OT/Phase II Checklist

There is only limited automatic checking of the Science Program built into the Observing Tool at this time. The following checklist may be useful in identifying missing or incorrect elements in your Phase II Science Program. Also see the instrument-specific checklists for common problem (accessible via the OT instrument component pages).

• Observation elements
• Each observation must be self-contained. Does each have all of the required elements: target, guide star, instrument, observing conditions, telescope offsets (if relevant), instrument sequence (if relevant) and at least one "Observe"?
  
• Targets
• Does the target have the proper J2000 coordinates?
• For spectroscopic observtions of faint targets, has a reference star whose coordinates relative to the science target are well known been entered as a User target?  Have the guidelines for such "blind acquisitions" been followed?
• If the target has high proper motion then are the proper motions correct?
• Querying Simbad to determine the target position will now also return the proper motions.
  
• Ephemerides to support non-sidereal observations should be added as a text note.
• Are additional finding charts needed (the default is to use DSS images) and have they been sent to Gemini using the File Attachment facility on the top program level of the science program viewer?  Have the guidelines for making finding charts been followed?
• Does the target have a name?  The target name box should not be blank.
• Wavefront sensor stars 
• Are the proper J2000 coordinates given?
• Is the star suitably bright?
• Is the star sufficiently far from the target to avoid unacceptable vignetting of the science field?
• Is the star within the WFS patrol field at each position in the offset sequence?
• If the star has high proper motion, are the proper motions correct?
• Does the star have a name?  The target name box should not be blank.  Also, each target with a unique coordinate should have a unique name.
• If the AO guide star is the same as the target, the target and guide star names and coordinates should be identical.
• Instrument Configuration
• Is the instrument configured as required?  See the web pages for the individual instruments for options and suggestions.
• Are other telescope components (e.g. Altair Adaptive Optics, GPOL) configured correctly?
  
• Observing Strategy
• Check the OT "tips and tricks" page for each instrument; these provide instrument-specific guidance about observing strategy.
• Use the sequence list to confirm that any offset, repeat and instrument iterator steps are in the right order.
• If you have combined observations into a Scheduling Group, their order within the group does define the execution sequence. Is the order correct?
• Have reasonable assumptions been made about the number of acquisitions that are needed?
• Use the timeline to check that the total time is consistent with the sensitivity needed (check with the latest integration time calculators).
• Does your sequence contain an Observe command at the lowest level of the tree hierarchy to actually take some data?!
• Are the observation classes set correctly?
• Is the total time needed less than or equal to the time allocated by the TAC?
  
• Observing Conditions
• Are the observing conditions understood and appropriate for the observation?
• Loosening the observing conditions can significantly increase the chances that an observation will be executed. The observing conditions should reflect the worst conditions under which useful data can be obtained.
• If significantly better observing conditions are needed than were given in Phase I, then approval must be granted by the appropriate Associate Director. See the change approval process for details.  This procedure must also be used to request use of the airmass or hour angle constraints.
  
• Priorities
• There is no prioritisation implied by the order of the observations within a Science Program (except within a group). 
• Have the high / medium / low flags been set appropriately for each observation?
  
• Calibration
• Is the baseline calibration plan understood and is it adequate for the observation?
• If additional calibration is needed beyond the baseline plan, then are the calibration observations included?
  
• Additional Information
• Any additional information or instructions should be added in text notes.
  
• Deadlines
• Has the Phase II file been submitted by the appropriate deadline?
  
• Instrument-specific checks
• The OT "tips & tricks" pages include separate lists of instrument-specific checks. 
  

Last update July 7, 2006; Bryan Miller