Goodman Software

Logging on to the Data Acquisition and Data Analysis Computers

The data acquisition and preliminary reduction computer is called soaric1 and soaric7, respectivly. A number of different ways to logon to these machine exist, depending upon your preference. These methods are discussed below.

From Cerro Pachón:
- The mountain staff or your support scientist will show you the computer on which you can obtain and analyze your data. To open the Goodman user control panels:
  - Double click on the "Scroll Lock" Key
  - A window will open displaying the names of the computers to which you can connect
  - Use the "Up" and "Down" arrow keys to highlight a free machine.
  - If the Data Acquisition and Analysis windows are running, you can skip to the GUI Layout section of this manual. If these GUIs are not running, skip to the Starting and Stopping the Data Acquisition GUI and Starting and Stopping the Data Analysis GUI sections of this Manual.
From the Remote Observing Center in La Serena:
- Log on to the observing account using the username and password provided to you by the instrument scientist (Sean Points). If forgotten, these are posted on a list near the door.
- Start the Data Acquisition GUI by typing the following command from a terminal command line on the GNU/Linux computer in the remote observing center:
- Start the Data Analysis GUI by typing the following command from a terminal command line on the GNU/Linux computer in the remote observing center:

In most cases the GUIs should be started and you will be presented with a data acquisition screen and data analysis screen as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: The Goodman Data Acquisition and Data Analysis GUI windows.

Starting and Stopping the Data Acquisition GUI

If the data acquisition GUI has not been started, then one should see a blue screen in the soaric4 VNC window. At the bottom of the screen, you should see that the SI Image SGL D and SI Image are minimized. You may also see that the LabVIEW Transfer_To_SOARIC7 vi and the LabVIEW Goodman Spectrograph Control System vi are minimized. If these are minimized, the you just need to click on them to start the data acquisition GUI.

To start the data acquisition software:

Click the Transfer_To_SOARIC7 LabVIEW shortcut on the Desktop and start the application by clicking on the white arrow.
Open the Goodman controls by clicking on the GSP_Main LabView shortcut on the Desktop and start the application by clicking on the white arrow.
Check the camera panel. If a green button is present for "Connection Open/Getting Data" in the upper left of the GUI, Goodman "sees" the SI Image camera control software and a TCP/IP connection is available to take data. You can confirm this by clicking on the "Obtain Camera Status" button. During a normal startup of the GSP_Main vi the CCD Temp will read "0". If the TCP/IP connection is operating, clicking on the "Obtain Camera Status" button will show the latest temperature measurement. If Goodman is cooled, the CCD Temp should be -106.5. If the CCD Temp does not update, you will need to check the SI Image SGL D window and make sure that a TCP/IP connection is open.
Click on Main tab and logon;
Use the account appropriate for your observing program (i.e., BRAZIL, CHILE, MSU, NOAO, OTHER, or UNC) with the password provided by your institution.
Click the User tab, go to "Home Systems", and select "Home All". You should see the dark green lights change to yellow on the control panel as systems are being homed. Upon a successful homing of the systems, all lights should be bright green, except the Collimator Focus which well remain a dark green. If there are any red lights, you will need to log out of GSP_Main and shutdown and cycle the power on the Goodman motor electronics.
After the camera is homed, start the flexure correction by clicking the flexure LED. It should change from dark green to bright green.
Select the imaging or spectroscopic mode in which you want to work.

Figure 5: Selecting the CCD parameters (e.g., 1x1 imaging, 2x2 imaging, 1x1 spectroscopic, 2x2 spectroscopic, etc.)

Select Gain and Readout Setting. These values are given in the Goodman Overview. The default value is 100kHz ATTN3. Observers may want to change this to another value to make sure that it is properly initialized.

Figure 6: Selecting the detector readout parameters.

Set up the grating and camera angles for your observations. The pre-defined modes are listed in the Goodman Overview.
You are now ready to use Goodman.

If the data acquisition GUI needs to be stopped:

Single click on the Main tab and log out.
Click on the Main tab and Shutdown. This will move all the systems back to their "Home" positions.
After the shutdown has finished you should ask the TelOps staff to turn off the power to the Goodman electronics box.

A more detailed explanation of the Startup and Shutdown procedures can be found in the Goodman Startup Guide.

Starting and Stopping the Data Analysis GUI

The Goodman data analysis VNC window (soaric7:4) has a relatively simple layout. If the IRAF data analysis windows are not open, you should see an IRAF button in the lower right corner of the VNC window. Single click on the IRAF button and an IRAF xgterm and a ds9 window will open. Load any IRAF package you may need for your observing. You will also want to make sure that you are in the correct directory to analyze your data.

> cd /home3/observer/today/

Basic GUI Layout

All observing with the Goodman Spectrograph is handled through the Data Acquisition GUI. Upon successful startup of the Goodman data acquisition GUI on soaric4, one should check that the Goodman data acquisition window looks something like that shown in Figure 4.

The Goodman observing GUI can be divided into certain distinct regions as shown in Figure 7. These include the:

Figure 7: The Goodman data acquisition GUI with regions demarcated and labeled.

TCS Status Region - This region shows various telemetry data from the instrument, as well as information obtained from the Telescope Control System (TCS) and the SOAR Environmental Station. These data include the current RA and Dec of the telescope, the airmass, the sidereal time, the ISB rotator angle, etc.

Connection Info Region - This region shows if the LabVIEW GSP_Main vi has a TCP/IP connection to the SI Image software. If the conection is active, then you should see a green box stating that the TCP/IP conection is open and that the SI Image software is receiving commands from the GSP_Main vi. One method of checking this connection is to click on the "Obtain Camera Status" button while you are not taking an image. This should update the "CCD Temp." and "Vacuum Pressure" fields above the camera status button. Also included in this section of the GUI is the "General" tab. If an observer selects this, they will be able to edit the "Observer" and "Proposal ID" keywords for the FITS headers.

Acquisition and Exposure Status Region - This region of the GUI is complex and contains many items of which the observer should note. In this region, the observer can:
- Change the OBSTYPE (OBJECT, FLAT, COMP, DARK, or ZERO) of the image by clicking on the appropriate tab.
- Edit the "Object Name" for the FITS headers.
- Set the number of exposures for each OBSTYPE.
- Set the base name of the FITS file.
- Set the exposure time.
- Select the CCD binning and image size. The default 1x1 imaging mode has an image size of 3096x3096 pixels. The default 1x1 spectroscopic mode has an image size of 4142x1896 pixels. Please note that no overscan region is written for imaging mode. The overscan region is only read if the serial dimension is greater than 4096 pixels.
- Select the CCD readout speed, gain and readnoise parameters.
- Turn on/off calibration lamps (HgAr, CuHeAr, Ne, Ar, Quartz). For example, select the "Flat" tab in the "Acquisition and Exposure Status" region of the GUI (see Figure 10). All of the calibration lamp LEDs should be dark green (Figure 10a). If you are using the internal quartz lamp, select the desired intensity value and then click the dark green box beneath the "Quartz" label. The dark green box should now be bright green (Figure 10b). You should always check with the telescope operators that the calibration lamp has been turned on.
- Make a telescope offset.
- View the exposure time and readout status.
All of these features will be discussed in more detail in the Observing with Goodman section of this manual.

Instrument Status Region - This region of the GUI is equal in its complexity as the Acquisition and Exposure Status Region. In this section, the observer controls the physical setup of the spectrograph. In this region, the observer can:
- Check on the status of the motor sub-systems. This is indicated by the vertical column of round lights (LEDs) on the left of the display. If the lights are bright green, it signifies that the sus-systems are homed and/or in their proper positions as determined by the sub-displays in this region. If the lights are dark green, it indicates that the sub-system has not been homed. At present, only the status light for the Collimator Focus should be dark green (see below). If the status light is yellow, it signifies that the sub-system is moving from one state to another. For example, if you change the Slit Mask from the 0.46" slit to the 1.03" slit, the light to the left of "Mask Assembly" will change from bright green to yellow and then back to bright green during the exchange of slit masks. If a motor light should be red, it indicates that an error has occurred and that the observer needs to shutdown the Data Acquisition GUI and restarted after the power to the instrument electronics box has been cycled.
- Change the "Primary Filter". The Goodman filter wheels can hold 5 +1 (empty) 4" diameter filters. We have placed UBVR filters on the Kron-Cousins system in the primary filter wheel on Goodman (see Figure 11).
- Change the "Secondary Filter". The Goodman filter wheels can hold 5 + 1 (empty) 4" diameter filters. We have placed GG-385, GG-455, GG-495, and OG-570 order blocking filters in the secondary filter wheel.
- Change the "Slit Mask". An observer can change the Slit Mask from that which is currently in place by clicking on the upper-most button under the "Mask" section of the GUI and select a different slit mask (see Figure 13). After a successful startup of the GUI no slit mask will be in place. The observer should then choose from among our current long-slit masks as given in the Goodman Overview.
- Change the "Grating". An observer can choose from no grating, 300l/mm, 600l/mm, or 1200l/mm by clicking on the grating selection button.
- Select the "Camera and Grating" angles for the observations. This feature allows the observer to select among the various predetermined spectroscopic modes of the instrument (see Figure 15). These modes are listed in the Goodman Overview section of this manual. We provide examples of HgAr and CuHeAr spectra in the Comparison Lamp section of the Goodman documentation.
- The "Camera Focus" depends upon the observing setup that the observer chooses. The TelOps staff have a list of the most recent camera foci that have been determined during an engineering run. If in doubt, the observer should determine the best camera foci for their run during afternoon calibrations. More information on determning the camera focus is given in the Observing with Goodman section of this manual.
- The "Collimator Focus" has been disabled since Aug 2009. It has been disabled because of a fault in its limit switch to avoid physical collisions with the Primary Filter Wheel. We have manually placed the Colimator Focus into the best position for all observing modes by hand. As such, it it not possible to change the Collimator Focus through the software and its status light should be dark green.

All of these features will be discussed in more detail, as needed, in the Observing with Goodman section of this manual.

Observing with Goodman

Before Your Run

Prior to your run at SOAR with the Goodman Spectrograph, you should have completed the Instrument Setup Form. When using Goodman, it is important to send in this form well ahead of time so that any specific needs can be addressed before your run. In the instrument setup form you can also specify what binning you will use during your run. The default readout is for 1x1 binning with the 100kHz ATTN3 readout. Information on the gain settings and readout noise for various readout options can be found in the Goodman Overview.

In addition to filling out the Instrument Setup Form, visiting observers should read the Information for CTIO Visiting Investigators webpage for general information about traveling to and within Chile. Furthermore, visiting investigators should fill out the Travel Information Questionaire so that your transportation and lodgings can be arranged.

Observing logs for your run can be downloaded here.

Setting Up for the Start of Your Night/Run

Before you begin observing with Goodman, you should first make sure that the data acquisition GUI and the data analysis GUI are running as shown above in Figure 4. If these GUIs are not running, please refer to the sections of this manual about Starting and Stopping the Data Acquisition GUI and Starting and Stopping the Data Analysis GUI. If you have problems with starting either of these, please contact the Telescope Operators or the Goodman instrument scientist (Sean Points). They will be able to help you with this task.

After the GUIs are running, you should check that:

all of the connection status indicator lights are green.
the readout speed, gain, and readnoise are set correctly for your program (see the Goodman Overview for a description of these modes).
the binning is set to the proper value (i.e., 1x1 imaging, 2x2 imaging, 1x1 spectroscopic, 2x2 spectroscopic, or custom). Information on how to set the binning is given in the Acquisition and Exposure Status Region section in the Basic GUI Layout.
the focus values for observing modes are current. The current best-focus values for the preset Goodman observing modes are determined by the Instrument Scientist during engineering time, as time allows. If you want to make sure that you are achieving the best focus values for your run, we recommend that your perform a focus sequence at the start of your run. Details on determining the best focus are given below in the During Your Night/Run section of this manual.

You are now ready to use the Goodman Spectrograph.

During Your Night/Run

Daytime Calibration Data

Performing a Focus Sequence:

Select spectroscopic 1x1 binning to focus the internal camera optics of Goodman because it gives the highest angular and spectra resolution per pixel (see Figure 17).

Figure 17: Selecting the CCD geometry (i.e., 1x1 imaging, 2x2 imaging, etc.)

Select 400kHz ATTN 0 readout so that you have the shortest readout times for 1x1 spectroscopic mode (see Figure 18).

Figure 18: Selecting the CCD readout speed. Please see the Overview section of this manual for the gains (e/ADU), read noise (e), and readout times for 1x1 spectroscopic binning.

Select the 0.46 arcsec slit mask to obtain the highest spectral resolution that is possible. That is, the average FWHM of a comparison lamp emission line profile should be ~3.0 pixels (see Figure 19).

Figure 19: Selecting the slit mask to be used.

Select the filter you will use, if any (see Figure 20).

Figure 20: Selecting the filter, if any, to be used.

Select the grating to be used (see Figure 21).

Figure 21: Selecting the grating.

Select the camera and grating angles (See Figure 22).

Figure 22: Selecting the camera and wavelength angles.

Select to take a Comparison Lamp Spectrum (see Figure 23) and turn on one of the arc lamps (HgAr is preferred for all modes). You can take a comparision lamp spectrum by selecting the "Comp" tab in the Goodman "Acquisition and Exposure Status" region of the GUI. In the left-middle section of this region, one can turn on (off) the internal ISB calibration lamps. When the lamps are turned off, they are a dark green color. When they are turned on, they are bright green in color. We also note that sometimes there are communication problems between the Goodman GUI and the SOAR TCS. It is always recommended that you ask the TelOps staff if the lamps really is on (off). You will also need to ask the TelOps staff to place the comparison lamp mirror into the beam to take a comparison lamp spectrum.

Figure 23: Taking an arc lamp spectrum.

Set the Camera Focus to -3000 units (see Figure 24) and take a spectrum. Continue to increment the camera focus by +500 units until you have taken spectra with camera foci from -3000 to +3000 units.

Figure 24: Changing the camera focus.

After you have taken arc lamp spectra for camera focus values between -3000 and +3000 units, you will need to determine the best camera focus value. This is easily done with the IRAF "specfocus" task that is located in the NOAO obsutil package. The output of specfocus should look like Figure 25.

Figure 25: Determining the best camera focus value with the specfocus task within IRAF.

As a precautionary measure, it is also useful to check the output of specfocus using the IRAF imexam task. Display the spectrum in the data analysis window
>disp nnnn.hgar_300_gg385.fits 1 zs+
>imexam
Use the "j" key to measure the FWHM of the arc lines that appear in the spectrum. For spectra taken without the order blocking filters, the FWHM should be around 3 pixels. For spectra taken with the order blocking filters, the FWHM will be around 3.5 pixels.
You will want to take internal camera focus sequences for as many observing modes that you plan to use during the night - imaging and spectroscopic. The camera focus value changes between imaging and spectroscopic mode because the grating is either out of the beam or in the beam.

Taking Bias Frames

Select the "Zero" tab in the Acquisition and Exposure Status region of the GUI. Make sure that the CCD binning and readout parameters are set to the values that you will use for your science observations. Select how many bias frames you want to take. You will want to take bias frames for as many different observing modes you plan on using during the night. That is to say, if you plan on observing during the night in 1x1 spectroscopic mode with the 300 l/mm grating 100kHz ATTN3 readout and the the 600 l/mm grating (mid) 200kHz ATTN2 readout, you should take bias frames for both the 1x1 spectroscopic 100kHz ATTN3 and 200kHz ATTN2 readouts.

Taking Comparison Lamp Spectra

Select the "Comp" tab in the Acquisition and Exposure Status region of the GUI. Select the CCD binning and readout parameters to the values that you will use for the night. We advise that observers take a set of comparison lamp spectra using the 0.46" slit mask as well as the slit mask they will be using during the night. This may help the observer in deblending any lines when using the wider slit masks. We also note that it can be difficult to obtain a sufficient number of lines to determine an accurate wavelength solution in the blue preset modes using the HgAr lamp. Therefore, we also recommend taking some spectra of the CuHeAr lamp.

Taking Quartz Flats

Select the "Flat" tab in the Acquisition and Exposure Status region of the GUI. Select the CCD binning and readout parameters to the values that you will use for the night. Take the quartz flats you need for all of the observing modes you will use during the night.

Nighttime Observing

1) Slew to target
2) Move to "image mask" mode
3) Take image of slit and note x,y coordinates of slit center in desired position field
4) Withdraw slit
5) Take image of field and note x,y coordinates of object current position field
6) Perform offset
7) Take image of field and note x,y coordinates of object (need to make another offset?; repeat as
needed)
8) Move slit back into place
9) Take image of object on slit. Is it centered? If not perform another offset with slit in
place.
10) Change readout speed and move grating camera angle.

After Your Night/Run

At the end of your observing night, please fill out the End-of-Night report for the telescope. Please make note of any problems that were encountered during the night so that they may be resolved before the next night's observing.

Also, at the end of your night observing with SOI, you may want to transfer your data back to your home institution. To do so, open a Terminal window in either the Data Acquisition GUI or the Data Analysis GUI. Once the Terminal window is open, change directories to where your data are located on soaric7. You may then use scp at the shell prompt to copy the data to your home institution.

After your run is complete, please fill out the End-of-Run report.

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