README web version of /home/usg/OPS/MTS/readme_xml/readme_82043200

Principal Investigator Email Address

• pontoppi@gps.caltech.edu

Estimated Total Execution Time (hours, including overheads)

• 25

General Description

• This program aims to detect emission from gaseous water and OH from protoplanetary
   disks with known water emission from low-resolution Spitzer spectra. 
  The water hot band at 2.96 micron produces lines with strengths 0.5-5% relative
   to the continuum. Hence we require high S/N spectra (S/N~200-500). 
  The program includes 8 protoplanetary disks in the Chamaeleon, Lupus and Ophiuchus
   star forming clouds. Further, we 
  are also obtaining spectra of 4 photospheric standards with spectral types corresponding
   to those of the young stars. This is necessary to 
  disentangle emission lines from the disk from photospheric absorption lines from
   M, K and G stars.

Waiver Requests

• A waiver to use free settings with CRIRES was approved

Critical Observing Condition Constraints

• Humidity requirements:
  Since we are observing water lines that have strong telluric counterparts, we require
   a relatively low column of precipitable water vapor at the time
  of observation. We are aware that there is no official measure of this at Paranal,
   but we would like to request that the observations are carried
  out during conditions with ~< 25% humidity - the smaller the better, of course.

Time-Critical Aspects

• Timing requirements:
  The science normally requires that the velocity shift between the telluric lines
   and the science spectra is maximized. This is achieved by
  observing the targets at times when they transit in the beginning or end of the
   night. For period 83, our
  RA ~16 hour targets are best observed August 1-September 15. We also have 4 RA ~
   11 hour, DEC ~ -77 targets. Since these targets are close to the celestial pole,
   they never
  reach very high velocity shifts. Hence, these 4 targets can be observed at any time.
   The remaining 4 RA~10 hour targets are best observed in June/July.
  In conclusion, while the timing is important, the requirements should have minimal
   impact on the scheduling.

Special Execution Requirements

• Derotator modes:
  Targets that can only be observed at high airmass due to their low declination are
   set to ELEV mode to avoid issues with differential refraction. 
  Low airmass targets use SKY mode since the line emission may be extended. One target
   is a binary for which we request to have both components in the slit.
  
  Acquisition:
  All our targets are the brightest star in the FOV, and acquisition should be simple.
   The AO reference star is always the same as the target, 
  and is always brighter than R~12. Some of the targets are binaries. In one case,
   we request to place both components in the slit. 
  However, in case of problems, the brightest component is always the top priority.
  
  Free settings:
  The used spectral settings are not standard, but have been extensively tested by
   us during other CRIRES programs.

Special Calibration Information

• Telluric standards
  All our science targets are coupled with a telluric calibration to be observed immediately
   before or after the science observation (at similar airmass), as is standard for
   CRIRES observations. The telluric standards are very bright stars (K~4), so are
   obvious to identify during acquisition. So apologies for attaching trivial finding
   charts for those (as required 
  by the phase II rules).

ToO Information

• ---(Empty)---

ToO Activators List

• ---(Empty)---

Do the README file and the instrument comments of the telluric stars
 OBs include the required S/N/pixel of the spectrum of the telluric star, its spectral
 type and allowed spectral range?

• YES

Do any OBs include wavelength or flatfield calibrations?

• NO

If you are observing Moving Targets, have you attached suitable ephemeris
 files to your OBs?

• N/A

If the slit viewer guide star is different from the target, are the RA
 and DEC offsets accurate to within 0.05 arcsec and do they take into account the
 relative proper motion between the two objects?

• N/A

If you have preferences which OBs should be executed first for objects
 at similar RA, did you make use of the User Priority field in the OBs?

• N/A