibration started 23:53:09   Equilibration Skipped Dome Equilibration skipped by user 23:53:11 Session Running Session running 23:53:13   Queue Started Observing Queue started (10 targets selected) 23:53:16     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 16, HIP 78946) 23:55:24       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:58:42       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 00:00:39       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 00:00:41       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 00:02:51       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 00:04:37       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 00:04:55     Target Completed Target completed (Focus Field 16, HIP 78946) 00:06:34     Target Started (1/10) Target started (1/10, GCVS AM Her) 00:09:47       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:11:57       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3) 00:18:16     Target Completed Target completed (1/10, GCVS AM Her) 00:18:20     Target Started (2/10) Target started (2/10, GCVS SS Cyg) 00:21:20       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:23:31       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 00:27:59     Target Completed Target completed (2/10, GCVS SS Cyg) 00:34:06     Target Started (3/10) Target started (3/10, GCVS BL Lac) 00:36:50       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:39:00       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 00:42:50     Target Completed Target completed (3/10, GCVS BL Lac) 00:44:12     Target Started (4/10) Target started (4/10, NGC 4088 w/SN2022jzc) 00:49:41       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - unable to find a star (TCF-S) 01:05:47     Target Completed Target completed (4/10, NGC 4088 w/SN2022jzc) 01:06:12     Target Started (5/10) Target started (5/10, AT2022jrp (CV)) 01:09:08       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:11:20       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6) 01:17:07     Target Completed Target completed (5/10, AT2022jrp (CV)) 01:18:12     Target Started (6/10) Target started (6/10, GCVS R CrB) 01:20:23       Dome Slew Dome slew held at Az. 247.0, 246.8, 222.1 (Total delay 19s) 01:20:25       Dome Slew (repeated multiple times) 01:23:29       Dome Slew Dome slew held at Az. 247.0, 246.8, 222.1 (Total delay 19s) 01:23:31       Dome Slew Dome slew held at Az. 247.0, 246.8, 222.1, 221.7 (Total delay 20s) 01:23:33       Dome Slew (repeated multiple times) 01:24:53       Dome Slew Dome slew held at Az. 247.0, 246.8, 222.1, 221.7 (Total delay 2s) 01:24:55       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:24:57       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7) 01:28:01     Target Completed Target completed (6/10, GCVS R CrB) 01:28:05     Target Started (7/10) Target started (7/10, GCVS SS Her) 01:31:09       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:33:20       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 8) 01:37:07     Target Completed Target completed (7/10, GCVS SS Her) 01:37:11     Target Started (8/10) Target started (8/10, HIP 87937) 01:39:57       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:42:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 9) 01:44:38     Target Completed Target completed (8/10, HIP 87937) 01:44:42     Target Started (9/10) Target started (9/10, GCVS CY Lyr) 01:46:57       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:49:07       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 10) 01:52:40   SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (reducing clarity) 01:53:13     Target Completed Target completed (9/10, GCVS CY Lyr) 01:53:15   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 01:53:17 Session Suspended Session suspended 01:54:05   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 01:55:20 Session Resuming Session resuming 01:56:05   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 01:56:07 Session Running Session running 01:56:09   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 01:56:12     Target Started (10/10) Target started (10/10, GCVS CI Cyg) 01:56:14   SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (reducing clarity) 01:57:05   SoftSuspend Cancelled Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions 01:58:53       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:01:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 11) 02:05:35     Target Completed Target completed (10/10, GCVS CI Cyg) 02:05:38   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 02:05:41 Session Closing Session closing 02:06:31   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 45s) 02:07:00   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 22s), Az: 90.0 deg 02:08:15   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 72s) 02:08:30   Telescope State Scope parked Turn scope off. (Handbox) 02:08:52   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 02:09:48   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 02:09:50 Session Housekeeping Housekeeping Started (Cleanup FITS, Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 02:10:02 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts

Time     Alert Detail 23:53:31 Anomalous Dome Slew Dome slew resumed at Az 180.2

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Operational Issues (2022-06-03, S1016)

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

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• None

Minor Issues

• Anomalous dome slew to Near Zenith Focus Field (23:53). A Session Alert was generated at 23:53:31 for 'Anomalous Dome Slew - Dome slew resumed at Az 180.2° '  and logfile shows the message 'Resetting bDomeSlewStopped as dome slew resumed at Az 180.2°'. DomePath shows dome slewing from Az 203.5° to Az 180.2°, then stopping before resuming again and moving to Az  155.6°.  It seems that dome was still slewing from Az 90.0° (park position) to Az 180.2° (slaved with scope) when the scope was requested to move to Focus Field 16.   An anomalous slew is to be expected in this situation.  This is not ideal.  Code could be changed to force a wait whilst any dome slews in progress are completed before initiating the dome slew, but this is not ideal either, as it involves an unnecessary delay.  Best solution would be to abort any dome slew in progress and then initiate the telescope slew.  Depending on the state of DH dome manager / periodic slaving check timer, there is a potential risk that a new dome slew to current telescope position could be commanded before the command to slew to appropriate destination Az for the target.   SlewTheSkyScope() routine changed in AstroMain 3.51.14 so that before commanding a Telescope slew,  the Dome.Slewing state is checked and if dome is slewing it calls Dome.AbortSlew and waits 200ms.   Following a change in DeviceHub 6.6.0.16 (which resets Dome.Slaved flag to False when AbortSlew is used) issues occured in session S1022 due to a call to AbortSlew that was added to Scope.SlewTheSkyScope() in AstroMain 3.51.14.   This was fixed in 2022-07-29 (AstroMain 3.53.1) by withdrawing the AbortSlew call and instead adding code to wait until the existing slew is completed before slewing scope (and the associated slaved dome) to the new target.
  Fixed 2022-07-29 (AstroMain 3.53.1)
   
• Session Events table contains multiple 'Dome Slew' events (01:20). Session Events table contains series of 136  'Dome Slew' events between 01:20:23 and 01:24:53. Closed after review 2022-09-04. This issue is restricted to just this session and it most probably a bug that was introduced to AstroMain 3.51.13 and then quickly fixed, most probably in 3.51.14
  Closed after review  2022-09-04 (AstroMain 3.51.14)
   
• DeviceHub activity log still only captured a limited part of the session. DeviceHub's activity log is critical to helping diagnose occassional anomalous slews like the one that affected a slew to SS Cyg during the S1014 session (see Investigation -  Issue Identifying End Of Dome Slew 2022-05-31) however the activity log works with a fixed space capacity and once the ceiling is reached the oldest messages begin to get overwritten.   Whilst a workaround was used prior to session (by editing the ASCOM.DeviceHub.exe.config file and changing ActivityLogCapacity value ten-fold from 125000 to 1250000, this didn't result in more DH commands being captured from the session. Investigating it was found that using 'Send To Textpad' for editing the .config file was reliable. Although it had the appearance of making the changing, and a post-session use of 'Send To Textpad showed a setting of 1250000, using 'Open (open with Visual Studio)'  and 'Open with Notepad'  showed the setting as still being 125000 (weird !).  Tried to save a new edit from Visual Studio and from NotePad with setting changed to 1250000 but the windows informed that permissions didn't allow file to be saved.   Changed Security on the .config file to allow Full Control including Write, and managed to save the file with ActivityLogCapacity of 1250000.  With this fix the whole of the session was captured by the ActivityLog.
  Fixed 2022-06-04 (DeviceHub / Observatory Computer)

Small Defects

• Issue with logging of DomeSlew Holdups:  multiple messages & incorrect total delay.  Logging of DomeSlewHoldups has just been added to AstroMain code in version 3.51.13 used in Session S1016 for the first time. For slew to Target 1/8 (GCVS AM Her) the log file shows up to 5 messages like '1 holdups > 5s at Az. 163.9 (Total delay 15s)' or  '1 holdups > 5s at Az. 163.9 (Total delay 1s)'  . There are too many message and the message may not actually be appropriate.  It looks like there was a delay in the start of the dome slew as Slewing Flag appears to only switch to 1 (True) are 15s.  Code to be checked and fixed.
  Fixed 2022-06-04 (AstroMain 3.51.14)
   
• Hold-up Az values are missing from Dome HoldUp report lines.  Fixed by adding ' FormatNumber(HoldupAz, 1) + Chr(176) ' added to report line.
  Fixed 2022-06-04 (AstroMain 3.51.14)
   
• DeviceHub 6.6.010 Activity Log showing invalid Ra, Dec values for the Telescope Command  'SlewToCoordinatesAsync'.  Although target coordinates are being correctly sent to the telescope and the telescope slew occurs ok, and the telescope targets coordinates are clearly been used in dome slaving calculations correctly, the Activity log is showing messages like
    23:53:21.111: Telescope - Commands: SlewToCoordinatesAsync - RA = {raConverter}, Dec {decConverter}: {msgEnd}
  In DeviceHub 6.6.0.8 these message appeared like :
    02:07:31.337: Telescope - Commands: SlewToCoordinatesAsync - RA = +18:16:52, Dec 049° 39' 33": (slew started)
  Appears to be a bug introduced in DH version 6.6.0.9 or 6.6.0.10 ?.   Issue has been reported to DeviceHub's author and will be fixed in the next release (6.6.0.11).  New DH version installed on 2022-06-09 and is shown to fix the activity log format error.
  Fixed 2022-06-09 (DeviceHub 6.6.0.11)

• None

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