Adding an Observation

Start taking exposures

For Skynet to begin scheduling and dispatching exposures, an observation must be submitted. template, the observer can navigate to My Observatory in the main navigation bar near the top of the Skynet homepage after logging in. This will display a dropdown pane. Click on Optical Observing. From there, there is a small navigation pane in the upper right of the page. Click on the Add Observation option.

Add the Coordinates

When selecting the targets coordinates, the observer has the option to use the target lookup feature that uses local catalogs and SIMBAD to auto-populate the right ascension and declination of the target. However, since the CM is designed to be used for transient targets, it is unlikely that the target will be cataloged. Instead, the observer should manually enter the sky coordinates in the corresponding web form.

Specify the Observing Parameters

In addition to the coordinates, the observer will need to enter event-specific parameters are required to model the exposure lengths. These parameters were described previously in the User Guide page.

Specify the Priority

The Target-of-Opportunity (TOO) option must also be specified before submitting the observation. Though the CM is available without TOO, it is most effective when paired with it. Enabling this option gives the observer exclusive access to the specified telescopes for the duration of the observation. If multiple TOO observations from different observers are active on the same telescopes, Skynet’s load balancer is capable of handling such scenarios. Of course, only a select few have TOO access.

Specify the Delay

Finally, a configurable option to delay filter sequences is also available before submitting the observation. Adding a delay between filter sequences is useful for transients that vary slowly with time. The observer may choose from a fixed delay length or a delay length that scales based on the time since the event. With these parameters defined, the observation can be submitted and exposures will be immediately dispatched to the selected telescopes using the selected filters.