Preparing observations for ESO telescopes: a versatile approach

Giacomo Beccari; Thomas Bierwirth; Michael Pruemm; Paula Cristina Correia dos Santos; Vincenzo Forchì; Stéphane Brillant; Olivier R. Hainaut; Stéphane Marteau; Andrea Mehner; Steffen Mieske; Sangeeta Mysore; Monika G. Petr-Gotzens; John Pritchard; Marina Rejkuba; Lowell E. Tacconi-Garman; Markus Wittkowski

doi:10.1117/12.2628991

25 August 2022 Preparing observations for ESO telescopes: a versatile approach

Giacomo Beccari, Thomas Bierwirth, Michael Pruemm, Paula Cristina Correia dos Santos, Vincenzo Forchì, Stéphane Brillant, Olivier R. Hainaut, Stéphane Marteau, Andrea Mehner, Steffen Mieske, Sangeeta Mysore, Monika G. Petr-Gotzens, John Pritchard, Marina Rejkuba, Lowell E. Tacconi-Garman, Markus Wittkowski

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX; 121860N (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628991
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

ESO’s La Silla Paranal Observatory uses a set of integrated tools for preparation and execution of Service and Visitor Mode (SM and VM, respectively) observations. The web interface for the observation preparation (p2) provides a versatile and robust environment for users to efficiently design their observations. The software architecture of p2 enabled implementation of new services, modeled according to the instruments’ specifications and operational standards. The automatic creation of Finding Charts is integrated within p2 and the Observation Preparation (ObsPrep) tool enables interactive observing strategy configuration including for example fine-tuning of the science field pointings, selection of blind offset and guide stars as well as selection of auxiliary stars for instruments using Adaptive Optics. Through the Visitor Execution Sequence, observers can plan and monitor in real-time their (on-site or remote) observations. For Service Mode runs the use of scheduling containers, recently extended to include nesting of containers, enables design of complex observing strategies that are machine readable, which allows programmatic preparation of short term scheduling for execution and planning of the night at the observatory.

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Giacomo Beccari, Thomas Bierwirth, Michael Pruemm, Paula Cristina Correia dos Santos, Vincenzo Forchì, Stéphane Brillant, Olivier R. Hainaut, Stéphane Marteau, Andrea Mehner, Steffen Mieske, Sangeeta Mysore, Monika G. Petr-Gotzens, John Pritchard, Marina Rejkuba, Lowell E. Tacconi-Garman, and Markus Wittkowski "Preparing observations for ESO telescopes: a versatile approach", Proc. SPIE 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX, 121860N (25 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628991

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