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--- uc:uc20250603_june_3_2025 [2025/06/03 16:38]
nchanove
+++ uc:uc20250603_june_3_2025 [2025/06/04 15:24] (current)
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 Attending: Nancy Chanover (NMSU), Bill Ketzeback (APO), Anne Verbiscer (UVa), Eric Bellm (UW), Aleksandr Mosenkov (BYU), Kevin Schlaufman (JHU), Joanne Hughes (Seattle U), Moire Prescott (NMSU), Adam Kowalski (CU), Chip Kobulnicky (UWy), Ben Williams (UW), Sarah Tuttle (UW)
-Russet McMillan (APO),
-Misty Bentz (GSU)
 === User feedback and comments from institutional representatives ===
@@ Line 20: / Line 16: @@
   * Colorado - nothing to report
   * JHU - nothing to report
-  * NMSU - report from  user - dark correction on KOSMOS data taken pretty recently - Kelly emailed Russet about it - dark seems to be higher than it was historically, higher pixels that don't get corrupted - anyone else with issues particularly for long exposures - Joanne took 3 900 sec darks on Sunday night
+  * NMSU - There was a report from a user regarding the dark correction on KOSMOS data taken pretty recently. The dark level seems to be higher than it was historically, resulting in pixels that don't get corrected properly. The user contacted Russet about this. Nancy said that this will be discussed on our weekly operations call this Thursday and we will report back to Moire and the NMSU user if this issue and/or a mitigation strategy is understood. That said, **if any other users have seen this issue -- particularly for long exposures -- please let Nancy know!** Joanne mentioned that she took 3 x 900 sec darks with KOSMOS last Sunday night and also saw a high level of cosmic rays; she is willing to share the data if anyone wants to use them for comparison.
   * Washington - nothing to report
@@ Line 63: / Line 59: @@
 === Additional site, telescope and instrument discussion ===
-Report is pretty comprehensive (above) - got rain last weekend much needed (not yet monsoon, but still much needed).
+The site has been incredibly dry but we got some much-needed rain last weekend even though we are not yet in the classical monsoon season. We will be keeping an eye out for seasonal telescope motion errors that may increase as the temperature warms; if that happens we may need to adjust the PID settings.
+ARCSAT had some issues last night with the camera communicating with the software but it got ironed out.
+We will investigate the KOSMOS issue reported above.
+ARCTIC recently dropped a quad, which was recovered. There were also recent issues with the ion pump control; the cause was narrowed down to a bad cable. Once this is repaired we hope these issues will be reduced and we will not have to warm the instrument as much as we have recently.
+Agile experienced a failure of the newly replaced TEC, and there are no current plans to repair the instrument further. We are moving ahead with SoonerCam (we now have the new camera in hand)! Auxiliary equipment for SoonerCam has not been ordered yet but that project is ramping up.
+We are working on replacements for more modern computer/interface cards for ARCES to get us through the next few years.
+There is no new status update for DIS.
+NICFPS and TripleSpec are performing fine.
+We are currently undergoing some technical issues with the laser on APOLLO that we're working through.
+If we do any instrument servicing this summer it will probably take place outside of the summer shutdown window. Most likely it would only be KOSMOS, since ARCES, NICFPS, and TripleSpec don't need vacuum servicing, and KOSMOS generally only requires a 2-3 day turnaround. This could be accomplished during a period when the instrument is not scheduled for science.
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@@ Line 69: / Line 83: @@
 === 2025 Q2 3.5m scheduling ===
-The time in Q2 is fully allocated; no OPEN or DD slots remain.
+The time in Q2 is fully allocated; no OPEN or DD slots remain. There are a couple of ToO paybacks slots that have not been called in yet.
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 === 2025 Q2 0.5 scheduling ===
-The Q2 ARCSAT schedule has one week of OPEN time remaining (June 12-19).
+The Q2 ARCSAT schedule has one week of OPEN time remaining (June 12-19). The long-standing policy for filter requests and changes is now published on the ARCSAT webpage in an effort to make it more visible. **Users who are asking for filter changes must make the request at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled observing night when the new filters are needed. The APO staff cannot support filter changes on weekends and holidays.**
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@@ Line 81: / Line 95: @@
 === 2025 Q3 3.5m scheduling ===
-The 3.5m summer shutdown is scheduled for 7-17 July, inclusive. xxx
+The 3.5m summer shutdown is scheduled for 7-17 July, inclusive. We have received all requests for Q3 (thanks to everyone for getting them in on time or close to it!). So far we are not aware of any major conflicts. The schedule is currently being built and we hope to have a version to distribute next week. Once the Q3 schedule for the 3.5m is published we will issue a call for ARCSAT Q3 requests. ARCSAT will have the same shutdown schedule as the 3.5m so there will be less time available in Q3.
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 === Status of new instrument initiatives ===
-A replacement high speed imager, SoonerCam, is under development. We expect to be able to share an information/specification sheet or white paper about the instrument fairly soon. In the meantime, a survey of all past/present/future users of such an instrument (i.e. current and former Agile users, or those who want to use a modern high speed imager) was distributed. We really need to hear from users concerning anticipated needs for frame rate, binning, etc. as this information will drive some design decisions. We plan to add a focal reducer but the pixels are currently very small. Here is the email sent to 35m-general requesting survey responses:
+A replacement high speed imager, SoonerCam, is under development. A survey of all past/present/future users of such an instrument (i.e. current and former Agile users, or those who want to use a modern high speed imager) was distributed. We really need to hear from users concerning anticipated needs for frame rate, binning, etc. as this information will drive some design decisions. We plan to add a focal reducer but the pixels are currently very small. Here is the email sent to 35m-general requesting survey responses:
@@ Line 102: / Line 116: @@
 ''On behalf of the SoonerCam team (including the Astro group at OU, Sarah Tuttle, Bill Ketzeback and the APO engineering/software team, and Nancy Chanover),''
 ''-Muk''
+**We really need users to complete this survey by the end of June. If anyone has specific requests or suggestions regarding desired capabilities for SoonerCam, that should be noted in the final question of the survey.**
 Work on the new optical echelle spectrograph continues with the goal of completing the Preliminary Design Review this calendar year. Another grant proposal is in the works.
-We have no updates concerning Ocotillo.
+Regarding Ocotillo, we are trying to get final quotes so that we can start purchasing materials and optics to assemble the first channel. Some vendors are slow in responsiveness these days.
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 This group is still meeting and exploring various options for the future of ARCSAT.
+----
+=== Annual Request to Update Publication Record ===
+Please send Nancy any references for 3.5m-related publications (anything published from Jan 1 2024 to now). The deadline is June 30. Understanding the scientific usage and impact of the telescope is critical for evaluating future projects, initiatives, instrument concepts, etc., thus we need your help in updating our publication record! We are now participating in a cross-observatory analysis of scientific impact of ground-based telescopes, so it is especially important that we capture all publications resulting from APO observations. Any publications resulting from ARCSAT data are also requested. The listing should include refereed publications and student theses and dissertations (not conference abstracts unless they are peer reviewed) that made use of data acquired with the 3.5m and/or ARCSAT, published from 2024 to the present. If a paper has been submitted to a journal but has not yet completely gone through the review process, please include that as well, with the name of the journal and “submitted.”
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 Open action items from previous meetings:
-  * Nancy: get Mt. Cuba Foundation proposal for new KOSMOS grisms submitted. STATUS: OPEN.
+  * Nancy: get Mt. Cuba Foundation proposal for new KOSMOS grisms submitted. STATUS: OPEN. Nancy and Sarah are awaiting updated quotes from the grism vendor and then the proposal will be submitted.
   * UC reps: ask your users to complete the survey regarding needs/desires for a high speed imaging capability. The link to this survey was sent out to 35m-general on May 6, 2025 by Mukremin Kilic, and is also included above. STATUS: OPEN.
 New action items from this meeting:
-  * xxx
+  * UC reps: ask your users to send Nancy the bibliographic information for any papers published in 2024-2025 that are resulting from 3.5m or ARCSAT data.
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 === All Other Business ===
-Annual Request to Update Publication Record
+None.
-Please send Nancy any references for 3.5m-related publications (anything published from Jan 1 2024 to now). The deadline is June 30. Understanding the scientific usage and impact of the telescope is critical for evaluating future projects, initiatives, instrument concepts, etc., thus we need your help in updating our publication record! We are now participating in a cross-observatory analysis of scientific impact of ground-based telescopes, so it is especially important that we capture all publications resulting from APO observations. Any publications resulting from ARCSAT data are also requested. The listing should include refereed publications and student theses and dissertations (not conference abstracts unless they are peer reviewed) that made use of data acquired with the 3.5m and/or ARCSAT, published from 2024 to the present. If a paper has been submitted to a journal but has not yet completely gone through the review process, please include that as well, with the name of the journal and “submitted.”
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