jP2PP for EFOSC2

Contents

Only an outline of the steps for running  jP2PP is given here, and some of the information below is out of date. Refer to the Main jP2PP Web Page for a more detailed description and the latest manual. A description of different observing modes and the corresponding jP2PP parameters is available at Observing Modes, as is a list of current templates.

Pre-Observing (in the La Silla Computer Room)

Getting Started

Login as user 360v1 or 360v2 or 360v3 on the machine kila using one of the X-terminals in the computer room in the main office building below the hotel. The password may be obtained from the support astronomer.

Type   bin/startjp2pp  in the home directory and when prompted type in your P2PP username and password (usually emailed to you by the support astronomer a few weeks before your run) and then sit back and relax while the package takes its time to open the jP2PP workspace panel. If this is the first time the program will download the details of the observing programme from ESO Garching and store it on the local disk; on subsequent occasions the locally saved information will be sufficient for running jP2PP.

Select the appropriate ESO Observing Period (top right) and Programme (listed under Folders on the left)   .....   and then you are in business

A Brief Overview of the jP2PP  Main Panel

There are 2 types of blocks generated by jP2PP: ObsBlocks, which require a target position, and CalBlocks, which have no provision for defining a target or an Acquisition template (the terminology is unforunately a bit confusing since they both generate what is called an OB or observing block which is what is used to execute the observations). The two are catalogued separately and cannot be changed from one type to another. Select one or the other by clicking on the appropriate button ; this will automatically list all the existing OBs of that category (1 OB in each row).

There are 4 buttons on the top left corner  New  to open a new OB,  Duplicate  to duplicate an existing OB,  Verify  to verify that the OB has been defined without any errors and  View  to view /edit the parameters of an OB.  The last 3 options require that an existing OB be selected ; the selected OB is highlighted with white script on a blue background while the others are black on white. The selection can be changed by clicking on the desired OB with the left mouse button.

Several fields of each OB are displayed on the main panel. Fields of relevance to a 3.6m/EFOSC2 user are Name, Target and Acquisition. The widths of the columns can be changed (using the left mouse button) to display these fields to the fullest advantage while shrinking the others.

A New CalBlock OB from Scratch

Images of typical OB Panels for each of the EFOSC2 observing modes may be found by following the links on  Observing Modes.

Step 1

  • Click on  CalBlock on the main panel and then on  New  ---  you should see a new OB, highlighted in blue, with  Name  =  No Name
  • Click on  View  ---  this will open the OB panel where the OB parameters can be defined.
  • Expand the OB panel until all fields are fully visible.
  • Change the Name field from No Name to something informative
  • Select  Calib  under Template Type and one of the many templates listed under  Templates and then click on the right margin  ---  you will see all the parameters of that template being displayed below in 2 columns : a column of labels (on the left, with the template name on top) and another with the corresponding values (on the right, with a sequence number on top).
  • Positioning the cursor on a value to display the range of permitted values and Click on it to edit it
  • Each template will result in one or more images of a given type.
  • ..... we now have an OB comprising 1 template
Step 2
  • A second template of the same type may be added by either clicking on Add  (with the same template still highlighted on the top-right) or on Duplicate to duplicate the one already defined. The latter is usually more appropriate since many of the parameters stay the same and only a few from the first one need to be changed  to obtain the second one --- the end result is the column of labels to the left followed by 2 columns of values, numbered 1 and 2; i.e. an OB with 2 templates which will be executed in the order in which they appear
Step 3
  • In fact the second template can even be of another type. Following Step A, select another  Template on the top-right corner and click on Add. You'll see 4 columns in the following order: labels and values of template 1 and labels and values of template 2
A combination of several Step B and Step C can be used to build an OB with a variety of templates in the required order. However, indiscriminate mixing of templates within a single OB, while permitted, is bad practice and could lead to mix-ups  during the night in certain cases; mixing certain kinds of templates does make for more efficiency but not for all types.

An erroneous definition of an OB will be indicated by red characters on the OB panel and a red spot against the OB in the main panel. The telescope will not be able to execute such an OB.

One can  rearrange the sequence of templates in an OB by the simply dragging a template from its current location to the desired location using the left mouse button.

An unwanted template may be deleted by clicking on the Delete button on the top left.

Note : in case of Duplicate ,  Delete  and  rearranging the sequence of templates the template in question has to be first selected by clicking on it (i.e. anywhere on the column with the defined values).

A New ObsBlock OB from Scratch

This is very similar to generating a CalBlock but for the following differences:

  • Click on  ObsBlock on the main panel instead of on  CalBlock.
  • The OB panel contains the target data section at the bottom of the panel.
  • The OB panel contains an additional set of sub-panels titled Constraint Set ,  Time Intervals , User Comments  and Calibration Requirements.  These are  required only for service observing and may be ignored for 3.6m/EFOSC2.
  • The first template has to be an acquisition template which can be selected by clicking on  Acquisition  under  Template Type and selecting one of the available templates in the adjacent column. This template defines the co-ordinates of the target field, orientation of the field, positioning of the object on a pixel or a slit and such other features.
  • The subsequent template(s) can be drawn from either the  Science  or the  Calib  category under  Template Type though the former will be the one most often used

A New OB from an Existing OB

Select the OB on the main panel and click on Duplicate  to obtain a replica which only differs in its Name (original name with an additional numerical suffix). This can then be modified using the methods described above.

Exporting the OBs into ASCII files

The OBs generated will be stored as binary files in the directory jp2pp-cache/####.dir  where  #### is the P2PP code of the observer. However these have to be transferred as ascii files across machines. They can be converted to appropriate ASCII files using the Export option in the main panel of jP2PP.

  • Create a sub-directory  jp2pp-cache/impex/####  where  #### is your P2PP user code.
  • Highlight all the required OBs (refer to the jP2PP manual for highlighting many OBs at once).
  • Select  Export  found under the File  button on the main panel and export files to the above sub-directory. This has to be done separately for  ObsBlocks  and  CalBlocks

At the Telescope Control Room

Import the previously generated OBs

The support astronomer will assist the observer in this.
  • There should be account  visitor  active on the machine  w3p6dhs  from an X-terminal in the control room
  • Create the directory  ~/cache/impex/####  where  #### is the P2PP code  of the observer and FTP the exported ASCII OBs from Kila into the above directory
  • Start jP2PP with the command  jp2pp in the home directory and input the user code and password when prompted
  • On the main panel select  Import  under the button  File. In the pop-up panel move to your subdirectory (~/cache/impex/####), select all the required OBs and import  :  the original OBs will be read into the jP2PP main panel under the appropriate category.
OBs can now be generated, deleted, modified as before

Scheduling  Observations

  • The observer only needs to highlight a particular OB and inform the telescope operator who will pull it across the network into the machine which controls the telescope and the instrument.
  • jP2PP needs to be idle (with the OB highlighted) only at the instant when the operator is pulling the OB across. At all other times the observer can edit and add to his/her list of OBs even when observations are going on.
  • OBs can be selected in any order with no reference to the sequence in which they were generated.The only constraint is that jP2PP must be running while observations are going on.

Some General Comments

After some practice (a couple of hours) one can generate a new OB in some 5-10 minutes, typically. It is even faster to duplicate an existing OB and modify the replica. So it is not necessary to have every OB prepared before a run. A good strategy would be to prepare OBs for the first night or half night and prepare the rest during the night (provided the observing programme does not consist of very shoft exposures of a large number of sources)

Preparing OBs during the run also means that one can fine-tune one's strategy depending on the observing conditions and experience gleaned from the first few observations. However this should not be taken to mean that one should enter the Control Room with no preparation at all!