Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- uc:uc2026 [2026/10/05 20:42] – nchanove
+++ uc:uc2026 [2026/10/06 19:28] (current) – nchanove
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ===== APO 3.5-m Users Committee Meeting, 10/06/2026 =====
-Attending: Nancy Chanover (NMSU),
+Attending: Nancy Chanover (NMSU), Misty Bentz (GSU), Kevin Schlaufman (JHU), Aleksandr Mosenkov (BYU), Anne Verbiscer (UVa), Moire Prescott (NMSU), Ben Williams (UW), Eric Bellm (UW), Bill Ketzeback (APO), Adam Kowalski (CU), Michael Hayden (OU), Russet McMillan (APO)
-Misty Bentz (GSU), Kevin Schlaufman (JHU), Aleksandr Mosenkov (BYU), Amanda Townsend (APO), Moire Prescott (NMSU), Michael Hayden (OU), Bill Ketzeback (APO), Ben Williams (UW), Adam Kowalski (CU), Anne Verbiscer (UVa)
 === User feedback and comments from institutional representatives ===
-  * Washington - no report
+  * Washington - nothing to report
   * Williams - no report
   * Colgate - no report
@@ Line 14: / Line 12: @@
   * JHU - nothing to report
   * Colorado - nothing to report
-  * UVa - nothing to report
+  * UVa - nothing to report other than a user can't access night logs on web page after 9/20/2026; Nancy will look into it and report back
   * Oklahoma - nothing to report
   * Georgia State - nothing to report
@@ Line 63: / Line 61: @@
 === Additional site, telescope and instruments discussion ===
-xxx update xxx
+The 3.5m telescope is behaving nominally. The 0.5m is still inoperable; Bill recovered some spare parts from another site but the telescope still needs to be repaired. We anticipate scheduling Q4 ARCSAT observing programs to start no earlier than November.
+Through most of September ARCTIC had issues with the lower left quadrant of the chip being saturated. With the cooler weather that quadrant seems to have recovered itself. This recovery is not well understood; during some troubleshooting we swapped out a bunch of components but we still saw the issue. It was originally believed to be a problem isolated inside the cryostat but that is now less certain. For now we are in a "watch and wait" mode. This past weekend we saw evidence that there was water vapor stuck between ARCTIC's L2 and L3, which is a new problem to address. The purge air was on so it is unclear what caused condensation to form there.
+The inter-order light in ARCES had been slowly improving over the last few weeks but last weekend there was an inadvertent warm-up of the instrument. It is now offline but we hope that it will be back for tomorrow's scheduled observations. If we are unsuccessful in bringing it back, or if the vacuum has softened too much to cool it back down, we will need to take it offline for more extensive servicing. The salt and pepper noise that has been reported in ARCES frames is likely due to the new ICC, possibly the digitization card, a problem with the kernel, or the CPU board itself. This issue can appear any time, although recovery is quick. We are currently developing a procedure so the observing specialists can clear it up if seen, while Gordon continues to search for the root cause of the issue.
+The annual APOLLO servicing visit took place recently. The NASA team was on site, but they did not complete their entire [ambitious!] task list. We expect they will return to complete the remaining tasks some time in 2027.
 ----
@@ Line 69: / Line 73: @@
 === 2026 Q4 3.5m scheduling ===
-The Q4 schedule is posted. There is xxx time available xxx. Users should submit requests for this time to the scheduling team (Amanda Townsend, Russet McMillan, Ben Williams, and Nancy Chanover), and cc their institutional scheduler.
+The Q4 schedule is posted. There is a limited amount of unscheduled time available: one DD01 dark half on Nov 10A. Users should submit requests for this time to the scheduling team (Amanda Townsend, Russet McMillan, Ben Williams, and Nancy Chanover), and cc their institutional scheduler.
 === 2026 Q4 0.5 scheduling ===
-xxx update xxx
+We have Q4 proposals in hand, and will not schedule them to start until November.
 ----
@@ Line 79: / Line 83: @@
 === New instrument initiatives ===
-xxx update all xxx
+  * KOSMOS new grism - We have a revised quote from Wasatch; Sarah needs to complete her review of it and then we can order it.
-  * KOSMOS new grism - no update.
+  * Ocotillo - Lab work is continuing, and we are planning for a pre-ship review by end of this quarter. We had a check-in meeting on 9/25 and discussed progress and expectations for the next review. Moire asked if there is a spec sheet available so that users could view the expected performance and begin thinking about how they will want to use it. Nancy reported that an Ocotillo report is being prepared for the ARC Board meeting, and a spec sheet will likely be included in that document. If it is, she will share it with this group.
-  * Ocotillo - Lab work is continuing, hoping for a pre-ship review next quarter.
+  * ASPEN - Work on the ADC is moving forward. A request for funding was submitted for the ADC, and the ASPEN team is gearing up for another proposal submission next month.
-  * ASPEN - No major updates; moving forward with ADC and gearing up for another funding proposal.
+  * SoonerCam - a focus group of prospective SoonerCam users recently met with Gordon to discuss modes of operation for the instrument. This will help him develop the instrument control software.
-  * SoonerCam - no update.
 ----
@@ Line 95: / Line 98: @@
 === Plans for January AAS Meeting ===
-APO plans to have a booth at the next AAS meeting (sharing a double booth with SDSS). Nancy polled the group to see if there is any interest in a special session or a splinter meeting related to APO-specific topics. There was no interest so we will not pursue this further. xxx update xxx
+APO plans to have a booth at the next AAS meeting (sharing a double booth with SDSS). If any 3.5m users (especially students!) plan to present results that were enabled through 3.5m observations we would love to know about it so that we can highlight the talks/posters at the meeting.
 ----
@@ Line 102: / Line 105: @@
 Open action items from previous meetings:
-  * Nancy: revisit idea of time trades with WIYN. Status: CLOSED. There does not seem to be interest from Indiana; Adam will discuss this with his user and follow up with Nancy if needed.
+  * Nancy: revisit idea of time trades with WIYN. Status: CLOSED. Indiana is not interested in revisiting our previous arrangement.
-  * UC reps: identify time domain / former Agile users who are willing to serve on SoonerCam focus group. Status: CLOSED. No volunteers. Nancy asked individuals directly.
-  * UC reps: notify your users about OPEN time available in August-September. Status: CLOSED.
 New action items from this meeting: