On the nights when the SOAR telescope is in AEON-mode, the sequence of observations that it will conduct is provided by the LCO scheduler, which has been specially upgraded to support the Goodman Spectrograph.
In this mode, users no longer need to operate the Goodman instrument directly in real-time. Instead, observations can be requested at any time throughout the semester, using LCO's Observation Portal. The scheduler runs continuously, and will respond to new observation requests within 15min. This means that the sequence of observations for a given night can be dynamic and evolve over time.
An observation request includes all of the parameters necessary to schedule the observation at an appropriate time, point the telescope and configure the Goodman Spectrograph. Users should note that we currently support only the most commonly-used Goodman configurations, as described below.
This figure describes the flow of information when a user submits an observing request via the LCO Portal.
Submitting Observation Requests
Users can manage all aspects of their observing programs, including observation requests, by creating an account with the Observation Portal.
Once time is awarded, users will find that their active proposals are listed under the 'Manage Proposals' tab and they will be able to request observations. The time needed to execute an observation is debited automatically from the relevant proposal, but only once each observation is completed. If a request cannot be scheduled, no time is debited.
Observations can be requested by filling out the observation request form, or programmatically by submitting a request to our API. We strongly encourage users to read our Getting Started Guide, available from our Documentation page, which describes the procedure step-by-step, as well as SOAR's AEON Home Page. Detailed information on using our APIs can be found on our site for developers.
Supported Goodman Configurations
Both imaging and spectroscopic observations can be requested, and both modes use the red camera. For a full description of the SOAR/Goodman instrument, please refer to SOAR's instrument description page.
The supported imaging modes are as follows:
The Goodman BLUE camera will be available for the first time in semester 2021A, for a limited number AEON nights. Users should note that this is not an option that they can select during the night, because selecting one or the other detector is a daytime task for the observatory. The BLUE camera will be scheduled in AEON queue mode for 1 night per month during this semester (6/25= 24% of the total of AEON time in 2021A), with the RED camera installed the other 76%. We will notify users 1-2 weeks in advance when scheduling a BLUE camera night. The first Goodman BLUE night: Feb 18.
Advantages and caveats for each detector are described in the Goodman Instrument Characteristics page.