Observatory Automation, Scheduling and Remote Sites Presented by: Thomas C. Smith, Director, Dark Ridge Observatory And Tom Krajci, director, Astrokolkhoz Observatory Dallas Workshop on Space-age Alt-Az Telescopes Saturday, October 27, 2007 DRO

Discussion Overview  Introductions  What is observatory automation  How does one go about automating  Some off the shelf software to help  How is scheduling targets handled  Finding a remote site to use  Summary  Q & A DRO

Introductions  Thomas C. Smith, Director, Dark Ridge Observatory, Weed, New Mexico, 7200 feet elevation. Non-profit observatory Association membership Planned telescopes and instruments Current projects DRO

Introductions Cont.  Tom Krajci, Director, Astrokolkhoz Observatory, Cloudcroft, New Mexico, 9440 feet elevation. Association membership Planned telescopes and instruments Current projects DRO

What is observatory automation?  Observatory Automation, what is it and how is it done?  There are three distinct types of automation when it comes to an observatory, those being 1) Manual observatory startup with telescope and CCD operating under scripted control for the nights observations followed by a manual observatory shutdown and subsequent manual data analysis. 2)Remote fully automated observatory operation with manual remote observation. 3) Robotic remote observatory operation with scripted observatory operation and telescope and CCD scripted operations. DRO

What is observatory automation? Cont. Each of these automations have their strengths and weaknesses that must be addressed in order to be successful in ones observing program. Lets discuss some of them now. DRO

What is observatory automation? Cont. 1)Manual observatory startup (including roof/dome opening, telescope and CCD camera initializations) with subsequent telescope and CCD operation under programmatic (scripted) control This is by far the easiest and most common way to operate a local observatory DRO

What is observatory automation? Cont. 2) Remote, fully automated observatory with manual remote operation of the telescope, CCD cameras and auxiliary equipment. It is this type of system that is used by many commercial observatory sites that lease or sell time on a telescope Observers like to control things that they pay for, and who can blame them? DRO

What is observatory automation? Cont. 3) Robotic operation where everything is automated and basically hands-off. This type of system is probably the most efficient and less error prone due to proven operations and no observer interventions to “help” things along! This is also the most common scientific research scenario for a remote observing site DRO

How does one go about automating  Once the type of automation is determined then it is a matter of making the controllable devices do what is needed. Some things to consider: Weather data as part of the control plan Data flow, cabled or wireless? Protective sensors and features to prevent damage to people and equipment System monitoring schema so you aren’t “in the dark!” Software and hardware to make it all work Building in an emergency shutdown plan DRO

Some off the shelf software to help  Planetarium  Camera control  Image processing  Observatory control  Scheduler  Other? (Astrometric solver? What about home-brewed software solutions?) DRO

How is scheduling targets handled  Scheduling is a process of deciding what targets to observe and when Easy schedules  Time-series on one target, all night  Many hours coverage for deep imaging of faint objects Difficult schedules  Supernova patrol (traveling salesman problem)  Many target fields for minor planet work, or photometry DRO

How is scheduling targets handled Cont.  Static, or dynamic schedule?  What happens when weather briefly intervenes? Lose part of the static schedule? Re-prioritize the dynamic schedule? DRO

How is scheduling targets handled Cont.  There are many different patterns to follow when making a schedule that include such things as: Length of target observations and time visible Target queue ordering to maximize photons captured and minimize scope movement Concurrent study target observation overlap Target prioritization schemes and weighting Targets of opportunity: GRB Alerts, AAVSO Alerts and outbursts, etc. DRO

Finding a remote site to use  What is your observing site goal? Great weather conditions? (I.e. distant) The back yard, but automated  A private site, or part of a commercial operation?  What infrastructure is already in place?  How deep are your pockets? DRO

Finding a remote site to use Cont.  What do you do with your images? Download to home? Extract data on site, and discard images?  This can save on bandwidth  Kepler space mission will use this method!  Do you need a weather station on site, or can you use available weather feeds? DRO

Finding a remote site to use Cont. Everybody loves a dome…. DRO

Finding a remote site to use Cont. Roll off shelters tend to be less expensive DRO

Finding a remote site to use Cont. What gets buried can be very important DRO

Finding a remote site to use Cont. Equipment rental at a private site can add up! DRO

Finding a remote site to use Cont.  Other options exist for remote observing such as: Find a commercial operation that will cater to your needs;  New Mexico Skies (scope time rental)  Sacramento Mountains Astronomy Park (SMAP) (put your observatory on someone else's site)  More… DRO

Summary  Observatory automation is a process that should be well thought out before starting the endeavourer as changes after the fact might be costly to implement.  Operating scheduling is a bit of an “art” and can come in many flavors.  Remote site can get expensive both initlally building one (land purchase in an astronomically desirable location) and continued maintenance even if you are located nearby. DRO

Summary Cont.  I think this is well worth it as I, for one really like being able to sleep at night and still have my astronomical data collected. Don’t you?  This is just about a necessity if you have multiple projects working, such as student research from remote locations. DRO

Question and Answer Got some? DRO