Start with reading the Getting Started on the LCO Global Telescope Network guide.
A guide to the user interface that was launched in June 2019. The latest version, from February 2025, includes guidance on the sub-exposure option for DeltaRho/QHY600 observations.
Documentation relating to the LCO internal science archive.
Documentation of the BANZAI data reduction pipeline.
A description of the FLOYDS (low-resolution spectrograph) pipeline.
A description of the FLOYDS (low-resolution spectrograph) pipeline.
A description of the BANZAI-NRES data pipeline.
FITS header keywords and definitions
A description of how uncertainties are propagated during the BANZAI reduction process.
Documentation, examples and code for working with LCO's extensive programmatic interfaces.
Rapid Response mode is for observations of science targets (e.g. gamma-ray bursts) that must be carried-out as soon as possible after a request is submitted. Time-Critical mode is for observations at tightly constrained times that rarely occur.
Observations of standard stars are routinely acquired to enable the photometric calibration of science data, as well as to monitor the performance of the network’s telescopes. The data from these observations are available to all in the Science Archive.
If data are unusable because of a technical problem arising from LCO's hardware or software, the time charged for that observation may be refunded to the proposal.
Advice on setting your airmass limit for best quality data
The orbital elements of close-approaching NEOs evolve rapidly, but the time and site of an observation is not known until a request is scheduled. This document provides some guidance.
Stacking short exposures mitigates the inadequate tracking of the DeltaRho telescopes.
The time available to Co-investigators on a proposal (for observation requests) may be restricted by the proposal's PI. Read how user quotas work and how to enable them.
Some images, acquired under good conditions, resist astrometric solutions. We’ve determined that pixel saturation is critical for determining whether an astrometric (WCS) solution is fit to an image.
Bright stars can leave "ghosts" in the SBIG 6303 camera images (on the 0.4m telescopes). Find out why they occur, and how to spot them.
A description of the information on submitted observing requests now available in the observatory portal.
The system for prioritizing observing requests.
Some SBIG 6303 cameras show a nonlinear response when the sky background is low. Photometry affected by this problem can be improved by applying empirically-derived corrections.