David's Astronomy - Notes 2023-01-09 (S1084)

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Notes - Session 1084 (2023-01-09)

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

	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0), Major Issues (2), Minor Issues (4), Small Defects (11), Continuous Improvement (5)

	Images from 2023-01-09 >>

Session Aims & Highlights (2023-01-09)

Main aims

HAT-P-3b. Capture observations of transit of exoplanet HAT-P-3b across face of host star HAT-P-3. Transit is from 21:30 to 23:35. Booked observation added to database from 20:25 to 00:37 allowing a full 1 hour of observations either side of the transit.
Targets. Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions.
(sky expected to begin to cloud over at around 3:30)
AstroMain. Check new version of AstroMain for any issues introduced by recent bug fixes and small improvements.

Equipment & Software

12" LX200 and ST-10XME
80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.6.1.1, MeadeGeneric 1.3.5.414, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6
Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
SharpCap 3.2, PHD2 2.6.11dev2, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 6.6 SP1
AstroMain 3.60.5, AstroPlan 1.35.7, AstroShCap 1.3.12, AstroGuard 1.10.2
AstroVOE 1.12.2 AstroSN 1.8.7, AstroProtect 1.7, AstroMove 1.9.8
(AstroWeather 1.19.6, AstroAllSky 3.17.2, AstroObsCam 1.11.2, AstroLaunch 1.10.5

Highlights

HAT-P-3b. Observations of the session's main target (HAT-P-3 / Transit of HAT-P-3b) were successfully acquired.
Targets. 12 out of 30 planned targets were completed, in particular the main aim target for the session (HAT-P-3) was successfully acquired. Other targets failed when cloud (which was forecast for the second part of night) developed.
Dome Slews. All dome slews proceeded without any significant holdup. (0/14 slews affected, 0%, 0.0 minutes total hold-up time).

Notes:

HAT-P-3b transit details :

ExoWorldsSpies Scheduler (https://www.exoworldsspies.com/en/scheduler/) was used to identify this observing opportunity.

Note: Observatory's Longitude (2 deg W) need to be entered as -2 in the scheduler
Targets for future session (following AAS Talk on Jan 10th by Dr. Alison Young)

- GW Ori (Propose to image GW Ori (binary star protoplanetary disk with third star discovered 2011 , Dipper star, material passing in front of star gives random dips in brightness)/

- HD 142527 (star with protoplantary disk with very large cavity in disk due to a couple of planets which is tilting the disk.)

- HD 143006 (star with half of disk illuninated in VLT , but on ALMA we see more nomal arrangement with rings, but with an inner disk that is probably tilted and casting a shadown that is seen in VLT image.)

- C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS)

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
17:49:48	Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 17:49 & 06:28
17:49:49	Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (17:49)
17:50:08	CCDSoft Restarting	CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.)
17:50:22	Session Created	Session Created (Live, 2023-01-09 S01084, ImageSaveNum: 1084001)
17:50:48	Scope Switched On	Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox.
17:52:30	Services Started	Observatory Services started
17:52:37	Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
17:52:39	Session Pending	Session pending (2023-01-09)
17:52:41	Session Initiating	Session initiating (2023-01-09)
17:52:43	Plan Requested	Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.35.7)
17:53:43	Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 855)
17:54:03	Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera connected (set point -25°C)
17:54:40	Telescope Connected	Telescope connected (TheSky6)
17:55:04	Session Equilibration	Session ready to Open Dome
17:55:49	Dome Opened	Dome opened (opening time 45s)
17:55:52	Session Running	Session running
17:55:54	Queue Started	Observing Queue started (30 targets selected)
17:55:57	Target Started (NrZen)	Target started (Focus Field 1, HIP 4911)
17:56:08	Dome Unparked	Dome unparked
18:00:46	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
18:03:18	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide)
18:05:13	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1)
18:05:16	Focusing Started-Foc2	Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap)
18:07:19	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide)
18:09:01	Focusing Completed	Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2)
18:09:18	Target Completed (NrZen)	Target completed (Focus Field 1, HIP 4911)
18:09:23	Target Started (1/30)	Target started (1/30, IC 1756 w/SN2023Q)
18:12:20	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S)
18:28:48	Target Completed	Target completed (1/30, IC 1756 w/SN2023Q)
18:31:11	Target Started (2/30)	Target started (2/30, GCVS SS Cyg)
18:34:06	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
18:36:05	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 3)
18:40:16	Target Completed	Target completed (2/30, GCVS SS Cyg)
18:40:18	Queue Aborted	Job Queue aborted
18:41:58	Session Monitoring	AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 18:41 & 06:28
18:42:00	Observatory (AutoStart)	Observatory placed in Auto-Start Mode
18:42:02	Session AutoStarting	Session autostarting (18:41)
18:42:19	UPB Port Lost	UPB Powerbox Port Lost
18:42:20	Services Started	Observatory Services started
18:42:25	Observatory (Auto)	Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode
18:42:29	Session Pending	Session pending (2023-01-09)
18:42:31	Session Initiating	Session initiating (2023-01-09)
18:42:36	Plan Loaded	Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 855)
18:42:50	Camera1 Connected	SBIG Camera connected (set point -25°C)
18:43:26	Telescope Connected	Telescope connected (TheSky6)
18:43:50	Session Running	Session running
18:43:52	Queue Started	Observing Queue started (28 targets selected)
18:47:26	Target Started (3/30)	Target started (3/30, AT2022emb (CV))
18:50:16	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
18:52:40	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4)
18:58:26	Target Completed	Target completed (3/30, AT2022emb (CV))
18:59:26	Target Started (4/30)	Target started (4/30, 61 Cyg)
19:02:09	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
19:04:08	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5)
19:05:40	Target Completed	Target completed (4/30, 61 Cyg)
19:06:18	Target Started (5/30)	Target started (5/30, AT2023ds (CV))
19:09:17	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
19:11:17	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 6)
19:17:18	Target Completed	Target completed (5/30, AT2023ds (CV))
19:18:18	Target Started (6/30)	Target started (6/30, GCVS BL Lac)
19:20:53	Focusing Started-Foc1	Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S)
19:23:04	Focusing Completed	Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 7)
19:26:56	Target Completed	Target completed (6/30, GCVS BL Lac)
19:28:24	Target Started (7/30)	Target started (7/30, NGC 7769 w/SN2022aedu)
19:31:47	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S)
19:47:48	Target Completed	Target completed (7/30, NGC 7769 w/SN2022aedu)
19:50:24	Target Started (8/30)	Target started (8/30, NGC 1300 w/SN2022acko)
19:53:35	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - unable to find a star (TCF-S)
20:09:43	Target Completed	Target completed (8/30, NGC 1300 w/SN2022acko)
20:20:04	Target Started (9/30)	Target started (9/30, HAT-P-3)
20:24:16	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
00:37:05	Target Completed	Target completed (9/30, HAT-P-3)
00:37:09	Target Started (10/30)	Target started (10/30, M31 w/AT2023U)
00:56:29	Target Completed	Target completed (10/30, M31 w/AT2023U)
00:56:34	Target Started (11/30)	Target started (11/30, M33 w/Nova M33 2022-11a?)
01:00:11	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
01:16:27	Target Completed	Target completed (11/30, M33 w/Nova M33 2022-11a?)
01:16:31	Target Started (12/30)	Target started (12/30, UGC 2926 w/SN2022acyd)
01:20:00	Focusing Skipped	Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S)
01:27:38	SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars)
01:28:48	SoftSuspend Cancelled	Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions
01:34:34	SoftSuspend Called	Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars)
01:35:58	Target Completed	Target completed (12/30, UGC 2926 w/SN2022acyd)
01:36:01	Queue Paused	Queue paused for Session Suspension
01:36:03	Session Suspending	Session suspending
01:36:49	Dome Closed	Dome closed (closing time 50s)
01:36:52	Session Suspended	Session suspended
01:57:20	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (13/30, AT2022xao) due to too few stars
02:12:10	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (14/30, GCVS YZ Cnc) due to too few stars
02:21:23	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (15/30, GCVS SY Cnc) due to cloud
02:41:07	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (16/30, IC 2005 w/AT2023cg) due to cloud
03:03:07	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (17/30, UGC 3044 w/SN2023cf) due to cloud
03:24:13	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (18/30, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann) due to cloud
03:44:13	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (19/30, UGC 8046 w/SN2022zxr) due to cloud
04:02:21	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (20/30, C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS)) due to cloud
04:22:21	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (21/30, NGC 5548 w/AT2022abcs) due to cloud
04:41:25	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (22/30, C/2022 E3 (ZTF)) due to cloud
05:01:55	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (23/30, NGC 5631 w/SN2022acsj) due to cloud
05:23:55	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (24/30, UGC 10407 w/AT2022adyb) due to cloud
05:36:09	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (25/30, Ceres) due to cloud
05:55:29	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (26/30, NGC 5468 w/AT2023cj) due to cloud
06:19:49	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (27/30, 81P/Wild) due to cloud
06:31:49	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (28/30, AT2021agpw (CV)) due to cloud
06:40:17	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (29/30, HIP 87937) due to cloud
07:05:28	Target Cancelled	Target cancelled (30/30, M12) due to cloud
07:05:33	Queue Completed	Job Queue completed
07:05:39	Session Closing	Session closing
07:05:44	Dome Closed	Dome already closed (closed at 01:36, closing time 50s)
07:07:10	Dome Parked	Dome parked (parking time 78s), Az: 90.0 deg
07:08:31	Telescope Parked	Telescope parked (parking time 76s)
07:08:46	Telescope State	Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.'
07:09:08	Telescope Switched Off	Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch.
07:10:32	Services Stopped	Night Services stopped
07:10:34	Session Housekeeping	Session Housekeeping started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files)
07:11:25	Session Finished	Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time		Type			Name	Detail
--					No Alerts	--

Operational Issues (2023-01-09, S1084)

Critical Issues (0)
Major Issues (2)
Minor Issues (4)
Small Defects (11)
Continuous Improvement (5)

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Critical Issues

None

Major Issues

Observing Plan created for session included a booked observation for 'AT 2022uae', instead of 'HAT-P-3'. A booked observation (booking id 12) was created before the session in AstroPlan for the time interval 20:25 to 00:37 (total duration 252.3 min) for Target HAT-P-3 ( ID 2621) in order to record a transit of the exoplanet HAT-P-3b. During Autostart operations AstroPlan was requested to automatically create an observing plan for the session. This plan (ID=855) was loaded into the Job Queue and execution began. During Near Zenith Focusing user checked the observing plan to ensure that the intended observation of HAT-P-3 was in the plan. Whilst the plan showed a booked observation in the expected time slot, the target was shown to be 'AT 2022uae', instead of 'HAT-P-3'. Observation of the transit of HAT-P-3 was a primary aim for the session and hence the issue is rated as Major. Opening the Bookings form in AstroPlan confirmed that the booking observation was for Target ID 2621 (HAT-P-3) starting at 20:25. Opening the night's plan (ID=855) in AstroPlan showed a booked observation for Target 9/30, with the expected time details (20:25 to 00:37) and Booking ID reference (12), and the Target 'AT2022uae' (ID 2436). This was totally unexpected. The Job Queue was aborted following Target 2/30 and the Plan (ID=855) corrected in the database using SQL (UPDATE observation SET (TargetID) VALUES (2621) WHERE PlanID = 855 AND TargetID=2336) . Session was restarted in order to load the modified Plan including the planned HAT-P-3 observation. This was successfully acquired. A separate ticket is raised to handle the underlying defect in the Scheduler.
Resolved In-Session 2023-01-09 (AstroPlan 1.35.7)
External Drive (G) on the AllSky/Weather Computer has filled up and the Main Drive (C) is close to filling up (post-session). Once the External Drive fills up on the AllSky/Weather Compute new AllSky Image Folders can't be archived and have to be left on the C Drive which causes to gradually fill up. It has reached the point where the C Drive has only 13-15 GB free space (as at (2023-01-11). It becomes critical if the C Drive fills up as it not possible to execute any new observatory sessions. Actions are being taken (2023-01-11) to remove unwanted image folders (nights were sky were cloudy and the data has no or very low value). After cleanu FreeSpace on C Drive increased to xx GB, FreeSpace on G Drive increased to xxx GB.
Temporarily fixed 2023-01-11 (AllSky/Weather Computer)

Minor Issues

'Update Times' for a new non-TimeLapse Booked Target isn't pulling in Duration information and doesn't save (pre-session). Whilst attempting to add a booked observation to observe HAT-P-3d transit for night 2023-01-09 20:25 it was found that the 'Update Times' button didn't update Running in VS debugger shows that conversion exception are met when the UpdateTimes() routine tries to fetch TimeLapseInterval and TimeLapseFrames from the DataGridView. User left these fields blank as TimeLapse wasn't going to be used, so these fields are not applicable. Code need to ignore these errors when TimeLapse is unchecked. Code modified to trap these conversion errors locally when TimeLapse is False, so that the remainder of the UpdateTimes loop executes instead of being skipped. Fixed in AstroPlan 1.35.7. Similar issue happens when copying a booked observation (Fixed in AstroPlan 1.35.8)..
Fixed Pre-Session 2023-01-09 (AstroPlan 1.35.7)
'Following the end of the session an OkCancel dialog box was put up asking User to "Create General Session 2023-01-09 ?" (07:11). The dialog was eventually seen when logging into the Observatory Computer later in the morning 09:40. The Ok button was clicked which allowed the 2023-01-09 session to be created in the database but whilst Session Setup was running a secondary issue arose whereby ObsManager automatically begun creating general session 2023-01-10 in parallel as 09:00 had been passed signifying a new Night Date. Given that the S1084 live session had been running in Automated Mode and still was when the session ended early in the morning (07:11) it wasn't appropriate to be asking the user whether to create a general session or not. The ObsManager should simply go ahead and create the session if it doesn't exist. It is believed that this happened at the end of this session (and in at least one other recent session) because the Target Database had been copied from the development computer at the start of the session and the Session table didn't have a general session assigned to 2023-01-09, which prompted the user confirmation to create General Session 2023-01-09 after finishing the Live Session 2023-01-09. The request is made even though folders and files exist for the general session ("../Analysis/2023-01-09" ). The call to AssignGeneralObservatorySession() is made from ObsManager in ObsManagerSection = "Finished" when SessionState = SessionState.Finished and FinishedSessionStageNo=1 by means of a call to AssignGeneralObservatorySessionByThread(). ' added 2022-12-08 (CI S1065)
[ AssignGeneralObservatorySession() was added 2022-12-08 (CI S1065), and calls AssignObservatorySession(SessionType.General, CallMode.Manual, bCancelled). It looks like AssignObservatorySession should be called with CallMode.Auto.
Fix attempted 2023-01-10 (AstroMain 3.60.6)
'Following the end of the session and OK button "Create General Session 2023-01-09 ?" was clicked (09:40), a parallel task operated to create General Session 2023-01-10. The display of dialog box at end of session is a bug which is addressed under a separate ticket, but it exposed a otherwise issue that could allow two sessions to be created at the same time. The automatic roll-over to new session should only begin if bAssigningObservatorySession = False..
Fix attempted 2023-01-10 (AstroMain 3.60.6)
Observing Plan created for session contained a booked observation for the wrong target. As discussed above the observing plan contained a booked observation for the specified time slot but it was made for 'AT2022uae', instead of the intended target 'HAT-P-3'. Whilst this problem was fixed for the session this is clearly a defect that effects ability to correctly include a booked observation into a fully automated operation. The exact cause of the issue is unknown at present. Logs already shows that CompileBookedObservations() routine correctly retrieves HAT-P-3 (2621) from the 'booked_observation' table. Code needs to be examined to try to understand how the ID for the 20:25 observation (expected to be HAT-P-3's ID (2621) ) was set to or somehow changed to the ID for AT 2022uae (2436). Tracing added to AstroPlan 1.35.8 to try to detect the point where target ID of booked observation changes in the plan. Test Plan created for 2023-01-11 with booked observation set for HAT-P-3 again (booking ID=13) and again for 20:25 - the same issue was replicated except this time HAT-P-3 was replaced intially by Target FU Ori (119 ) and then Jupiter (2446). Interestingly FU Ori was the target in the preceeding position which might point to the source of the bug ? Tracing shows that best Plan after Gen 1 had FU Ori (119) as the booked target, but was replaced with a best plan after Gen 2 with Jupiter (2446) as booked target, this remained the best plan's booked target all the way to the 50th Gen. Problem seems to be associated with creation of initial plans in SetUpInitialPopulation(). Nearly every one of the initial 200 plans had a different booked target. Debugging shows that problem is caused by a combination of two factors, firstly the Exoplanet Transits program in which HAT-P-3 is a member wasn't set to Use for Automated Scheduling and therefore the target was never included in the night's potential target list (TS table) (explaining why problem wasn't previously seen with Jupiter in earlier sessions), and secondly a previously unexposed bug in CreatePlan which caused iTS (and thus the corresponding target iD) to be taken from the last used value of iTS (explaining the FU Ori observation) when the intended Target ID wasn't present in the TS table. First factor is fixed (2023-01-11) by setting 'Exoplanet Transits' program to be used for Automated Transits, and moving past / non-active member of the program into a new program called 'Exoplanet Transits (Inactive) (ID=56). The second factor is fixed in AstroPlan 1.35.8 so inclusion of a booked observation is skipped if the target is not in the TS table.
Fixed 2023-01-11 (AstroPlan 1.35.8)

Small Defects

A 'red' session event "UPB Powerbox Port Lost" was recorded at 18:42:19 (18:42). Whilst Observatory Services were being 'started' at 18:42 (as part of re-running AutoStart following a fix to the session's observing plan) there was a report message "Obs.Manager PowerboxPort: Fail PowerboxPort Lost at 18:42:19" and a corresponding event was recorded in the 'SessionEvents' table. There were no messages written to the log file, nor any alerts sent to the SessionAlerts table. There appear to be no consequences. Powerbox appeared to be operating ok and connections to access/change to Dew Heaters , Focuser 2 and LX200 power supply operated ok during remainder of session. The only possible side-effect seems to be that names of LX200 and TCF-S power ports were reset to their respective default text (Output 1 and Output 2), however it is unclear if this happened at the time of the 'event' at 18:42 or at some previous (unrelated) time.
Closed after review 2023-01-09 (AstroMain, UPB Powerbox)
Names of power outputs for LX200 and TCFS have become reset to default values. Whilst investigating a "UPB Powerbox Port Lost at 18:42:19" event the UPB Software was checked and whilst it was operating ok it was noticed that the names of LX200 and TCF-S power ports had at some point (date/time unknown) reset to their respective default text values (Output 1 and Output 2). It is unclear if this happened at the time of the 'event' at 18:42 or at some previous (unrelated) time. Names of the two 12V output where reset to 'LX200' and 'TCF-S' respectively.
Resolved In-Session 2023-01-09 (UPB Powerbox)
Dew Heater running at 98% (18:50). Whilst investigating a "UPB Powerbox Port Lost at 18:42:19" Dew Heater were noticed to be running at 98%. It is unsual to see dew heater running at this high level. It was wondered in this was a sideffect of the UPB Port Lost event however checksshowed that the increase up to 95-98% level began show 15 mins before hand (at 18:28) and was in response to a relevant rapid rise in outside temperature & dew point, requiring that Dew Heater be temporarily run at 98% to maintain Tube Temperature as being not less than 2.0 degC about outside dew point. Closed after review.
Closed after review 2023-01-09 (AstroMain , Session)
GuideSummary table on Website not updating during HAT-P-3 observation. A fresh Guide Summary table is updated to website when AstroPlan's FTP Uploader detects that a new "Session.GuideSumm.dat" has been transferred to the live folder. A new file is transferred to the Live folder by AstroMain's SaveGuideSummFileToLive() routine. Currently this is called by ReportFocusGuidingStats(), by ReportImageGuidingStats() when Exp is >= 180s, and by ReportFinalGuidingStats().
Since HAT-P-3' frame exposure times were only 30s the ReportImageGuideStats didn't call SaveGuideSummFileToLive(), so that a new GuideSumm.dat file was only produced at the end of the 4 hour imaging period. AstroMain 3.60.6 modified so that SaveGuideSummFileToLive() routine is called with a maximum frequency of once every 10 minutes. This is achieved by setting global 'LastGuideSummFileToLiveTime' each time that a new GuideSummFile is copied to the live folder and then using its value in ReportImageGuidingStats() to call SaveGuideSummFileToLive() if 'LastGuideSummFileToLiveTime' was more than 10 minutes ago.
Fixed 2023-01-10 (AstroMain 3.60.6)
At end of HAT-P-3's time slot the job executor unexpectedly reported the cancellation of 78 frames. As the booked observation (ID 12) for HAT-P-3b transit was made based on the HAT-P-3 target in the database and its calculated duration, it was expected that entire number of planned frames would be completed within the observation time slot (20:25 to 00:37). It was therefore rather a surprise that the Job Executor hadn't completed the full number of planned image frames and reported the cancellation of 78 images "to prevent observation from overrunning it's time slot". Maybe 1 or 2 images might need to have been cancelled but 78 cancelled images is difficult to explain - 78 images would correspond to an image time of 41.6 mins (from 78 frames * (30s exposure + 2s download) / 60).   The HAT-P-3 target in the Target's Database defined 460 images to be taken, each 30s of exposure at 3x3 binning & using Xo Filter. Total Calculated Duration was 252.3 minutes, comprising 6.3 mins overheads (Slewing, Centering, Focusing) and 246.0 mins Imaging ( (10 + 460 * (30 + 2)) / 60 = 245.5) . These are the times that Booking Form used for defining Duration (252.3 mins) and End Slot (00:37).    It is assumed that each image will take 32.0s to acquire (30s exposure + 2s download), but looking at actual times is seems that on average each image is taking around 39.8s to acquire.      Examining the distribution of times it seems that the majority of frames are taking 35 or 36s to acquire (vs 32s assumed by AstroPlan's caclulate duration routine)but randomly (c. every 5th to 16th image) the total time for certain image rises to 47 to 61s.
- Looking at Image 2 (36s), Start 20:25:50.75 (prep 1.1s), Start ImageAsync at 20:25:51.85 (T0), Finished ImageASync at 20:26:25.20 (T+33.5s), Analysis (0.54s), ConvertFitsToJpg 20:26:25.74. Finished 20:26:25.88 (Total 35.1s) - Looking at Image 7 (51s), Start 20:28:47.16 (prep 1.2s), Start ImageAsync at 20:28:48.38 (T0), Finished ImageASync at 20:29:21.60 (T+33.2s), Analysis (0.75s), ConvertFitsToJpg 20:29:22.35 (0.2s). Finished 20:29:22.51 (Total 35.4s) - Looking at Image 8 (35s), Start 20:29:22.5 (prep 16.6s), Start ImageAsync at 20:29:39.11 (T0), Finished ImageASync at 20:30:12.40 (T+33.3s), Analysis (0.52s), ConvertFitsToJpg 20:30:12.92 (0.2s). Finished 20:30:13.08 (Total 50.6s)
Each image is taking a 3.5s longer than assumed (ie 35.5s rather than 32s due to an extra 1..2s prep time, an extra 1.3s to download time and 0.9s post-image analysis/picture creation time), i.e. a total of 22.2 min (equivalent to the loss of 41 frames).    During Imaging there were 94 interventions by the GuideManager to change the lock position (to re-zero the forward guide error). Each one entailed a 16s delay to allow guiding to settle (note delay is 16s rather than 20s indicated by log message) . i.e. a total of 25 mins (equivalent to the loss of 47 frames). Now some of final 54 automated adjustments are likely a response to the user adjustment in Lock Positon that was being made to fix a critical star drift issue. but the first 40 automated adjustments were made outside of the period where user was involved. Also during the imaging there were 15 temperature related changes to focuser 1 position (frames 29, 50, 66, 115, 121, 151, 156, 162, 207, 210, 216, 301, 307, 313, 364) Each one entailed a 5s delay to allow guiding to settle, i.e. a total of 1.25 min (equivalent to the lost of 2 frames).   Total lost time would seem to correspond to up 90 frames, ie we can easily explain why only 381 frames were acquired and why 78 frames were cancelled.    A separate defect ticket is raised to address the issue whereby the time taken to acquire an image is underestimaed. A separate continuous ticket is raised to allow the automated lock positon adjustment to be turned off for an extended run automated lock positon adjustment to be turned off for an extended run (removing the 16s delays).
Issue understood 2023-01-10 (AstroMain)
Target 9/30 (HAT-P-3) was recorded as Partially Completed even though a total of 381 x 30s images had been acquired 30s exposure over the course of a planned 4 hour timeslot. Target was reported as being Partially Completed (381/460 frames completed). Whilst 78 planned frames weren't acquired the 381 frames that were acquired covered the entire planned time slot comprising a forecast 2h 5m transit of exoplanet HAT-P-3b plus one hour before and one hour after. The fact that the number of expected frames was 78 less than the number anticipated from the Plan is due to i) an underestimation of the total time required for each image and ii) delays between certain frames imposed by the guide manager to allow the guider to resettle after temperature related focus changes and after changes to the Guide Lock Position. Resolved post-session by changing the status of HAT-P-3 in the database from 'Partially Completed' (4) to 'Completed' (5), and recreating the Observing Plan and Observing Results charts.
Closed 2023-01-10 (AstroMain)
Preparation time, extra download time, and post-image analysis/picture creation aren't being included in calculation of Target Imaging. Analysis of imaging of HAT-P-3 over extended period of 381 frames identified that each image was taking around 3.5s longer to acquire than assumed (ie 35.5s was being taken for a 30s 3x3 image, rather than 32s, due to 1.2s prep time, an extra 1.3s to download time and 0.9s post-image analysis time). In response to this the download time for 3x3 image in AstroPlan is increased from 2s to 3.5s (2x2 increased from 4 to 5s, 1x1 left at 9s), and an extra overhead of 2.5s is added per image for prep & post image analysis/picture creation). Implemented in AstroPlan 1.35.8 the number of 30s images required to cover a 2h 5m HAT-P-3b transit + 1 hour before and 1 hour after decreases from 460 frames to 410 frames. The 'Update All Target Durations' button routine was run to update durations for all targets in the database.
Fixed 2023-01-10 (AstroPlan 1.35.7)
Stars in the HAT-P-3 images were gradually 'drifting' southwards during the course of the 4 hour guiding/imaging run. This meant that target object and calibration stars were not staying at the same pixel positions increasing potential errors for relative photometry of a exoplanet transit with depth of only 12-15 mmag. There was also a risk that the main calibration star would potentially leave the field of view, which would have prevented the identical photometric calibration over the whole transit including a 1 hour window post transit, likely ruining the chances of successfully recording the transit. Unidirectional Dec guiding was being used as normal (Dec backlash being too large on my LX200 to permit successful bi-directional guiding) and Dec Mode was set to South , which for the current telescope setup/ slight polar alignment errors, is the best Dec Mode when guiding on the eastern side of the sky (i.e east of the Meridian line). Expectation was that the guide star would generally drift northwards during the run which would be countered by southward guide corrections in PHD2, and this is still believed to be correct. However a feature of AstroMain's guide manager is that if guide star is demonstratably on the wrong side of the zero line at the end of an image (or on the right side by a larger amount because Dec guide have proven non effective as they are for certain parts of the sky), it would change the lock position to re-zero the guide errors for the next image For regular imaging frames are normally aligned prior to stacking and small changes in stars between frames is not an issue, but for extended photometric runs this feature may be the cause of the problem. The tracking on my LX200 scope is far from perfect and it does tend to wobble north and south to some extent as RA tracking proceeds. In general the automated lock position adjustment works fine, but for this extended run it is conjectured that when the tracking was in a phase in which the guide star tended to be north of the zero line, Dec South guiding would tend to move the star back to zero line, but when tracking was in a phase in which guide star tended to be south of the zero line, unidirectional guiding prevented the star being brought back to the zero line, leading to a bias in the direction in which the Guide Manager made Lock Position changes , leading to an apparent southward drift in the target and calibration stars over time. AstroMain doesn't currently have a means to selectively turnoff this automated lock position. A separate ticket is raised to allow the automated lock positon adjustment to be turned off for an extended run.
Issue understood 2023-01-10 (Session, PHD2, AstroMain)
Calibration star in the HAT-P-3 images (Target 10/30) was in danger of drifting to edge of FOV or outside of FOV totally (22:45). Stars were gradually 'drifting' southwards during the course of the 4 hour guiding/imaging run for potential reason discussed in issue above. At around 22:45 it was noticed that the main calibration was in danger of drifting outside the image FOV before the end of the run (00:37) which would compromise ability to analysis images and successfully detect transit of HAT-P-3b exoplanet. To mitigate the risk of PHD2's Tools/Adjust Lock Position facility was used between c. 22:46 to 23:10 and again later to incrementally move the lock position in northward direction would then force PHD2 into making guide corrections to bring the guide star to the new lock position. This helped to bring the stars back towards their starting positons and away from edges of the image. Issue partially mitigated during the session. A separate continuous ticket is raised to allow the automated lock positon adjustment to be turned off for an extended run which might have been causing the star drift on this occasion.
Mitigated in Session 2023-01-10 (Session, PHD2, AstroMain)
When a plan is reloaded Targets that have already been completed or had failed are tabulated as having 'Missed Start' (18.42). Table of such targets should show the previous status and (if appropriate), failure mode. Table show a hyperlink to the relevant Report Section for the target.
Fixed 2023-01-13 (AstroMain 3.60.7)
When AstroMain ObsManager reports an AllSky/Synopsis Alert the time of the message or time of last data should be included. When Obs.Manger reports "AllSky Star & Synopsis data has been inactive for more than 5 mins" the time of message or time of last data should be included. Time is indicated on the immediatey proceeding 'Observatory Alert' line. Closed after review 2023-01-13.
Closed after review 2023-01-11 (AstroMain 3.60.7+)
There was a 10.3 minute gap in the plan ahead of the booked observation at 20:25. This is a previously recorded issue (S1075, 2022-12-26) and this ticket is posted as a reminder to implement a solution. Fix implemented in AstroPlan 1.35.10 using calls to new routine FillInGaps() from RunGA() routine. Testing on Development Computer suggest that fix works ok.
Fixed 2023-01-14 (AstroPlan 1.35.10)

Continuous Improvement

Use a flag in AstroPlan so that the reporting of FTP uploads is disabled whilst scheduler is running. Messages reporting the FTP upload of files to the website is distracting to the flow of messages associated with the creation of the session's Observing Plan. Using existing flag bRunningSchedular to disable standard (ie non error) messages from FTP Uploader would be very helpful.
Done 2023-01-11 (AstroPlan 1.35.8)
Add a backdoor option to turn off AstroMain GuideManager's automated adjustment of lock position. Unidirectional Dec guiding is used during automated guiding (the Dec backlash being too large on my LX200 to permit successful bi-directional guiding) Dec Mode is set to South or North dependant on which side of the sky (east or west of the Meridian) the telescope is pointing and the current polar alignment error. A feature of AstroMain's guide manager is that if guide star is demonstratably on the wrong side of the zero line at the end of an image (or on the right side by a larger amount because Dec guide have proven non effective as they are for certain parts of the sky), it changes the lock position to re-zero the guide errors for the next image. For regular imaging frames are normally aligned prior to stacking and small changes in stars between frames is not an issue, but for extended photometric runs this feature appears to cause a problem due to a bias in the direction in which N/S lock adjustements are made leading to unwanted star drift with time and prevents the maintainance of target and calibration stars on fixed pixel position for an entire run. Ability to turn off the automated adjustment of lock position may remove this bias and prevent the apparent star drift. This would be useful for targets such as the recent observation of HAT-P-3b exoplanet transit. Turning off the feature would also prevent the inclusion of 16s delays that are added between frames to allow settling after a lock position has been changed. This would increase the total exposure time (number of frames) that can be taken during a particular observation window. During recent HAT-P-3 run the Guide Manager made 94 interventions to change lock position during 4 hour run, wasting a total of 25 minutes of potential exposure time.
- cboxDisableLockPositionAdjustments
- cboxDisableDelayAfterLockAdjustment
- cboxDisableDelayAfterFocusChange
- cboxReenableGuideOptionsAtNextTarget
Implemented in AstroMain 3.60.7. There is some uncertainty over DisableDelayAfterFocusChange facility (see next ticket).
To do 2023-01-11 (AstroMain 3.60.7)
Review interaction between AutoSetFocusPosition in TakeImage() and that in TakeMainImage(). Is there a risk that Focuser movement commanded by TakeImage() interfer with those made by TakeMainImage() or because of some other factor. This potential issue was raised when looking at options to DisableDelayAfterFocusChange.
To do 2023-01-11 (AstroPlan 1.35.8)
Query. How to delete a booked observation (Bookings Form) that hasn't been used in a plan ?.
To do 2023-01-11 (AstroPlan 1.35.8)
Try out imaging of Jupiter using TS80 Scope with a Barlow or other means projection. Need to look at means of increasing pixel resolution with ZWO 178MC camera on Secondary Scope whilst retaining the ST10-XME camera on the LX200 Main Scope (as this will be less disruptive overall). Look out options for using Barlow or eyepiece projection. May require changing cable tie points. As this will involve changing the focus need to record the focus position and plate scale for the current setup so that it can be returned to in future. In order to move on to normal imaging/guiding during same session, there is a need need to validate the changes involved in carrying out this project, and then returning to TS80 operation afterwards.
To review 2023-01-11 (TS80 Scope, ZWO 178MC, SharpCap, AstroMain, PHD2)
Include Image Seq No in the reporting of Imaging and Guiding
- In the "Take Image Group " reporting include planned number of frames, not just the planned total exposure time
- In the "Taking image .." reporting include the Image Seq No. like
   Taking 180s image (C)...    Ok   [01084084]   3/10 (Full 3x3 180s C, 20:15:35 UT, Sky 120/+14)    Taking 30s image (Xo)...    Ok   [01084090] 290/381(Full 3x3 30s Xo, 20:39:55 UT, Sky 135/+40)
   Taking 30s image (Xo)...    Ok   [01084091] 291/381(Full 3x3 30s Xo, 20:40:30 UT, Sky 135/+40)
- In GuideSumm file report the Image Seq No like
HAT-P-3   290/381 30s (Xo) 1.6"   1.0" 1.3" 10 39 33.6 4.80 100% 0%   7.2 -16.8 HAT-P-3   291/381 30s (Xo) 2.7"   1.7" 2.1"   9 38 33.7 4.73 100% 0%   7.2 -17.0
To do 2023-01-11 (AstroMain 3.60.7+)

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Notes - Session 1084 (2023-01-09)