Instruments & Operations

 

 


In this run-up to initial partner-level science observations with the LBC cameras, please consider the following information when preparing your observing blocks (OBs). If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of the instrument support astronomers (ISAs).

Recommendations for OB Preparation:

There are two header keywords that are set during OB preparations that will determine accessibility of the data in the archive interface. These must be set appropriately to minimize problems in retrieving your data later. Note that if these keywords are not set correctly the data still goes into the archive, it just requires administrative intervention to retrieve it. The two important keywords are:

The OBSERVER flag controls where the data goes (propagation to remote data servers) as well as to which partner the data belongs. OBSERVER should be set to one or more of the partner IDs (inaf, lbtb, osurc, and az). The OBSERVER keyword is case-insensitive. All data taken by a given partner will be available to archive users logging in under that partner's archive account (see 'Data access' below).

Calibrations: note that to make calibration files available across all partners, the OBSERVER flag should be set to 'calibration'. All data identified as 'flat', 'bias', and 'dark' will be made available to all partners, regardless of who took the data.

The LBCUSER flag controls who has primary access to the data by identifying the PI of the project. Currently the archive interface supports partner-level and PI-level access, but each partner will decide which level will be implemented on their mirror. Please contact your primary representative (listed below) for login information. Properly setting the LBCUSER keyword will also allow for easier searching on the archive database. We strongly urge observers to adopt a consistent format of first initial (optional middle initial) and last name with no spaces, and continue using this identification in the future. Spaces can be a problem for the archiving software. For example: 'dthompson' and 'D.J.Thompson' are acceptable, while 'D. Thompson' is not. The LBCUSER keyword is also case-insensitive.

Cross-partner collaborations are supported by the archive software. You should do both of the following (#1 is critical, #2 is establishing good practices):

  1. List all partners involved in the project under the OBSERVER field. Please use a comma-separated list, no spaces. For example, a project between Germany and Italy would be identified in the OBSERVER keyword as: "lbtb,inaf".

  2. List the PIs from all partners involved in the project under the LBCUSER keyword. Please use a comma-separated list, no spaces. For example 'rgreen,egiallongo' would work. Another option would be to give the project itself a unique identifier such as 'KBOsearch' or 'z7qsosearch'.

Please do not use the '<' or '>' characters in OBs, especially in the constrain sets. Unix uses these as redirects and it can mess up the OB or its execution.

Data access from the LBC data archive machine(s):

The procedures for retrieving data from the archive servers will be very similar to those used during the SDT time. Each morning the archive machine at the telescope transfers the previous night's data to the Tucson archive server, which then forwards the appropriate subsets (partner data and calibration files) on to the distributed archives (currently one at MPIA and another in Trieste). Data will be 'released' and published on the archive interface once properly ingested by the local archive server. Generally this process has completed by noon in Tucson, a few hours after observations have ended for that night.

Each partner will be given a login/password account to access data on the archive servers. Because of bandwidth issues, German astronomers should use the archive server at MPIA, Italian astronomers should use the server in Trieste, and US astronomers should use the server in Tucson. Please contact your primary representative for the appropriate login information (you should already know who they are):