General Information About The NOAO WIYN Observing Program ---------------------------------------------------------- Revised: 16 Aug 96, Dave Silva Table of Contents ----------------- 1. Program Overview 2. WIYN Observing Program Application Instructions 3. MOS/Hydra Information 4. WIYN Imager Information 5. Estimating WIYN Observing Overheads 6. Important E-mail Addresses Note: This document is the text version of WIYN Observing Program information maintained as WWW pages at http://www.noao.edu/wiyn/obsprog. Additional information about this program, including WIYN Queue Observing Experiment status reports, may be found at that URL. 1. WIYN Observing Program Overview The WIYN 3.5m telescope began science operations at Kitt Peak on 15 July 1995. The current median WIYN delivered image quality is 0.8" FWHM. WIYN delivers images 0.7" or smaller 25% of the time and 0.6" or smaller 10% of the time. This state-of-the-art alt-az telescope has a wide-field CCD Imager and wide-field multi-object fiber spectrograph (MOS/Hydra) mounted at its two Nasmyth foci. NOAO is allocated 40% of WIYN telescope time by the WIYN (Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO) Consortium, roughly 9 - 12 nights per month. Approved WIYN programs will be scheduled in two modes: classical mode, where PIs are assigned specific nights, and in queue mode, where observations are carried out by the WIYN Queue Program staff. Program assignment to classical or queue modes will be made after proposals are reviewed by the TAC and the KPNO Director. The availability of the queue observing mode and the opportunity to obtain data for small programs permits broader access by the community to KPNO facilities. Operating in a queue mode also allows NOAO to develop new observing strategies for application to the Gemini 8m telescopes. Further information about the WIYN Observing Program can be found on-line at http://www.noao.edu/wiyn/obsprog. We are now soliciting WIYN proposals for the Spring 1997 semester (1 February 1997 - 31 July 1997). Proposers should use the standard KPNO observing proposal form, and submit the additional WIYN queue observing program attachment to provide summary observational details of the program. All proposers must submit both forms. Please follow the application instructions carefully. 1.1. Supported Instrumentation NOAO will support the two major WIYN facility instruments, the WIYN CCD Imager and the Hydra Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS/Hydra) formerly available at the 4m. The telescope is designed to switch quickly between these two instruments. 1.2. Supported Observing Program Types Observing programs of all lengths will be accepted for review. Long Programs (which require more than 2 hours of telescope time) will be reviewed by the normal external KPNO TACs and ranked by scientific merit. When estimating how much telescope time to request, please take into account observing overheads as well as integration time. Approved Long Program proposals will be scheduled either classically or in queue mode, subject to review of the TAC results and the proposed program by the KPNO Director. Short Programs (i.e. 2hr queue) (those requiring less than 2 hours of observing time) will be reviewed by an internal KPNO TAC. The goal of a typical Short Program might be to obtain a small dataset to complete a larger project or assess the feasibility of a particular type of observation before the submission of a Long Program proposal, or it could be a short, self-contained program. Individual Short Program principal investigators or co-investigators will be allocated at most six (6) hours (i.e. a maximum of three separate Short Program proposals) of WIYN telescope time. All approved Short Program proposals will be scheduled in queue mode. A maximum of two hours of WIYN time can be requested per Short Program proposal. If your program is simple, we will absorb the standard observing overhead (e.g. CCD read-down times, target acquisition times, etc.) However, if your program is more complicated, you must include observing overhead into your time request. In short, your program must fit within two hours, including observing overhead. 1.2.1. Target of Opportunity Programs In addition to preplanned observations, we will consider making Imager observations on targets of opportunity. These might include such objects as supernovae, gamma ray bursters, comets, or variable stars which are exhibiting unusual behavior. Because queue observations are scheduled dynamically, such additional objects can be inserted into the queue program with minimum impact. However, because projects which have been judged scientifically important will be delayed, we will also require a short scientific justification for observations of targets of opportunity. MOS/Hydra Target-of-Opportunity observations will not be allowed at this time. We can accomodate target-of-opportunity proposals which adhere to the following procedure: 1. Proposals for targets of opportunity must be submitted on the standard KPNO LaTeX template form but with the scientific justification limited to 250 words. The LaTeX WIYN queue observing program addendum form must also be submitted. The justification should mention why immediate observations are required and over what timescale the observations would be interesting. 2. Any proposal received before 2 PM MST on a day during which observations will be made may be scheduled for that night. Proposals will be reviewed by the KPNO Director for priority and the WIYN queue observing team for feasibility before they are scheduled. 1.3. Miscellaneous Queue Program Information Proposers should remember that not all observing time will be photometric with 0.5" seeing and should consider submitting proposals which take this into account. Each exposure will be checked twice: a quick check by the WIYN Queue Observer immediately after the data is acquired and then a more detailed check the next morning by the WIYN Queue Scientist. The quick check will consist of the following steps: (a) Was data actually written to disk and does it look reasonable? Procedure: auto-display the CCD frame after readout. (b) Were the expected number of detections obtained? Procedure: examine a row cut plot. (c) Was the user specified figure-of-merit (e.g. S/N per pixel at some wavelength) achieved? Remark: if this step requires extensive processing, it may be deferred until morning. The morning detailed check repeats steps (a) - (c) above. It is important to both us and you that we deliver the highest possible quality data. If we are not confident that we have achieved your figure-of-merit or if testing your data requires substantial processing, we will contact you as quickly as possible to determine the best course of action. In particular, we will probably request a location where we can deposit a data sample via anonymous FTP so you can assist us in assessing your data. In the event this becomes necessary, we will send you more complete instructions. Successful observations will be made available to the program principal investigator as quickly as possible. Typically, datasets will be sent to the principal investigator in FITS format on Exabyte or DAT tapes within seven (7) working days of completing their program. Smaller data subsets may be transmitted to the principal investigator early as appropriate. To protect proposers' access, such datasets will not be available from NOAO via anonymous FTP. Instead, such transfers will be from NOAO to a site designated by the principal investigator. 1.4. Final Comments The WIYN observing program is still evolving. We know that we haven't thought of everything. We will be very interested in comments and suggestions, both ahead of time and afterwards. We realize that not all programs lend themselves to the queue approach, which is why some programs are scheduled classically. The main goal of the WIYN queue observing experiment, however, is to empirically test the hypothesis that in the face of a high over-subscription rate, the science throughput of WIYN can be maximized by executing the most highly ranked science programs first, completing datasets in a timely manner, allowing a larger range of program lengths, and matching the observing program on the observing conditions on an observation-by-observation basis. For a progress report on this experiment, please see recent NOAO Newsletters. This report is also available on the WIYN Observing Program WWW homepage. If you have specific questions or comments about the WIYN observing program, please send them to the KPNO Director's office (kpno@noao.edu). 1.5. Further Information General information is available from the WIYN Observing Program homepage. Questions about the WIYN proposal process should be directed to the KPNO Director's Office (kpno@noao.edu); questions about expected instrument performance of MOS/Hydra should be directed to Sam Barden (sbarden@;noao.edu) or Taft Armandroff (tarmandroff@noao.edu); questions about the WIYN imager should be directed to Paul Smith (dsilva@noao.edu) or Taft Armandroff; questions about WIYN operations status and queue observing should be directed to the WIYN Queue Program address (wiynq@noao.edu). 2. WIYN Observing Program Application Instructions Applying for WIYN observing time requires submitting the following: 1. a regular KPNO observing proposal form 2. WIYN queue observing program form (a.k.a the WIYNQ form) These forms can be acquired in the following ways: Application Forms Locations WWW: http://www.noao.edu/kpno/kpnoprop.html Anonymous FTP: ftp.noao.edu (cd kpno/kpnoforms) E-mail: kpnoprop-request@noao.edu (send any message) Paper: Call KPNO Observing Support at (520) 318-8279 The proposal forms are designed to be processed by LaTeX macros. Briefly, the proposal form consists of a series of keywords followed by fields in which you fill in the information. After editing this information into the form, you may produce a hardcopy by running it through LaTeX and sending it to your laser printer. Proposers will be told how to submit MOS/Hydra configuration data after the proposal review process is completed. Further instructions about submitting KPNO observing proposals are available via anonymous FTP (ftp.noao.edu (cd kpno/kpnoforms; get README)) or on-line (http://www.noao.edu/kpno/kpnoprop.html). Questions about the application process should be directed to the KPNO Director's office (kpno@noao.edu). 2.1. Important Notes for the KPNO Proposal Form If you are applying for Long Program observations, specify "WIYN" as the telescope. If you are applying for Short Program observations, specify "WIYN---2hr" as the telescope. Short Program scientific justifications should be kept a half page or less. 2.2. Important Notes for the WIYNQ Form Please remember that we need enough information to evaluate your program fairly during the TAC process. But also keep in mind that if you are allocated queue time, you will get the chance to revise your WIYN queue observing form, giving more information if necessary. So be as brief as possible without selling your program short. Explicit and detailed instructions on how to execute your program are not needed initially. Programs which adhere to the published Imager and MOS/Hydra default operation and calibration procedures do not have to provide additional commentary in the Observing Program section of the WIYN queue observing form. However, if your proposed program requires significantly different observing procedures, please explain why in the Observing Program section of the queue form. Please review the observing overheads page for further information. If your program requires a specific set of objects, you must clearly justify this in the Science Justification section of the main proposal form. For example, you may need to observe M15 to test your hypothesis, and no other globular cluster will do. However, if you are awarded time in the queue but with relatively low grade, your objects may set before we make enough progress on higher ranked programs to schedule your program. On the other hand, many programs do not require specific objects but want to observe a representative set. For example, you would like to observe four Abell clusters but it doesn't matter which four clusters are observed. An example fictional sample (e.g. "Cluster A, Cluster B, Cluster C, etc") complete with typical instrument configuration information (filters, gratings, required exposure times, number of exposures, etc) must be specified on the WIYN queue form. You should state clearly in the Scientific Justification and/or the Technical & Scientific sections of the main KPNO proposal form why your sample needs to be the size you propose. If you are allocated queue observing time, you will be asked to submit your real sample when (and if) your program is scheduled. However, if your mid-semester object selection conflicts with objects and instrument configurations in a different program specifically reviewed by the TAC, you will be asked to select a different target or justify why we should repeat the observation. Also your revised program will have to fit within the amount of time you are allocated. Note that some sample flexibility will increase the probability that a programs with lower TAC grades will be executed since they must be scheduled around programs with higher grades. All revised WIYN queue forms submitted after WIYN observing time is allocated are subject to review and approval of the KPNO Director. A note to Hydra proposers: you do not have to specify the celestial coordinates of every object in every configuration on your WIYN queue observing form. You merely have to tell us the approximate celestial coordinates of the field centers of each proposed configurations. It is important that in the Observing Program section of the WIYNQ form you specify a PER EXPOSURE data quality figure-of-merit, i.e. a quantitative measure of whether an individual exposure has met your technical goal. Example figures-of-merit include: S/N per pixel at a specified wavelength how well two lines were split at a given wavelength number of detections above sky per configuration Your figure-of-merit could be some combination of these examples or something else entirely. Please be specific. MOS/Hydra twilight sky observations are important for radial velocity calibration and potentially for other programs. If your MOS/Hydra program requires that twilight sky observations through all fibers be obtained at dusk and/or dawn for calibration purposes, you should request and justify such observations in the "Observing Program" section of your WIYNQ form. We will NOT automatically observe spectrophotometric and radial velocity standards for MOS/Hydra programs. You should note that you will require such standards in the Observing Program section of the WIYNQ form and include an overhead estimate for each such observation in your time request. 3. MOS/Hydra Information 3.1. General Information A general description of the instrument may be found in the Hydra/WIYN Users Manual, available on-line as an HTML document, via anonymous FTP, or from the KPNO Observing Suppport Office. More detailed information, including grating efficency curves, can be found in the Hydra/WIYN User's Guide. Information about the red camera is available on-line. Queries about this camera should be directed to Taft Armandroff (tarmandroff@noao.edu). A setup program is also available for defining the spectrograph configuration and planning observations. The setup program is available via anonymous FTP. 3.2. Default MOS/Hydra Operation and Calibration Procedures MOS/Hydra proposers should keep the following queue observing default operation and calibration procedures in mind when filling out their WIYNQ forms. 3.2.1. Default Operation Procedures (1) The default mode of operation for the Bench Spectrograph CCD will be to read out the entire CCD with no on-chip binning at the default gain of 1.7 electrons/ADU. (2) The number of spectrograph grating and camera configurations per night will be constrained as follows: (a) we will not change cameras at night; (b) we may change gratings but not between the echelle and some other grating; and (c) we may change the grating tilt. (3) We will observe objects at airmasses of 1.5 or less unless: (a) advised that observations at higher airmass are acceptable; and (b) the objects never get above 1.5 airmasses. (4) All target fields within your program will be assumed to have equal priority UNLESS you specify otherwise in the "Comments". 3.2.2. Default Calibration Procedures (1) We will take 9 full bias frames at the start of each night. These frames will be combined using a median algorithm. The final medianed frame will be distributed as part of the final data product. (2) Comparison lamp exposures will be taken before and after a series of program exposures on a given night with a specific fiber Hydra configuration. (3) Dome flat exposures will be taken at least once per fiber Hydra configuration. A minimum of three flats will be obtained. (4) In addition, we will observe spectrophotometric, radial velocity, and other user-specified standards as requested. However, these will be considered part of the approved program and must fit within the allocated time. See observing overheads discussion. Table: Hydra/Bench Charateristics at WIYN |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Full unvignetted field | 60 arcmin | | diameters | | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Fiber diameters | 3 arcsec (blue fibers) | | | 2 arcsec (red fibers) | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Fibers available | 96 blue fibers | | | 96 red fibers | | | 12 field orientation probes | | | 84 locations for future fibers| |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Minimum fiber separation | 37 arcsec | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Configuration time | 20-25 minutes | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Measured positioning | 0.33 arcsec (30 um) | | accuracy | | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Grating | 316 line/mm, blaze angle 7 d | | | 400 line/mm, blaze angle 4.2 d | | | 600 line/mm, blaze angle 13.9 d | | | 860 line/mm, blaze angle 30.9 d | | | 1200 line/mm, blaze angle 21.1 d | | | 316 line/mm echelle, blaze angle 63.4 d | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Cameras | Red: (all-refractive 285mm focal length bench cam.)| | | Blue: Simmons camera (381 mm focal length) | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Collimators | 6 inch f/6.7 paraboloid | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | Detector | 2048 x 2048 thinned Tektronix CCD (24 um pixels) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| 4. WIYN Imager Information 4.1. General Information The current Imager detector is S2KB, a thinned Tek/STIS 2048x2048 CCD with 21 micron pixels. The default gain is 2.8 electrons/ADU. The read noise is roughly 8 electrons RMS. The plate scale is 0.195 arcsecs/pixel yielding a field-of-view of 6.8 x 6.8 arcmins. The median R-band WIYN Delivered Image Quality (DIQ) for the period June 94 to present is 0.8" FWHM. The median R-band DIQ was 0.7" or less FWHM 25% of the time and 0.6" or less FWHM 10% of the time. We are confident that for nights with DIQ of 0.6" or larger, closed-loop guiding does NOT degrade the DIQ. We do NOT have enough data yet to understand the impact of our current closed-loop guiding system for nights when the DIQ is 0.6" or less. Standard Harris UBVRI (w001 - w005) and Gunn uvgri filters (w006 - w0011), as well as three narrow-band H-alpha filters (w012 - w014), are available. Further information about these filters including filter characteristics and transmission curves are available via anonymous FTP (ftp ftp.noao.edu; cd kpno/filters). Other filters may be available from the KPNO collection by specifying the needed filters on the WIYN queue observing form. Investigators may provide special filters as well. We can support square 2 x 2 inches and 4 x 4 inches filters without special notification. If your filters are not square or not one of these sizes, please note that on your WIYN queue observing form. Based on extensive testing, we have concluded that for the UBVRI filter set, domeflats work better than twilight flats when tested against the nightsky. We will acquire both dome and twilight flats as part of the default calibration process (see below). We do not have enough data to draw conclusions about flat-fielding through the Gunn filters, but expect this to be similarly true. S2KB has significant (1%) fringing in Harris I. Observers desiring Harris I or Gunn i data should indicate whether fringe correction frames are needed or not, in the "Observing Program" section of their revised WIYNQ form. The telescope pointing accuracy is about 10 - 15 arcsecs RMS all-sky but less than 1 arcsec RMS for offsets. 4.2. Default Imager Operation and Calibration Procedures Imager proposers should keep the following queue observing default operation and calibration procedures in mind when filling out their WIYNQ forms. 4.2.1. Default Operation Procedures (1) The default mode of operation for the Imager CCD will be to read out the entire CCD with no on-chip binning at the default gain of 2.8 electrons/ADU. If you require a different mode of operation, please specify the desired mode and justify it on your WIYNQ form in the "Observing Program" section. (2) If multiple exposures of the same field with the same filter are specified, we will: take all these exposures consecutively dither the telescope 10" North and 10" East between each exposure unless otherwise specified. if MANY exposures are requested, we will dither in a grid pattern with a grid point spacing of 10" (3) After dithering, if another filter has been requested, we will re-center the field. (4) All target objects within your program will be assumed to have equal priority UNLESS you specify otherwise in the "Comments". 4.2.2. Default Calibration Procedures (1) We will take 9 full bias frames at the start of each night. These frames will be medianed. The final medianed frame will be distributed as part of the final data product. (2) We will take five (5) domeflats through each active filter during the preceding afternoon. Domeflats will be bias corrected and medianed. The final medianed frame will be distributed as part of the final data product. (3) We will take twilight flats for any program which requires large scale flat fielding although we cannot guarantee that they will be taken the night of the program exposure. Note that domeflats appear to work better than twilight flats at WIYN (see comments above). (4) We will only use 3 - 5 filters per night. (5) For photometric programs, we will observe each night a minimum of 12 Landolt (approximate color range: -0.2 <= B-V <= 1.5), Gunn, or KPNO Spectrophotometric standards, depending on the active filters. (6) We will observe objects at airmasses of 1.5 or less unless: (a) advised that observations at higher airmass are acceptable; or (2) the objects never rise above 1.5 airmasses. (7) In addition, we will observe user specified standards as requested. However, these will be considered part of the approved program and must fit within the allocated time. Such standards MUST be listed as targets on the WIYNQ form and should be cross-referenced (XRef) to their program fields they are calibrating. Please indicate the frequency and timing relative to program objects of special standard star observations. 5.0 Estimating WIYN Observing Overheads When requesting WIYN observing time, please use the following rules to account for the observing overhead required to execute your program. That is, your total requested program time should include your estimated total integration time and your estimated total overhead time. Important 2hr Queue Note: You must fit your entire program into two (2) hours maximum. However, we will absorb some of the overhead for your program. Where appropriate, this is noted in Current overhead estimates are as follows: You must add 2.5 minutes for every requested exposure. This overhead charge compensates for the CCD read-down time. For example, if you are requesting six program exposures, please increase your total requested time by 15 mins. Two-Hour Queue proposers: you get three (3) "free" readouts. You must add five (5) minutes for every requested target. This overhead charge compensates for the target acquisition time. For example, if you request four target fields, you should add 20 mins to your total requested time. Two-Hour Queue proposers: you get two (2) "free" targets acquisitions. You must add 45 minutes per Hydra fiber configuration (except when using the echelle grating, as discussed below). This overhead compensates for fiber positioning time (roughly 25 - 30 mins) and calibration time (roughly 15 mins for most gratings). Two-Hour Queue proposers: you get one (1) "free" fiber configuration. When using the echelle grating, please add 60 minutes per Hydra fiber configuration. Programs which require photometric calibration should add two (2) hours for every eight (8) hours of program (integration+overhead) time. Note that this is an underestimate of the actual time required but we always try to spread this overhead over several projects whenever possible. Two-Hour Queue Imager proposers: we will absorb your photometric calibration overhead. Hydra programs which require night-time radial velocity standards must add 15 mins per standard. If using the echelle grating, please add 30 mins per standard. We will continue to absorb all focussing overhead for now. Questions about these overhead estimates should be directed to Dave Silva (dsilva@noao.edu). 6. EMAIL ADDRESSES Requests to receive the electronic KPNO proposal form and the WIYN queue form should be sent to kpnoprop-request@noao.edu. Completed proposals should be sent to kpnoprop-submit@noao.edu. General questions about KPNO observing proposals should be sent to kpno@noao.edu. Specific questions about the WIYN queue observing experiment should be sent to wiynq@noao.edu. MOS/Hydra contacts: Sam Barden (sbarden@noao.edu and Taft Armandroff (tarmandroff@noao.edu). WIYN Imager contact: Dave Silva (dsilva@noao.edu).