User's Guide to the Nickel 1-m Telescope


Table of Contents


Introduction
Hardware Overview
Dome
Light Path
Diagonal Mirror
Arc & Flat-field Lamps
Filter and Aperture Wheels
Dew Sensor
Sofware Overview
POCO
Naux_fe
Guider
Check40_obs
Starlists
Web/Video Cameras
Limits
Pointing
Weather
Target Of Opportunity (TOO)
Observing Hints
Remote Operations
Checklists

Data Archive
Mt. Hamilton Homepage

Software Overview

The Nickel Telescope has a suite of programs to control not only the telescope, but the dome and much of the ancillary hardware, such as the flat flield lamps and guide camera. The programs operate in concert, but are addressed through several GUI's, separated by function as follows:

Summary of Observing Software for the Nickel Telescope
ProgramFunctionIcon Command Line
POCO Telescope pointing and control
poco_fe
Motor Controller Filter wheel, aperture wheel, collimator, CCD stage, and grism slide control.
(This program starts when data-taking program is started;
this program also controls motors for Nickel Direct Camera).
nickel_inst_gui
Auxilliary Telescope Hardware Dome shutter, windscreen, and flatfield lamp control.
naux_fe
Guider Acquisition/guide TV and autoguider control.
nickel_guider_client
Check40 Permissions and weather monitor.
check40_obs
Coords Read observer starlists and display starcharts.
coords

From the observer's perspective, all software runs on noir.ucolick.org.

Each software component can be started from its icon on the noir toolbar, as shown above, or by typing its command line arguement. Observers may not need all the software listed, but in general will require most.

There are several software resources available on-line to observers that should be used in addition to the software required for telescope operation. Some of these resources are only accessible on Mt. Hamilton computers and approved off-site computers for remote operations. Nickel observers must pay close attention to the weather and several Weather Resources (local weather conditions at various points on Mt. Hamilton, regional forcasts and satellite images) are available. There are also small video surveillance cameras mounted in the Nickel dome for remote observers to use to see the state of the telescope, dome, and shutter.


Last modified: Tue Jul 17 19:15:36 PDT 2012