Introduction
Welcome to the 2 meter Telescope at Kitt Peak!
This section gives
a broad overview of the 2 meter building, what to expect on your first
day, manual contents, safety procedures and how to make use of the
radios present in the control room. More detailed instructions
and descriptions are included for telescope operation, data acquisition
and troubleshooting in their own subsections under the other links in
this manual.
General Policy
All observing programs scheduled on the 2 meter telescope must now be
fully supported by the visiting astronomers. This includes running both the
telescope and the science instrument. It is strongly recommended
that two observers be present for these runs, to receive effective
briefing on telescope and instrument operations, to run the system
efficiently, and to provide safety in the working environment.
You need to arrive no later than 1:00 PM. The staff members responsible for
training you will ready to begin at 1:00 PM.
How to get up to the observing level.
Upon arrival, along with your dorm room key, you will receive a "Mountain Master" key,
that will allow you to access the
doors that you'll need to open to get into the 2 meter observers areas, and the catwalk. You access the observing
area of the facility by entering the downstairs, and then either going into the locked door directly
across from the restrooms, or by going upstairs and entering the locked doorway to the right of the
visitors gallery.
What to do and what to expect on your first day.
During the first afternoon and evening of a scheduled run, an instrument
start specialist will manage the instrument configuration specific to your run
requirements; discuss observing program strategies; and brief the observer
on appropriate techniques and calibration procedures.
A telescope
operator will also be present to work through the pre-observing checkout,
discuss and demonstrate detector maintenance (cryogen fills), and train the observer to
start up and run, and close down the telescope. If you arrive late, it will not only make
the staff late getting home, but will cut into your first nights observing science time.
Observing programs which must have access to zenith distances greater
than 62 degrees, should be identified and drawn to the attention of your staff
contact. Special procedures are required to lift the lower shutter,
not normally discussed during startup training, and additional safety
concerns have to be addressed.
A set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) has been prepared, and
details can be found in this manual. Once the observer is comfortable
with these procedures, the checklist posted at the telescope operator's
station will normally suffice for most observing sessions. Any concerns or confusion regarding
equipment or personnel safety, should be brought up with the observatory staff as soon as the concerns arise.
A staff member will usually be available to answer question by telephone or radio contact.
Opening/closing policies, availability of technical support, reporting
of problems, and safety issues are all outlined in this manual, but will
be discussed specifically with all observers.
This Manual
This manual consists of 6 pages of HTML. Each of the 6 pages covers each of
these 6 general areas:
The Systems Overview section provides
information about: the
layout of the building; the vital features of the telescope with
mounted instruments and auxiliary devices; the layout of the telescope control
panels and equipment racks; the control computers; the control GUIs used to
run the telescope; and the information display monitors.
Two check lists are provided to ensure accuracy for visiting astronomers while opening and
closing the telescope. The two check lists represent the "standard operating procedures"
for using the 2 meter telescope on Kitt Peak.
With the introduction of the STA3 CCD, the observer will be using a Monsoon interface to take their data. Explanations for data acquisition using the MOP and ICE interfaces used to
observe science objects are given in the Observing section.
The Troubleshooting section describes the most frequently
encountered technical problems, and how to recover from them.
Safety Procedures
An observer must be present
in the control room at all times when the telescope drive power is
turned on. The 2 meter telescope has the potential to
"run away". It may move unexpectedly.
This is why observatory policy requires that someone be inside the control room, monitoring the telescope
while the telescope drive power is on.
The observatory staff will go through the current safety concerns
regarding working in and around the 2 meter telescope facility,
with you, and your associates, upon your arrival. There will be a
safety acknowledgment form that will need to be understood, and signed
by all party members.
The safety forms can be found here:
Safety Forms Link (opens in new window)
Should you have any concerns regarding your safety, or the safety of
others or equipment, please contact a staff member immediately
using one of the phone numbers provided below, or by picking up the
provided radio in the control room. Your safety is the number one concern of the Kitt Peak Staff.
Mountain Telephone Numbers
- 8777 Medical or other emergencies.
Rings all phones on the mountain, sequentially, until someone answers
- 8721 Radio Patch (phone access to the mountain wide radios)
- 8760 WIYN telescope operator
- 8620 4 meter telescope operator
There will be a hand held radio in the control room for your safety. The mountain staff members carry a radio
with them while they are on shift. So, even at night, the WIYN and 4meter Operators will, under normal conditions,
have a radio on, or near them, at all times. Should you need help, you can use the provided radio to call for
assistance, as well as the telephone numbers above.
To use the radio just follow the
simple directions as outlined on the "Radios Use" image below. Feel free to pick up the radio at any time
and ask for a "radio check" to ensure it's two way (transmit and receive) functionality.
If you need technical assistance during the day, just pick up the radio, and ask "Will a technician please
call the 2 meter telescope". For technical help at night, call one of the telescope operators at the 4meter,
or at WIYN.
Send change requests to
ScopeManualChanges@noao.edu
2 meter Observers Handbook Version 5.0
This page last updated, November, 2013