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This page is a draft. Treat it with caution. The information is the page is generally correct but incomplete. |
The "Automated Functions" are designed to perform a series of functions that mimic the idea of a script. These functions will run automatically without any or very little interaction from the user. It is important to remember that these are NOT tcl scripts running within LOIS. It is more like a LOUI macro.
We currently support only one such automated function that allows slewing and/or dithering based on a pattern file. There is also a deprecated function that only allowed dithering.
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Introduction
This function is a generic implementation of a slew or dither pattern. The format of the input file will determine the command issued to the TCS.
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#title=true ra=true dec=true exposureTime=true numExposures=true filter=true muRA=true muDec=true epoch=false dRA=true dDec=true rotatorPA=true rotatorFrame=true xi=true eta=true comment=true comandOption=false
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"Vega - Alpha Lyrae" 18:36:56.336 +38:47:01.28 10.0 3 V 10 5 2 1 0.0 Target 30 60 "Comment 1"
"Vega - Alpha Lyrae" 18:36:56.3 +38:47:1.3 20.0 3 R 10 5 2 1 0.0 Fixed 10 20 "Comment 2" |
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- object title - string composed of any valid ASCII character surrounded by double quotation (")
- Right Ascension (hh:mm:ss.sss)
- Declination (+dd:mm:ss.ss)
- exposure time - float/double (seconds)
- number of exposures - integer
- filter name - string that has to match the display filter name (no spaces allowed)
- Proper Motion in RA - float/double (mas/yr) - this is the angular measurement used by most catalogs: μα×cos(δ)
- Proper Motion in DEC - float/double (mas/yr) - μδ
- differential track rate in RA - float/double (arc-seconds/hour)
- differential track rate in DEC - float/double (arc-seconds/hour)
- rotator Position Angle - float/double (degrees)
- rotator Frame - literal string (Fixed or Target)
- offset 1 (xi) - float/double (arc-seconds)
- offset 2 (eta) - float/double (arc-seconds)
- comment - string composed of any valid ASCII character surrounded by double quotation (")
- commandOption - literal string (Slew or Dither)
The input is not fixed width and there is some validation when loaded. The first 2 lines are meta data and have to be present in the exact form stated above. The boolean value (true or false) for each parameter tells the loading function what to expect and what to validate. All the input lines have to follow the format indicated by the meta data.
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setamp, rbin, cbin, and frame are taken from LOIS cache. If The value of the Image Title parameter in the LMI Camera Control is not used in this function. So if title is not provided in the input line, the current science target name from TCS will be used. And if there is no science target has been issued prior to executing the macro, UNKNOWN is used for title.
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To make sure that the exposure command is correct, it is important to take a test image |
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from the LMI control view that has the same image type, binning, etc. that you want to use. The cache values |
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will be updated to the desired ones and all the exposures in the pattern will therefore be correct. |
After the exposure is complete and readout has started, the action will proceed to the next row and the appropriate row in the table is highlighted. There will be a message in place of the iteration number when the pattern is complete.
The process can only be aborted by pressing the abort button within the view. Using other abort buttons or stop series buttons will have unforeseen results. The abort stops the loop but it may not stop the last exposure. Depending on where LOIS is in the exposure process, LOIS may decide to finish the exposure but the file will not be written to disk.
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It is absolutely essential that you do not attempt to interact with the filter wheel or otherwise mess around with the exposure parameters using the LMI Camera Control view once the pattern has started. Very Bad Things May Result! Do NOT expect the filters shown on the LMI Camera Control view GUI to reflect what is going on with the instrument once the pattern is activated—instead, the Slew/Dither Pattern view will show what filters are in use. |
Notes for special cases
The function may be used without any slewing or dithering. For instance, it can be used for taking exposures at different filters on the same object while guiding. In this special case, the guide state will not change. By default guiding will turn off when an offset command is received by the TCS and guided offsets are not currently supported.
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After a pattern file has run, the execute button will not be re-enabled. If for some reason the user needs to run the same pattern file, it will have to be loaded again.
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Introduction
The first dither function that is implemented within this view is the dither function:is deprecated and no longer supported. A more robust and functional version of this view exists which should be used in its place (Slew/Dither Pattern). The input data format is different for the two functions and it is highly recommended to use the new one.
The dithering is composed of three independent actions; TCS offset, filter move, and an exposure. The input is a pattern file:
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