First things First, before you start

Guidelines

It is suggested you pay attention to the following guidelines. We list them here in some preferred order to allow you to avoid the most obvious problems. Of course you can change the order of items listed here, but so far our limited experience with this new tool indicates that the order below in general is a good way to proceed. Also, we have set up this manual to make you familiar with the tools, features, possibilities, concepts and practicalities in a relatively natural way, so that a next step becomes almost intuitive1.

  1. Collect proposal information to remind yourself the details of your observing proposal. It is good to have your proposal handy; it should be available in the Proposal Submission Tool (PST; accessible from the NRAO user data base just like the OPT web application) if you have not printed a copy already. For continuum observations you will need the positions of your target sources (and calibrator sources if you specified them) and frequency bands of your observations. For spectral line observations you also need either an exact sky frequency or a combination of rest frequency, velocity and velocity reference frame information on your target sources, a bandpass calibrator and the details of the correlator configuration.
  2. Collect post-proposal information and check the comments of the PSC; they may have given you advice on technical limitations on current developments, probably assigned you a technical contact person, and perhaps determined a fixed observing date and/or limited your requested observing time. As guidelines on the “EVLA returns” page may have changed in the meantime, it is also wise to reread the EVLA returns page (http://www.vla.nrao.edu/astro/ and referenced links therein). Another good resource on current information about the EVLA is the Observational Status Summary (http://science.nrao.edu/evla/proposing/obsst
  3. Outline the project in terms of program/scheduling blocks as at this stage it is not completely known what information from the PST is transferred to the OPT web application (and thus fixed and read-only for you). This read-only information will likely be the project Legacy ID, PB and allocated time, and possibly (at some stage) array configurations, SBs, and (re)source catalogs.  You should at least figure out how many SBs you need and which sources with which resources you want to observe in each SB. Note that you can reuse the same SB if the only difference in SBs is having multiple observation runs of the same source/resource combinations to increase the observing time on your target source beyond the time your target is above the horizon. It is possible copy and submit multiple SBs that are the same, but it is probably easier to specify a count larger than one in the SB Details page in such a case.

After Logging On to the OPT

The page shown directly after logging in to the OPT web application should be the OPT front page with your project tree consisting of a PB, an (empty) SB and an empty first scan. Some information on this page should be already filled out and read-only. Check this information with the information you gathered in the previous section and inform us as soon as possible if you think there is an error in any of these fields; the sooner you check this the sooner we can have it corrected, and the sooner you can start struggling with the tool... Fortunately, it most likely won’t be that complicated, but it is a good idea to allow yourself ample time to get used to the tools and to let us help you with your questions.

For the remainder of this document, we’ll guide you through the different components to create an observing schedule in the following chapters. As it seems that the RCT is the easiest (for now, which probably changes with progress in commissioning of the WIDAR correlator), we’ll start with that one. The SCT and OPT use many features or concepts that are similar to the features or concepts in the RCT, so that should help to get to know the other tools. As the OPT must use information defined both in the SCT and in the RCT, we’ll continue with a chapter on the SCT before the chapter on the OPT. The chapter after the OPT deals with some common problems we already have encountered, so check there first, e.g., if you find yourself bumped out of any of the tools.

If at any time you wish to exit, use FILE - SAVE ALL if there is work done on catalogs or projects that you want to keep. A dialog box asking whether you want to save changes if any unsaved changes remain will pop up if you exit using FILE - EXIT. Note that if you navigate from one tool to another, using the links in the “navigation strip”, your changes in the tool you are leaving will be automatically saved.

As an advance hint on user friendliness, it is a personal experience that it is convenient to keep the RCT and SCT catalogs or groups as compact as possible because you need to select from these catalogs in the OPT. That is, it is best to keep only the sources and resources you want to use in a single SB in a (group in a) catalog, and to include the calibrators from large lists (e.g. the VLA calibrator list) already in that source catalog. What is meant by this and why will become clear later on.

Connect with NRAO

The NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory and NSF Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NSF NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NSF NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NSF NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NSF NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (U.S. NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..."

AUI collaborates with the scientific community and research sponsors to plan, build, and operate cutting-edge facilities. We cultivate excellence, deliver value, enhance education, and engage the public.