G29-38 Campaign Observing Instructions

DAMP 2, Fall 2008

1. Purpose and Plan

The ultimate goal is to measure the surface inhomogeneity of Calcium across the surface of G29-38. To do this we must measure the amplitude of the EW variations of calcium with GMOS Spectroscopy. We also must get accurate frequency and amplitudes of G29-38's pulsations with photometry.

The Gemini Observations are Band 3 and so we will likely get observations in chunks some unspecified time after September 1^st. We are aiming to get both a good multi-site campaign of G29-38 and also get observations near to the G29-38 spectroscopy to see how the amplitudes of the frequencies have changed.

The multi-site observations are planned for Sept. 16 - Sept. 28. Please observe during these weeks if you can. If we are lucky, we will also get some Gemini data during these observations.

Then we need to know which telescopes can observe with little advance notice. When I know observations are to be taken at Gemini, I will send out an email asking for more photometry to ensure we have a measure of the amplitudes as near to the Gemini observations as possible.

There is only one target star for this run and no formal headquarters. We will send out emails to everyone involved as data gets taken, reduced and placed on the web site (http://physics.udel.edu/darc/damp2).

2. Taking Observations

• Naming Convention: If possible name your runs according to the UT date at the beginning of the run and the star you observe. For example if you are Mount Cuba Observatory (mcao) observing G29-38 on 2008-09-20 (UTC) name the run “mcao080920-g2938” and thus each CCD image will be mcao080920-g2938.0001.fits etc. The flats could then be mcao080920-flat.0001.fits and biases mcao080920-bias.0001.fits etc. The leading zeros when numbering your frames do help us quickly reduce the data.

• Calibrations: Please take Flats, Darks and Bias frames every night you take data.

  • Bias Frames: Take 20 bias frames.

  • Dark Frames: Take 20 darks with an exposure time of 30s.

  • Flat Frames: Take 30 dome flats through your filter. Or take as many sky flats through the filter as you can manage if you know your CCD is better characterized by sky flats.

• Filter: If you have a BG40 or S8612 filter, use that filter. Otherwise, use a V filter. Amplitudes are crucial, so we need to know what filter every one used. Please make a note of the filter in your log and, if possible, in the header of your fits files.

• Exposure time: G29-38 is a 13^th mag star. I expect our smaller telescopes to use a 10s exposure time and the larger telescopes to use a 5s exposure time. You should get ~2000 counts above the sky level at the center of the focused star.

• Finder Chart: The finder chart for G29-38 is found at the end of this document. Do try to get a bright comparison stars in the frame with G29-38. If you cannot get the reference star we specify, you may need to increase your exposure time so the dimmer reference stars have a significant number of counts above the sky level.

• Time Check: Please check the clock that is recording the time in your headers against a standard clock every night. You may use the Internet clock found at http://nist.time.gov/timezone.cgi?UTC/s/0/java. Even if you cannot change your clock, do this sanity check for us and note that you performed a time check in the log and also if there was any discrepancy.

• Log: Keep a text log each night. We suggest a name like mcao080920-log. In this log please give the star name, date and time, observer names, filter name, basic weather conditions, number of images on each target, and any information that will help reduce the data. Please include this file when you upload your data.

• Night Report: We have created a web form so you can immediately let us know that you got data or were clouded out. Go to

  http://www.physics.udel.edu/darc/damp2/nightreport/nightreport.html

  Please fill it out every night you try to observe. It asks you to estimate how long you looked at any object whose data you are going to upload to headquarters. This way we will know if we are missing data from you. The password is observatory dependent and will be emailed directly to the observer. It automatically updates a web table so you can immediately inform the entire collaboration that you have obtained data.

2. Upload Data

   Data should be uploaded to darc@daedalus.physics.udel.edu:/data/incoming/damp2/ with ssh or ftp. Please place your data in the directory for your observatory. Either put each night in its own directory or create a tar file for each night of observation. The password will be provided directly to the observer. Data can be uploaded at the end of your run if you prefer. We do ask that you fill out the night report after you have taken data each night so we know data is coming.

   • Run md5sum before you upload. e.g. `md5sum *.fits > mcao080920.md5'. The program md5sum exists on most unix machines. This way we can check that the upload was successful for all of your files. If you cannot do this let us know.

3. Contact Information.

   • Susan Thompson: sthomp@udel.edu, cell:719-271-9751, office: 302-831-1810

   • Judi Provencal : jlp@udel.edu

   • Mike Montgomery : mikemon@astro.as.utexas.edu