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Breakdown of Fall 1992 Scheduled Nights (1Sep92)
(from KPNO, NOAO Newsletter No. 31, 1 September 1992)

The first table below gives the statistics on nights scheduled for
science on the Kitt Peak telescopes for the 1 August 1992-31 January
1993 period. As usual, all of our telescopes were oversubscribed.


Telescope    Nights  Nights  # Req./  # of    #    Total #/   # Staff  % Staff
              Req.   Sched.  # Sched. Prop. Sched. # Sched.    Nights   Nights
4-m    Dark    223     66      3.4     65    24      2.7         16       24
       Bright  160     66      2.4     48    22      2.2          9       14

2.1-m  Dark    134     82      1.6     32    19      1.7          8       10
       Bright  101     65      1.6     25    16      1.6         10       15

Coude          189    141      1.3     28    23      1.2         29       21
 Feed

1.3-m          244    145      1.7     44    25      1.8         46       32

0.9-m  Dark    142     93      1.5     26    19      1.4         18       19
       Bright   91     57      1.6     18    12      1.5          7       12

Schmidt         94     52      1.8     17    10      1.7          5       10


                                 4-m   2.1-m   C/F   1.3-m   0.9-m   Schmidt

Nights assigned by the TAC for   122    136    126    131     145       52
   observing programs
Director's discretionary nights    9     10     15     13       5        0
   for observing programs
Engineering, checkout, and        13     18     10     20      22        5
   special nights
Seasonal closures, aluminiza-     40     20     33     20      12       11
   tions, and shutdown nights

       Totals                    184    184    184    184     184       68*

* Note that only half the time on the Burrell Schmidt belongs to Kitt
Peak; in addition, the Schmidt is scheduled only during dark time.


We are occasionally asked what fraction of the available time goes for
purposes other than science. In the second table we show a detailed
accounting of how time was allocated on our telescopes. The top two
categories make up the science nights; the top line ("TAC observing
programs") shows the number of nights assigned using the strict grade
ranking given by the TAC, while the second line shows the number of
nights assigned to proposals selected by the Director to ensure that a
balance of science is achieved.

The next two lines show nights allocated for all "non-science"
observing.  Engineering nights are nights assigned on the schedule as
"T&E" (Testing and Evaluation); these nights are usually used for new
instrument development.  Some of these nights are also used for
generating pointing maps and repairing the telescope electronics.
Pointing and electronics nights are often scheduled as the first-half
of a night, and if not needed, they are returned to the observer
scheduled the second half.  Similarly, "checkout" nights are usually
scheduled for the first half night at the start of an observing block
with a complicated or new instrument; this time is also often returned
to the scheduled observer for the second half of the night and hence
used for science.  "Special" nights in this case include "Family
night," a half-night scheduled during full moon once every few years to
allow the families of Kitt Peak employees to journey to the mountain
and see what it is all about; this category also includes the once a
month half night on the 0.9-m used for KPNO public nights. The final
line shows the number of nights used for aluminizing mirrors and for
the annual summer shutdown during our bad weather months. This
"shutdown" period means that the telescope can be partially
disassembled for maintenance and repair; it is our policy during the
summer months, however, to keep either the 4-m or 2.1-m closed but
operational in case of an important astronomical event.

David De Young

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