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JLS Guidelines
JLS Guidelines
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The following are guidelines that the JLS teams should follow for preparing MSBs, arranging for and carrying out observations at the telescope.
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Preparing MSBs
- MSBs should be prepared and submitted using the most recent version of the OT ahead of time. Teams should have aims for what they want to achieve in the semester ahead. Observing plans should be developed and MSBs created with those aims in mind.
- Use MSB "Notes" to provide clear instructions are important for the observers at the summit. Summit observers may not be representing your survey but they will likely be carrying out observations for you if the conditions are appropriate.
- Contact details for a person with responsibility for writing or changing MSBs should always be listed in the MSB Notes. This way, if questions are raised at the telescope regarding the programme, the observer will know who to contact.
- In preparing MSBs, be reminded that one can use the option of specifying weather band limits to ensure that individual MSBs are observed within the allocated bands or in ranges within those limits. For example, your survey may have been allocated time within band 3 weather but you do not want to observe in weather which is worse than a tau of 0.1. If the weather constraint in the MSB is left with "allocated" selected, this will mean that your data will likely be observed in a tau of 0.12 (at the transition between band 3 and 4).
- Alternatively, the JAC can create an OMP project code for your survey and assign specific weather limits to the project itself. All MSBs within that project will then only be executed within those weather limits.
- Use sensible and appropriate names for your MSBs as these will be propagated to the science archive. Naming your MSB "interesting position west of my favourite blob" is helpful to nobody except (perhaps) yourself. Please try to avoid this.
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Summit Occupancy
- The typical observing block will be 5-7 nights.Every effort will be made by the telescope scheduler to stick to this policy but at times observing blocks will need to be either extended, foreshortened or split to accommodate engineering requirements, for instance. The JAC will endeavour to keep these disruptions to a minimum and will try to maximise the length of notice given to teams when they do occur.
- Each observing block will be assigned to a particular survey team who will be expected to staff the telescope for that period.
- The number of observers at the summit (ie. not including the TSS or support scientist) shall usually number no more than 3 persons.
- The training of students is seen as an important aspect for all JLS activities. Students are encouraged to come to the telescope and participate in the observations but they should be accompanied by their supervisor or someone willing to act as such. In some cases, exceptions to this rule can be made via a formal request to the Associate Director, JCMT.
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At the telescope:
- The JCMT Board has decided that all JLS projects have equal priority on the telescope. However, the completion rate for each project will be monitored and observing plans for each scheduled block developed which could see the relative priorities of certain projects temporarily rise above others. Only the Associate Director will be allowed to implement these changes. Teams are able to assign relative priorities between MSBs within their own projects.
- Always observe each MSBs within the allocated weather bands. These are shown on the surveys allocation web page.
- JLS observers should use the QT to plan their observations. The QT will present observations for the queue based on the current weather conditions and source availability. It is understood that in some circumstances, project specific priorities will require minor deviations from the QT listing.
- Use the "Fetch MSB" button on the QT and read any observer notes and instructions before the observation is sent to the queue.
- If no JLS observations are available within the current weather band, then revert to the national queues. In the QT, activate and search within the 4 national queues (UK, CN, NL, IN) and carry out the highest ranked observing programme available.
- Use the obslog to keep detailed notes:
- Make sure that changing weather conditions are logged.
- Indicate the reasons for moving between projects.
- If data are rejected, for whatever reason, make sure that the observations are marked as BAD in the log. Make sure to add a comment to explain why you have flagged the observation as BAD.
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