WIYN 3.5m Observatory

Observing Policies

New observer policy

New visiting observers, that do not have PhD status, MUST be accompanied by an experienced on-site observer. The experienced observer may be on any status level. New remote observers MUST have previously observed on-site at WIYN and have used their remote observing instrument on site, no matter what their status level.

Also see the policy on remote observers.

ORP submission and instrument support policies

An Observing Run Preparation (ORP) Form must be submitted at least 6 weeks prior to your observing run.

Minimum instrument configuration information that needs to be specified on the ORP includes:

• For Hydra and SparsePak: which cable is needed (Hydra only), which camera, grating, order blocking filter, central wavelength, and order.
• For MiniMo and OPTIC: list of desired filters. There are eight filter slots available in the filter wheel. One filter change per run is allowed.
• WHIRC: tip-tilt guiding active, or straight imaging mode.
• ORPs must be submitted at least six weeks prior to the start of the observing run. Failure to submit an ORP, prior to two weeks in advance, may result in no observing support being scheduled other than the OA, before two weeks an observing support personnel will be assigned based on availability.
• Only one ORP per observing team/run should be submitted
• For university runs, only one major instrument change is allowed for and only one additional minor change or re-configuration. A minor change or re-configuration is defined as a filter change, central wavelength change, or fiber foot change (Hydra).
• Spectrograph grating or camera changes after the first day of a run will only be supported if requested in the ORP (submitted at least six weeks prior to the run) and will only be supported by WIYN staff for the spectrograph setup. The observer(s) will be responsible for determining best focus.
• Changes to ORP's made after the 15th of the prior month are considered late.
• Changes submitted up to the two weeks prior to the observing run will be supported by the KPNO Instrument Support group, based solely on staff availability. If there is no staff available, then the change will not be supported.
• Changes requested after the two weeks prior to the observing run may not be supported by the KPNO Instrument Support group.
• Changes to scheduled support or requests for new or additional support are to be submitted to kpno@noao.edu.

More information on submission of ORPs can be found in the Kitt Peak Users Handbook.

Visitor Instruments

• Institutions must coordinate all requests for visitor instruments with the WIYN Operations Coordinator. This includes scheduling, storage of equipment, usage by other institutions, special handling equipment, safety inspection, etc. Visitor instruments with requirements that may impact normal operations will require approval of the Director.
• The WIYN "New Instrumentation Policy" (WODC 00-04) must be completed and submitted to the Operations Coordinator 60 days prior to the first-time use of any new visitor instruments at WIYN.
• WIYN will be responsible for any cabling inside the telescope and through any cable wraps. Cabling requirements must be reviewed with the Site Engineer at least four weeks prior to installation. All other cabling will be the responsibility of visitors.
• Installation/removal of the visitor instrument will be the responsibility of the visiting observers. Removal of the instrument must be completed by noon of the day following the last night. If the installation or removal of a visitor instrument requires the use of WIYN resources, the WIYN "Resource Allocation Policy" (WODC 00-03) must be submitted 30 days prior.
• WIYN personnel will balance the telescope or instrument rotator after the installation or removal of the visitor instrument. Installation must be completed by 2pm of the day observing is to begin so that balancing can occur during normal staff hours.

Block Scheduling

Each "block" is defined by a major instrument change, such as swapping MiniMo for SparsePak. For the duration of the block, only minor instrument changes are allowed, such as filter changes, Hydra setups, etc.

Remote observing

Policies for remote observing are identical to those of General-Use Instruments with the following exceptions:

• Remote observers must have had at least one prior on-site observing run with the instrument they wish to use during remote observing. If there was a “one time” observer wishing to observe remotely, this will be allowed only if there is an experienced observer with them.
• Remote observers must use a pre-tested computer and the software must be validated prior to the run.
• For large remote programs, all object coordinates should be entered into a cache at least 1 week prior to the observing run.

Restriction on the Number of Observers During an Observing Run

The number of observers is limited to a maximum of THREE for the 4m, WIYN, and 2.1m telescopes, and TWO for all other telescopes. If you wish to request an exception to the number of observers, OR if you wish to send an observer not listed on the original proposal, please write to the KPNO Director for approval. Requests can be sent to kpno at noao.edu.

More information on observing at a KPNO facility can be found in the Kitt Peak Users Handbook.

Shuttle use

Everyone who drives a Government-owned vehicle must be carrying a current Motor Vehicle Operator's Identification card (formerly GSA license), in addition to a valid license from their state, territory, or country. This applies, for example, if you need to make trips between Tucson and the mountain at odd hours, or if you need a mountain vehicle to drive up the 4-meter hill.

Full details on using the NOAO shuttles can be found in the KPNO Users Handbook.

Policy for use of WHIRC and an optical imager during a single run

Observers should be aware that there are added complexity and support issues related to the use of WHIRC and Mini-Mo (or OPTIC) at WIYN. It has been noted that an increase in the base level noise of the WHIRC images (observed as pattern or pick-up noise) occurs if either of the nearby optical imagers is powered on. The level of this noise may be low enough to not greatly affect broad band IR imaging but is likely to be unacceptable for narrow-band IR imaging.

Additionally, there are detector safety issues related to power-up and down of WHIRC, OPTIC rotator angle limitations, and cooling and stability issues for both instruments for an indeterminate time after they have been powered up. Operationally, both the OA and observer will need to make computer interface changes. All of these issues, until/if fully understood and routine, will result in lost observing time during the night. While we fully appreciate the scientific merit in such an observing strategy, we discourage it for novice observers or those that can accomplish their science program by successive, not simultaneous, use of the imagers.

The WIYN observatory staff is working to quantify these statements and develop procedures to allow such use in a safe and efficient manner.

As such, current policy requires anyone wishing to use both WHIRC and either optical imager to be fully proficient with at least one of the instruments and thus require no instrument start-up support for it. Furthermore, observers are required to fully discuss their plans for each instrument use in the comment section of the ORP and to contact the appropriate WIYN staff person 6 weeks prior to their run to discuss the details of their observations. These discussions will include the potential risks in degraded performance and observing inefficiency, and it will be assumed that observers carrying out a dual-instrument program will understand and accept these risks.

WIYN Visitor Policy

• The WIYN facility is not open to general visitors, public or astronomers, without the consent of WIYN staff.
• On-site WIYN staff has full discretion as to grant, or disallow, visitors to the site. It is viewed that the on-site staff posses the responsibility for safety management and requisite preparations for science observations thus, are in the best position to knowledgeably grant visitor access.
• On-site WIYN staff has full discretion to ask any visitor to leave the premises so as to conduct necessary observatory functions.
• WIYN is frequently asked to provide VIP tours for various interests and groups.
  • These tours are expected to be arranged prior to the date of the tour, with communication provided to the on-site staff and WIYN observer/s as to the time and purpose of the tour.
  • o All VIP tours are to be requested via the WIYN director or WIYN Site Engineer, who are then responsible for communication to onsite staff and WIYN observers.
  • In the event that the VIP tour participants are not NOAO/WIYN personnel, notification and permission to have access to the observatory must be given by KPNO management (either the mountain manager or KPNO director).
• Large group tours, more that six to ten, should be coordinated with KPNO staff. Primarily, KPNO staff must be made aware of a large group visiting the mountain so that necessary arrangement can be made for transportation, coordination with other operations on the mountain, food, and management of split groups.
• The WIYN facility is often the focus of informal visits from visiting KPNO astronomers observing elsewhere on the mountain. On-site staff, as well as WIYN observers, has the authority to grant to deny these requests. There is no formal policy held by KPNO that prevents these visits, and all KPNO observers will be given keys that permit access to the facility. In general, observers are welcomed to visit the site, but are strongly urged to proved prior notice to the WIYN on-site staff and request access.
• Only the console room and telescope level are available for general access. Visitors wishing to be given access to other areas of the facility must be escorted by WIYN staff.
• All visitors are denied access to the WIYN grounds marked ‘No Admittance, Authorized Personnel Only’. WIYN staff has the authority to ask any unauthorized person/s in these areas to leave immediately.
• All persons at the WIYN Facility are to follow those directives made by WIYN Staff relating to safety (Fire, Threat of Lightning, Site evacuation…).
• WIYN and KPNO staff is allowed to bring personal visitors to the site during normal, daytime hours so long as observing preparation or facility and instrument work does not present safety risks. Safety risks are left to the judgment of the on-site personnel. Examples of risks warranting no visitors would be overhead loads, open hatch-ways, energized dome or telescope drives, and instrument changes.
• WIYN staff is not permitted to bring personal visitors to the site during observing hours (4pm to 8am) without the prior approval of KPNO management.