MIDI Instructions for Visiting Astronomers

The Visitor Mode of MIDI requires the presence on-site of the PI or the co-PI of the program to supervise the observations.The Visitor Mode is advised for targets that are embedded in a complex IR field-of-view. In Visitor Mode, in addition to all the Service Mode capabilities, you can ask to have different parameters for the number of scans and the number of frames for the photometry exposures.

To prepare the observations in Paranal, you will need to:

• Read the User Manual,
• Learn how to use the Preparation Software,
• Know how to use P2PP,
• Have a defined observing strategy (scheduling of targets and calibrators)
• Have a possible backup plan (should your source not be observable because of wind direction and speed).

If no backup program was mentioned in your phase 1 proposal, so must you seek approbation to the head of PSO before the beginning of the run. Once at the observatory, you will receive support from an astronomer, of the Paranal Science Operations (PSO) team, to prepare your observations; but we can be contacted anytime beforehand to answer any pending question.