Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgments.

Site information, policies, and good manners.

• Arrival at the observatory.
• Departure from the observatory.

Observer safety.

Weather limits.

Starting the telescope from scratch ("COLD Start").

Normal start up of the telescope ("WARM Start").

Balancing the telescope.

Preparing the telescope and dome for observing.

• A Note About TCS.

Initializing telescope pointing.

What to do if telescope pointing is lost.

Finishing a night of observing (a "NORMAL" shut down).

Shutting down the telescope for lightning.

CCD Imager Operations.

Guiding.

1. Introduction and Acknowledgments.

This manual is intended to be a convenient reference guide for observers certified to use the Bok Telescope. Contact the Steward Observatory (SO) operations office (621-5136; bpeterson@as.arizona.edu) or Paul Smith (621-2779; psmith@as.arizona.edu) if you need to be certified. Emphasis is placed on the safety of observers and the equipment in this document. A hardcopy of this manual is located in the 90" control room. In the event of a discrepancy between the Web and hardcopy versions of this manual, the Web version will take precedence.

The manual was created with the help of Jim Grantham, Betsy Green, Joe Hoeschidt, Dennis Means, Bob Peterson, Jeff Rill, Gary Rosenbaum, Mike Terenzoni, and Bill Wood. Comments and suggestions for this manual should be directed to Paul Smith.

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2. Site Information, Policies, and Good Manners.

IMPORTANT: Please read the Guidelines for Observing at Steward Observatory telescopes.

If you require help or advice concerning the use of the Bok 90" Telescope or facility instrumentation, please contact the following people (in this order):

• Mike Terenzoni (Observatory Specialist) 621-3646 terenzon@email.arizona.edu
• Bill Wood (Kitt Peak Supervisor) 318-8690 bwood@as.arizona.edu
• Joe Hoscheidt (Instrumentation Specialist) 621-5136 jhoscheidt@as.arizona.edu
• Gary Rosenbaum (Instrument Specialist Senior) 621-5136 grosenbaum@as.arizona.edu
• Bob Peterson (Steward Observatory Operations Assistant Director) 621-5136 bpeterson@as.arizona.edu
• Paul Smith (61" Cognizant Observer) 621-2779 psmith@as.arizona.edu

After hours phone numbers of these individuals can be found in the 90" control room. If you have questions concerning PI instrumentation that you have been certified to use, contact the instrument PI first.

There MUST be a certified observer present in order to operate the telescope and instrumentation.

Arriving at the observatory:

Make sure that you have filled out and returned the Observer's Request form emailed to you for your observing run a week or more before you arrive on the observatory. If you received the form within a week of your first night of observing, please complete the form and email it back as soon as possible. Email completed forms to 90ops@as.arizona.edu.

Please report anything amiss at the site to the Steward Observatory Kitt Peak site supervisor or in that night's Trouble Report.

You have been assigned a room in the dormatory. Room assignments can be found here. Please carefully review the dormatory policies as they are strictly enforced. In general, Bok Telescope observers are housed on the lower floor of the dorm. Clean linen and towels are found in the cabinet within the laundry room, which can be accessed (from the outside) on the south side of the dormatory (lower level).

Departure from the observatory:

There is no daily custodial service provided. Before you leave the site, please make sure that:

• All dishes are washed and put away.
• Remove all of the food that you may have brought up from the dormatory and dome. Do not leave anything in the refrigerators.
• Used linen and towels are placed in the large plastic barrel located in the laundry room at the south end of the dormitory on the lower level.
• All discarded items are properly put into the various available trash bins.
• All spills and other messes are cleaned up.
• All windows and doors are secured.

Please also remember that water is a precious commodity. Please try to not waste water during your visit.

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3. Observer Safety.

Observers should be especially alert to potential hazards while at the observatory since usually there will be no one else at the site during normal operations. In addition, help is many minutes away even assuming that you can successfully call for help in an emergency. Please remember that moving telescopes and domes are heavy, unforgiving pieces of machinery that can do serious damage. The observatory staff does its best to make the site as safe as possible, but we urge you to report any potential hazards immediately.

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4. Weather Limits.

We ask observers to adhere to the following guidelines to protect the telescope and instrumentation from weather that will damage these valuable research facilities:
• Make sure that the dome and the primary mirror covers are closed if any precipitation is falling.

• Stop observing and close the dome if the wind consitently rises above 40 mph, or any gusts of over 45 mph are encountered. High winds put an enormous load on an open dome. Also, if the dome is placed at the wrong azimuth with respect to the wind, excessive buffeting of the telescope will result. The readout of the anemometer is located on the display of the WeatherHawk computer in the control room, but often reads innaccurately low because the building can shield the weather station. Use common sense. If the wind is making it difficult to observe, or the dome is making a large amount of noise, it may be time to close.

• Close if the outside humidity rises above 90%.

• Close if the air temperature falls below 10°F (-12 C) as the dome will not be able to rotate without possible damage to the motors. How hard the dome motors have to work depends also on the velocity of the wind, so closure may be advisable on a windy night at a higher temperature.

• Lightning is very dangerous to equipment, and over the years an impressive number of components have been lost to lightning strikes. For this reason, we ask observers to be aware of potential severe weather. If lightning is in the area, it is vital that the telescope be shut down according to the procedures discussed in Section 12. A good rule of thumb is that if you can hear thunder, the telescope and the Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) should be shut down and the appropriate cables disconnected.

• It is not advisable to open the dome and mirror covers if snow has accumulated on top of the dome and is being blown around by the wind since a fraction of the blown snow will settle on the primary mirror and other vital parts of the telescope.

• If weather conditions are getting close to the above limits, or you are unsure just how safe it would be to open the dome or remain open, pay careful attention to what other telescopes on the mountain are doing. For example, check the weather information and "dome opening status" of the NOAO/KPNO telescopes. If your dome is the only one open on the mountain, you may be pushing your luck.

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5. Starting the Telescope from Scratch ("COLD" Start).

In the event that the telescope has been completely shut down because of the threat of lightning (see Section 12) or other reasons, follow the procedure below to startup the system (if the weather permits). Please note that following the specified order of the steps in this procedure is important for several of the subsystems to be properly brought back on line.

1. Behind the Observers' Workstation) (Figure 5a):
   • Follow the UPS start-up instructions located on the wall to start the UPS.
   • Plug in all of the color-coded telescope cables into the connector bank (Figures 5b and 5c). Make sure that all connections are seated properly before tightening them.
   • Turn on the power to the TCS computer rack (black, single-pole breaker on the lower connector bank in Figure 5c. In addition, plug in the power cable of the "Brandywine" time device.
   • Plug the "bigpop" server AC into an orange outlet and turn the server on.

2. In the control room (Figure 5d):
   • Turn on the NBS UT clock. It typically takes 5-20 minutes for the unit to lock on to the NBS signal. In bad weather it may not lock on at all.
   • Boot the TCS computer. The power switch is located next to the floppy drives inside the plastic cover. TCS can now be entered by double clicking on the TCS150 icon. The TCS software must be up and running before power is supplied to the telescope drives.
   • Plug in and boot the "kuiper", "bigccd", "bigag", and "bigaux" computers.

3. Turning the telescope motor servos on:
   • At the control panel located on the observing platform (Figure 5e), turn on the MAIN power and the TELESCOPE power.
   • Make sure that the TCS software is running and that the servo drives are disabled in TCS (<F10> or disable within the "Motion" menu)
   • In the UPS room flip on the white, two-pole Servo Amp breaker (Figure 5f).
   • Toggle the RA and DEC servo switches to "enable". These switches are located below and to the right of the Servo Amp breaker in the UPS room (Figure 5f).
   • If you plan on moving the telescope and using the auto-dome feature, make sure the "Servo Enable" and "Auto Dome Enable" switches are thrown so that the green indicator light is on (Figure 5g). These switches are located below and to the right of the TCS computer monitor in the control room.
   • At the console on the observing floor, the servos can be enabled in the TCS software (<F10>) and the telescope can now be moved and balanced.

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6. Normal Start up of the Telescope ("WARM" Start).

When there is no threat of severe weather, the telescope is shut down in the normal manner (Section 11). In this case you should not have to start the UPS and reconnect telescope control cabling. If the telescope has been completely shut down, please refer to Section 5 for the start up procedure.
1. In the control room:
   • Power up the TCS computer rack (black, two-pole breaker in the UPS room) if it is not on.
   • Boot the TCS computer. The power switch is located next to the floppy drives inside the plastic cover (Figure 6a).
   • Start the TCS software by double clicking on the TCS150 icon.
   • Make sure that the telescope drive servos are disabled in the TCS software (<F10> or disable them within the "Motion" menu).

2. At the telescope:
   • Turn on the MAIN and TELESCOPE power at the control panel on the observing platform.

3. In the UPS room:
   • Make sure that the TCS program is running before powering the telescope drive servos.
   • Power on the white, two-pole Servo Amp breaker (Figure 6b).
   • Toggle the RA and DEC servo switches to "enable" (Figure 6b).

4. In the control room:
   • Enable the "Servo Enable" and "Auto Dome Enable" switches on the front of the TCS computer rack (Figure 6c).

5. At the telescope:
   • At the console on the observing platform enable the drives in the TCS software (<F10>). The telescope can now be moved and balanced.

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7. Balancing the Telescope.

Observers using facility instruments should not have to worry about the telescope balance since balancing will be done by the instrument technician(s) who mounted the instrument. However, if you are mounting a PI instrument or need to adjust the balance, please make arrangements with the operations crew to assist you.

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8. Preparing the Telescope and Dome for Observing.

1. With the primary mirror covers closed, separate the wind screens enough to be able to watch the dome shutter open (the controls are located on the console on the observing platform; Figure 8a).
2. Open the dome shutter.
3. Continue to position the wind screens as desired.
4. Open the mirror covers. Note that the mirror covers should only be opened or closed with the telescope pointed at zenith (the normal STOW position).
5. The dome azimuth is encoded and the TCS software displays the difference in degrees between the azimuth of the telescope and the azimuth of the dome slit. The displayed difference is only valid if the dome position has been initialized. To initialize the dome, line up the mark indicating the center of the slit with the east mark on the dome and then use the "dome initial" option within TCS (Figure 8b).
6. The telescope can be moved and the autodome feature of TCS used only if the "Servo Enable" and "Auto Dome Enable" switches are enabled, respectively. These switches are located on the front of the TCS console in the control room (Figure 8c).
7. If you are elevating the observing platform for easy access to the instrument during the night, please be aware of its position so that the telescope or the telescope mount do not run into it. Even if you are fortunate to not damage the telescope or instrument in a collision, useful operation of the platform will certainly be lost. Make sure that the chains are up around the platform when it is elevated.
8. Turn on the telescope tracking in TCS.
9. FOCUS POSITION IS READ FROM THE TCS SCREEN. The focus display appears on the TCS screens (in the control room and on the observing platform).

A note about TCS:

By default the TCS software comes up in "novice" mode. This mode of operation enables the observer to access all of the telescope control functions normally necessary for observing. However, there are features that cannot be accessed in novice mode. For example, the input of an external command from a PI instrument control computer to wobble the telescope. In these cases TCS needs to be in "expert" mode which requires a password. The password can be found in the TCS manual in the control room.

Please contact the support staff if you think that you may need to operate TCS as an "expert", but are unsure how to access the features that you require or how to enter the expert mode.

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9. Initializing Telescope Pointing

The first object to point to when beginning to observe is typically a fairly bright star for which there are accurate coordinates (either from the several star catalogs kept at the observatory, or from the online catalogs in TCS) so that the telescope's pointing can be verified or initialized. If the star does not appear within the instrument's field of view, try using one of the two finding telescopes (making sure to move their dust covers out of the way by pulling on the lever located near their respective eyepieces; see Figure 9a). Each finding scope has an illuminated reticle that can be turned on and its brightness adjusted. If the target star is visible within the field of view, center it in the cross hairs. The finding scopes should be aligned well with the main telescope (please report it if they are not). The star should now be reasonably close to the center of the field of view of the instrument. After placing the star where it is desired, use "initial" option in the "Declare" menu of TCS to initialize the telescope pointing (Figure 9b).

Be careful when observing bright stars if one of the old SO intensified acquisition/guider cameras is being used. These cameras can be damaged or destroyed if they are over-illuminated. The current CCD guider camera is not damaged by bright sources.

If you are unable to find the target star, make sure that you entered the correct coordinates and epoch. If this is not the problem and you are unable to coax a known bright star into the field of the finding scope, refer to Section 10.

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10. What to do if Telescope Pointing is Lost.

If for some reason telescope pointing has been lost, and the strategies outlined in Section 9 have not been successful, proper pointing can be recovered using the "HARD STOW" option in the "Motion" menu of TCS. This is a procedure to bring the telescope back to the STOW (zenith) position by using the RA and DEC circles and levels internal to the telescope. The procedure is somewhat involved and time consuming. Therefore, observers should be convinced that they are unlikely to place an easily identified star in the finding telescope field of view within a reasonable time before resorting to a HARD STOW. However, if the telescope pointing is off by a large amount, it may be best to initiate a HARD STOW.

Make sure to correctly follow the directions issued by TCS during the HARD STOW. The pointing should be accurate enough at the conclusion of this procedure to place a known star within the finding scope FOV. If this has been accomplished, the pointing can be initialized as in Section 9.

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11. Finishing a Night of Observing (a "NORMAL" Shut down).

At the end of the night when there is no threat of severe weather, the telescope should be shut down in the following manner:

1. Zero out any telescope tracking biases that you used within TCS and turn the telescope tracking off.
2. Move the telescope to the STOW position and close the the primary mirror covers.
3. Turn off any of the circulation fans that are on.
4. Close the dome shutter.
5. Disable the telescope drive servos in TCS (<F10>).
6. Position the wind screens so that they cover the dome slit. This will help prevent water from landing on the telescope if a leak in the shutter develops.
7. If elevated, lower the observing platform to floor level.
8. Toggle off the RA and DEC servos and the white, two-pole Servo Amp breaker in the UPS room (Figure 11a). Make sure that the power to the drive servos is off before exiting out of TCS.
9. Make sure that the door to the outside catwalk is bolted.
10. Complete and submit a Trouble Report. Currently, the trouble report must be composed and submitted using the "bigaux" computer.
11. Make sure that the building is secure and arm the alarm when leaving the building.

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12. Shutting Down the Telescope for Lightning.

Lightning strikes have taken a heavy toll on equipment at all Steward Observatory sites. At the 61" it is ESSENTIAL that the following complete power-down sequence be executed to "SAFE" the facility and minimize the risk of damage due to a lightning strike:

1. If you hear thunder and are observing(!), quickly close down the telescope as described in Section 11.

   The following steps should be taken whenever lightning is close to the observatory.

2. Make sure that the RA and DEC drive servos and the white, two-pole Servo Amp breaker are off in the UPS room (Figure 12a).
3. Configure the instrument (e.g., Mont4K) as required for an electrical storm.
4. Shut down the BigGuider autoguider system.
5. Lower the observing platform to floor level.
6. Turn off MAIN and TELESCOPE power at the console on the observing platform.
7. Turn off the TCS computer.
8. Turn off NBS time clock.
9. Shut down and unplug all computers.
10. Turn off the TCS computer rack (black single-pole breaker in the UPS room located on the lower connector bank; Figure 12b).
11. Follow the posted directions in the UPS room and shut down the UPS.
12. Disconnect the color-coded telescope control cables in the UPS room (Figures 12b and 12c). DO NOT attempt to unplug or turn off any network-related equipment. In addition, unplug the "Brandywine" precision time device from the orange power outlet located on the lower connector bank. Do not unplug any other cable connected to the "Brandywine" device.
13. Unplug the AC cord of the "bigpop" server from the wall outlet in the UPS room. Leave the internet cable plugged in.

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Back to the 61" Home Page.

The 61" cognizant observer is Paul Smith --psmith@as.arizona.edu