This is a summary of normal IGRINS use for observers at DCT

Before You Begin:

Check IGRINS is healthy, verify with your TO

 The HKP should always be running

 (screen shot)

Start of Night:

1. Wake up ICC on the left (a big iMac) and close all the inactive windows (HKP, DTP, SCP, QLP)

2. Turn on the IG proxy  by clicking the icon on the top right corner of the iMac desktop

3. Turn on the IG software (HKP house keeping package, SCP slitview camera, DTP data taking package) using a terminal

> cd igrins/igrins_admin
>cat  icsrun_dct.sh    
(check contents)
>sh icsrun_dct.sh

HKP, SCP and DTP windows will automatically open

4. Start the HKP. In the HKP gui, click the “periodic monitoring”  and, below that, the “Send Alert (T>20)” buttons

Calibrations:

First half of the night - order should be tests, darks, flat offs, flat ons, science

Second half of the night - order should be test, science, darks, flat offs, flats ons (to reduce persistance from the flat lamps on the calibrations)

1. Test Exposures

In the Status box, the following lines (for the SVC, and then for both H and K in the DTP) should appear:

• •  “[time] NFS connection succeeded”
  •  “[time] Detector Status Check”
  •  “[time] Detector is Ready” 

Take a test image on both SVC and with the HK detectors to test readout

• • Turn off ‘automatically save’ 
  • Use shortest exposure 1.63s

If you see noise pattern or low-resolution image, repeat the short exposures or contact observing support

2. Darks

(May be done without a TO. Note - if TCS is not running, which your TO is in charge of, the header information will not be completely accurate and you will see a bunch of error messages)

Check all the lights are off around the telescope

Setup:

• • dome is closed
  • instrument cube is closed
  • all lights are off

Note - the telescope has to be at zenith to close the cover

Using the DTP, take darks:

3. Flats

(TO is required)

Ask your TO to:

• • move the telescope to flat position
  • open the telescope and instrument cube
  • put in the IGRINS fold mirror
  • turn on TCS

A. FLAT OFF: Take flat offs before the flat lamps are on (required for pipeline)

Wait for your TO to make sure the telescope is ready

Using the DTP:

B. FLAT ON: Take flats with the flat lamps on (also required for pipeline)

Kindly ask your TO to turn on the Flat lamps

Using the DTP:

Taking Data:

Note: Unless absolutely required for your science, please disable the autosave feature on the slit camera viewer. This will save 30GB of space each night. 

Note: When keeping logs, track the A or B location of your frames. Your data reduction will be better in cases where you manually change the nod location or have bad frames.

Note: The RA and DEC boxes in the DTP must be populated in order for the frames to be saved. If they are missing you will waste a full exposure time.

Note: You need at least one 300s sky frame each night for the PLP to work correctly. If you will not get one of these for your science, then get one to help with reductions.

Note: The A and B box positions need to be verified each night because the slit moves in its holder up to 5 pixels between observing runs.

Advanced Options:

1. Looking at your data

ds9:

Quicklook:

 > cd igrins/igrins_admin

  >sh run_qlp.sh

  This will open two different windows (each H and K)

 Checking the "fits" button will enable you to look at a specific image, or alternatively, the "Auto Refresh" button will update with each newly obtained spectra.

2. Using a target list

3. Changing the PA

4. Guiding

A. No Guiding

For exposures less than 300s, guiding is not necessary at the DCT. 

B. On-Slit Guiding with Target

When your target is bright and relatively unsaturated in the SVC 

1. 1. Choose "Gaussian 2D" or "" as a centroid algorithm. 
   2. Place the target on the reference position by clicking the target, and "Go R" button on the ***
   3. dAX & dAY, dBX & dBY can be redefined for either AB nodding or On-Off nodding 
      1. Click "Select A-B & Guide Position" if these were changed
   4. Click "Set Reference & Ready to Guide"
   5. In the DTP window select "Move A" and then "Start AB Box"
   6. Monitor guiding

C. Off-Slit Guiding with Guide Star

Method 1: Unknown Offset (Target visible but faint) - click and guide.

Off-slit guiding when you see the target and the guide star in a slit camera view but don't know the offsets. 

1. Choose "2D Gaussian Fitting" as a centroid algorithm. 
2. Place the target on the reference position by clicking the target, and "Go R" button.
3. dAX & dAY, dBX & dBY can be redefined for either AB nodding or On-Off nodding 
   1. Click "Select A-B & Guide Postion" is these were changed.
4. Click "Use Guide Position". 
5. Click the guide star and "Sel G". Make sure the pink box moved on to the guide star.
6. Click "Set Reference & Ready to Guide".
7. In the DTP window select "Move A" and "Start Guide Box".  --Watch guiding.

Method 2: Known Offset in Slit_length (dSL) and Slit_width (dSW)

Method 3: Known Offset in RA

Off-slit guiding with known offsets in RA & Dec between a (faint) target and a guide star.

Method 4: Known Offset in Pixels

Off-slit guiding with known offsets in Pixels between a (faint) target and a guide star.

1. Choose "2D Gaussian Fitting" as a centroid algorithm. 
2. Click "Use Guide Position" in DTP. 
3. Enter nod position and guide offsets.
   1. dAX & dAY, dBX & dBY can be redefined for either AB nodding or On-Off nodding.
   2. Type dGX and dGY values in pixels.
4. Click "Select A-B & Guide Postion".
5. Take a single exposure on the Slit Camera View (SCV) package
6. Click the guide star on the Image Window.
7. Click "Go G" button and take a single exposure to see the pink box moved to the guide star.
8. Target is now located back on the reference position ("R").
9. Click "Set R & Ready to Guide".
10. "Move A" and "Start Guide Box".  --Watch guiding.

Note that the annular guiding (DCT Guiding system) is currently not an option with IGRINS due to the focus required for IGRINS.

5. Using the ABBA script

End of Night:

1. On the HKP gui, make sure that the “periodic monitoring”  and, below that, the “Send Alert (T>20)” buttons stay in effect and that this package stays open and running

2. Close the SVC and DPT windows

3. Close the IG proxy