OBSERVING AT UKIRT

Although run by the United Kingdom, UKIRT does not impose any nationality requirements or quotas on allocations of telescope time. This page links to all the information you will need to prepare and submit proposals, get to the telescope, and execute observations. Flag symbols indicate the intended audience for each set of documents:

PATT (Open international time)

University of Hawaii

Japan

Korea CEOU

UKIDSS

APPLYING FOR TELESCOPE TIME
Applying	How, where and when to submit a telescope-time proposal. Includes the most recent Call for Proposals and the instrument schedule for the coming semester (normally posted one month before the Proposal deadline). Call for Proposals & Instrument Availability   - what will be available at the next deadline Submission  - submit proposals here Data Protection Statement  - who will see your submission and where it will be stored Integration Time Calculator  - calculate raw exposure times Observing Overheads  - allow for observing overheads Technical Case  - how best to present your technical case Sky access page  - where UKIRT can point to, and where it can't TAG  - current TAG membership list TAG PROCESS  - how the UKIRT TAG operates
ADMINISTRATION
Allocations, Schedule & Queue	Allocations following the TAG meeting, draft and full schedules, and current Queue status. Allocations: 09B  09A  08B  08A  07B  07A  06B  06A  05B  05A   04B   04A   03B   03A   02B   02A   01B   01A   00B  00A  Campaigns Telescope Schedule  - month by month and semester by semester Full Support Schedule - internal access only LT and Overrides  - projects awarded long-term status or time to override summit observers Queue Status  - current queue loading Split Nights  - where in the night we switch, if doing half nights
Successful Applicants	Information on booking accommodation in Hawaii and travel between Hilo and the telescope. Successful applicants who have been granted summit occupancy must submit the appropriate forms well in advance of their observing run. Initial Notes VISA Waivers Visitor Info Reservations Visiting Observer Safety & Logistics Safety rules and guidelines. WFCAM-specific policy notes Remote PI guide Acknowledgement
PREPARING AND CARRYING OUT OBSERVATIONS
Preparation	Everything you need for preparing your observations. includes links to the instrument pages, Integration time calculator, overhead calculations, and the Orac preparation and OMP (Observation Management Project) execution tools. Also includes instructions for uploading finder charts. Also see the OMP pages. Instrument Page Password issue Integration Time Calculator Observing Overheads Calibrations Observation Preparation (the Observing Tool Manual) Finder Charts Survey Definition MSB Checklist
Before going to the Summit	Checklists you need to cover with your support scientist before going to the mountain. Visiting Observer Safety & Logistics Summit Observer Documentation Checklist
Scheduling Principles	Open time programmes are flexibly scheduled to take advantage of the observing conditions. This places some responsibilites on summit observers and it is therefore important that open-time observers understand the principles of the scheduling model. Flexing Model
Observing, logging and Feedback	Documentation for the observing process. A detailed set of links for use before, during and after an observing night. Includes runup instructions etc. Current System Status Runup Observation Execution Typical Data Queue Observing Checklist Observer Feedback OMP Functions and Accounting Shift log Shift log comment rules
Guest Computing	Computer and network facilities, including how to connect up laptops, HP computing guide, printer names. Guest Computing Connecting disks to computers?
POST-OBSERVING
Data Access	Notes on access to PI data from WFCAM. Accessing PI Data
Feedback	Observer Report Form Summit observers should fill this form in on completion of their observing run. It is important for UKIRT's records and to ensure that any problems encountered during the run are dealt with. Your feedback will also help inform our future planning for improvements to our level of service and support. Completion of the form should take no more than 5-10 minutes. Note: if filling this form in remotely, please create your own local text file and copy the various entries into the form. This will insulate you against network problems. Can't recall who supported you when filling in the report ? Click here. Recipients of this information: PATT, UH and Japanese observers    -     the ukirt_ops mailing list, i.e. UKIRT and shared JAC staff only. UKIDSS observers    -    the ukirt_ops list as above, plus the UKIDSS PI (Andy Lawrence) and UKIDSS Survey heads and their delegates.
WORKING WITH THE QUEUE REMOTELY
Remote PIs	Documentation covering the various steps to be taken by a PI who has been granted queue, but not summit, time. Get a project password Designate other Contacts if necessary Get the OT Prepare and submit MSBs Finder Charts Monitor progress Retrieve data
FOR UKIDSS OBSERVERS
Logistics	Quick reference notes for UKIDSS observers. Here you will find details of how to arrange your trip, arrival requirements and brief notes on what to expect when operating WFCAM at the summit. More general information for visitors is given in the "Successful applicants" section above. Arrival Reservations Safety Summit operations (needs copy of most of the notes page - TBD)
Survey Operations Reference Pages	General background information for UKIDSS. Operational Model UKIDSS Survey status WFCAM Scheduling Background Data Policies Non-UKIDSS Projects
GENERAL DOCUMENTATION  (REFERENCE ONLY)
Safety Manual	The Full JAC safety Manual
Data reduction	Links to documentation for the ORAC-DR pipeline, both for summit use and for offline reductions. Also links to the local IRAF information page. Note that individual Instrument pages contain instrument-specific data reduction details, and are updated more regularly; so please use the two together.