Principal Investigator Email Address
marchi@pd.astro.it
Estimated Total Execution Time (hours, including overheads)
3
General Description
This program is aimed to acquire visible spectra of NEREID. Nereid is a moving target, with a low sky motion. The RA and DEC velocities are labelled 'dRA*cosD' and 'd(DEC)/dt' respectively, and provided in the ephemeris file, for each target position, in arcsec/sec. The observer must enter this information in the OB at the exact time of the observation. Careful attention has to be paid to the identification and positioning of the target in the slit. NOTE that no visible spectra of Nereid have been published up to now. Hence these observations are very important. We plan to use the following instrument setup for each OB: NTT+EMMI+Grism#1+ slit2.0, which is the only one good for our purposes. In particular we stress that we need the slit2.0, and not any other slit. For each configuration I prepared an OB. Each OB is independent, i.e. it contains acquisition and spectroscopy. As Nereid is a moving target, before starting with spectroscopy it is ALWAYS better to check its position in the slit. Finally, spectra of TWO solar analogs have to be taken. They are landolt 115-271 and 112-1333. NOTE that the same instrument setup as for Nereid MUST be used for the two analogs.
Waiver Requests
No Waiver Request was submitted
Critical Observing Condition Constraints
There are no special constraints in performing these observations. The target is quite far from Neptune, so no occultations are possible and hence it is always well visible. Nereid has to be tracked with the telescope. Nereid is visible in August-September 2006, for about 6 hours per night. Ephemeris have been provided for this period. As the target is not so bright (V=18.7), it is preferable to observe in the best conditions, that is with airmass less than 1.4. We do not require special moon conditions, as indicated in the OBs. The available service night (as reported in the schedule available on the ESO web site) is the 24th Sep 2006, but we hope that some time would be available, amoung the calibration plans. The available nights are listed in the Time-Critical section.
Time-Critical Aspects
The best period for observing Nereid is August-September 2006 because it is observable for about 6 hours per night. The only constriction is due to airmass value. We underline that the target must be observed with an airmass value lesser that 1.4. We do not require special moon conditions, in order to allow observations. We remind, however that it is preferable to perform the observations as far as possible from the new moon, if it is possible, because Nereid is quite faint. In any case, ephemeris are provided for all the nights during September. According to the observations plan for September, from the ESO web site, the available nights for our project would be: 2-3-Sep-2006, 24-Sep-2006, 29-30-Sep-2006. We provide finding charts for all the listed nights. Two files per night are provided: the first covers a 10arcmin x 10arcmin FoV, while the other one is a zoom of 2arcmin x 2arcmin. In each finding chart we report the date, and also the UT when the observing conditions (for airmass) are the best. We provide, also, a DSS map, for each night. It is better to acquire the spectrum when the target is high in the sky, that is, when its airmass is lesser than 1.4. In the ephemeris table, this parameter is reported. Hence, before scheduling, please be sure that the target airmass satisfies the request. Please contact the PI before scheduling, if new finding charts are required.
Special Execution Requirements
As indicated in the General Description, we plan to observe Nereid with RILD. IMPORTANT: the position of the target vary with time, because Nereid is a moving target. Before starting with an OB, the astronomer HAS TO insert some values in the OBs. This can only be done at the moment of the observation. These values are: RA and DEC, differential tracking in RA and DEC, rotator offset angle. These values can be directly retrieved in the ephemeris files (computed every 15 minutes). In all the observations, the slit HAS TO be oriented along the parallactic angle, as reported in the OBs. For this reason, the slit position is not drawn on the finding charts. PLEASE be careful in identifying and positioning Nereid into the slit. The target must be well centered into the slit, to avoid to loose flux. Though the observations are quite standard, we remind that the telescope setup is very important. In fact it must be the SAME for Nereid and the two solar analogs. For our observations, we require the following setup: NTT+EMMI+Grism#1+ slit2.0 We plan to acquire 8 spectra of Nereid and 2 spectra of 2 different solar analogs (Landolt 112-1333 and Landolt 115-271), in the following order: 1. first spectrum for the solar analog Land 112-1333 (CAL_land_112-1333_RILD_1), 2. second spectrum for the solar analog Land 112-1333 (CAL_land_112-1333_RILD_2), 3. pointing Nereid, and acquire the 1st 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_1), 4. acquire the 2nd 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_2), 5. acquire the 3rd 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_3), 6. acquire the 4th 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_4), 7. acquire the 5th 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_5), 8. acquire the 6th 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_6), 9. acquire the 7th 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_7), 10. acquire the 8th 600 sec spectrum of Nereid (MOV_Nereid_RILD_8), 11. first spectrum for the solar analog Land 115-271 (CAL_land_115-271_RILD_1), 12. second spectrum for the solar analog Land 115-271 (CAL_land_115-271_RILD_2). The OB name is reported into parentheses. NOTE that both the solar analogs are NECESSARY for our purposes, and that both stars MUST be observed twice. The spectra of the target and the solar analogs must be acquired during the same night and consecutively, as specified above, in order to be sure that the weather conditions are quite similar for all the objects. This is of great important to minimize the errors, during data reduction.
Special Calibration Information
HeAr calibration lamps are required, with two different set-ups: the 1st is NTT+EMMI+Grism#1+ slit1.0, to have well defined and narrower lamp lines, while the 2nd one is NTT+EMMI+Grism#1+ slit2.0. Notice that the NTT+EMMI+Grism#1+ slit1.0 set-up is THE BEST one for our porposes. The 2nd set-up is needed in the case there should be some shifts between the slit 1.0" and the slit 2.0" calibration lines. We stress that WE NEED BOTH set-ups for calibration lamps.
ToO Information
ToO Activators List
Is this a Pre-imaging run ?
false
Pre-imaging Requirements
Source(s) of Pre-imaging
Pre-imaging sources not listed above
Do all your OBs comply with the instrument-specific requirements listed on the instrument-specific Phase 2 web page ?
If this is a pre-imaging run, did you select PRE-IMAGING for the Observing Category for each Observing Template ?
N/A
Do all your finding charts comply with both the general and instrument-specific Phase 2 Web Pages ?
If you submitted OBs for standard stars, did you specify the magnitude and spectral type of all standard stars in the OBs ?
Have you included OBs for any calibrations that you need but which are not part of the Calibration Plan ?
N/A
If you are observing Moving Targets, have you attached suitable ephemeris files to your OBs?
If you have preferences which OBs should be executed first, did you make use of the User Priority field in the OBs ?
If this is a run that requires coordinated observations with other facilities, did you give proper instructions in the Time-Critical Aspects Section ?
N/A