Remote Observing at SOAR

Remote Observing at SOAR:

Remote observing at SOAR has been in place for our MSU and UNC partners for several years.  Brazilian observations are normally taken by one of the Brazilian Resident Astronomers during Brazilian queue time.  We now anticipate offering the capability to observe remotely at SOAR for previous NOAO users of SOI, OSIRIS, and Goodman starting in the 2012A semester. 

To observe remotely, you will need:

  1. Preferably two computers.  One computer should be dedicated to communications with the Telescope Operators and the other should be dedicated to the instrument GUI(s).
  2. A Cisco VPN client.  Recent Cisco VPN clients can be found on the CTIO website at: ftp://ftp.ctio.noao.edu/pub/software/VPN_CLIENTS.  This page does not open from Safari on a Mac running OSX 10.5.  It does open on a Mac (OSX 10.5) using Firefox (v2.0.0.16).  An alternative to retrieve the necessary binary file for an OSX platform is performing the following from the command line:
    • >ftp ftp.ctio.noao.edu
    • >login: anonymous
    • >password: <your-email-address>
    • >cd pub/software/VPN_CLIENTS
    • >get <my-necessary-VPN_CLIENT>
    • >quit
    • If this fails, please contact your Scientific Staff support so that the appropriate VPN file can be sent to you via email.
  3. A VNC viewer.  For GNU/Linux machines we suggest the Real VNC Viewer client.  For Windows machines, we suggest either the Real VNC Viewer client or the Ultra VNC Viewer client.  For Mac OSX machines, we recommend Chicken of the VNC.
  4. Some kind of video conferencing software or Skype.  SOAR has a dedicated Skype account in the Console Room (soar_pachon).  Skype can be downloaded at: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/other-downloads/.  We have found that XMeeting works on Mac OSX; Ekiga works on GNU/Linux platforms; NetMeeting may work on Windows platforms.  
  5. After all of the necessary software is downloaded, please contact your Scientific Staff support so that VPN and VNC passwords can be sent to you via FAX.  We will not send passwords over email.
  6. Please plan ahead and contact your Scientific Staff support a least 4 weeks before your scheduled remote observing.  This allows us time to test the VPN, VNC, and VoIP connections.

Please remember, any failure of the VPN/VNC clients or connectivity to SOAR during an observing night should be treated the same as a systems failure or weather problem.  SOAR cannot provide queue or service observing for NOAO observers.