One of the more visible consequences of the CTIO's ever-shrinking budget has been the personnel reductions (17%) in the Telescope Operations division that have occurred over the past three years. This inevitably has led to increased pressure on the remaining staff, particularly on the Observer Support personnel, who are the ones who interface directly with visiting astronomers to insure that their observing programs are carried out successfully. We have adopted several measures to try to lessen this problem, for example a return to relatively strict block scheduling on the 1.5-m telescope (NOAO Newsletter No. 43, page 29).
At the request of the Observer Support staff, we are also trying to control more closely the number of nights that astronomers spend on the mountain. For several years we have included the following phrase in the material that the visiting astronomers are sent when they receive telescope time at CTIO:
"Observers are expected to arrive on the mountain on the day their run begins, and should return to La Serena the day immediately following the night of their run. Exceptions to this rule must be authorized by the CTIO Director's office (emacauliffe@noao.edu)."
We have found that many visiting astronomers seem unaware of this policy, and arrive a day or more early on the mountain or expect to be able to stay on the mountain the night after their run has ended. On the face of it, this wouldn't seem like such a big deal, especially since we now charge visiting astronomers (except thesis students) for room and board while on the mountain. However, our Observer Support staff tells us that the simple presence of telescope-less astronomers on the mountain can often translate into extra work. For example, most astronomers want access to a workstation to read their e- mail, prepare for their run, work on a paper, etc. While public workstations are available in La Serena, none are currently available on the mountain (due to budget problems!). Hence, visiting astronomers end up requesting to use workstations associated with the telescopes, or ones that are assigned to Observer Support. Even when such requests can be facilitated, the visiting astronomers often need assistance from Observer Support personnel.
We therefore request that future observers restrict their stay on Tololo to the minimum number of nights necessary. If you have a legitimate reason for wanting to go to the mountain a night early (e.g., to observe how to operate a complicated instrument, or to acclimate to the altitude if this causes you problems, or if you are observing in the winter and are concerned that you won't have time to prepare for your first night), we are likely to approve the request. However, you should be aware that we cannot offer you a workstation to use, and that the Observer Support personnel probably won't have time to answer any questions you might have. Regarding staying a night after your run ends, we unfortunately must request that all observers leave the mountain the day after their last night on the telescope. Also, if you are scheduled for two observing runs separated by more than one night, we ask that you go down to La Serena for the time between the two runs. Thank you very much for your cooperation and understanding.
Mark Phillips (mphillips@noao.edu)