README web version of /home/usg/OPS/MTS/readme_xml/readme_82061700

Principal Investigator Email Address

• prichter@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de

Estimated Total Execution Time (hours, including overheads)

• 32

General Description

• The Galactic high-velocity clouds (HVCs) are massive clouds of neutral
   hydrogen
  gas outside the Milky Way disk, tracing (a) low-metallicity material left over
  from the formation of the Milky Way, (b) the Magellanic Stream, a tidal tail
  pulled out of the SMC by the Milky Way, and (c) a ``Galactic Fountain'' - the
  cycling of gas between the Disk and the Halo. Knowing their distances and
  metallicities allows us to estimate the rate of circulation of gas between the
  Disk and the Halo, as well as the rate of infall of low-metallicity material.
  For the current proposal we have selected three HVCs with known
  metallicity, whose distance we intend to determine. The proposed target 
  list includes a total of 27 stars with known distances toward the three HVCs.
  We will use the spectra of these stars to search for interstellar CaII absorption
  in the HVCs and to constrain in this way the distances of the clouds. This will
   allow 
  us to place these HVCs in the circumgalactic environment of the Galaxy. The
  data will provide crucial new information about the role of the HVCs 
  for the ongoing formation and evolution of the Milky Way.

Waiver Requests

• No Waiver Request was submitted.

Critical Observing Condition Constraints

• None.

Time-Critical Aspects

• None.

Special Execution Requirements

• None.

Special Calibration Information

• None.

ToO Information

• None.

ToO Activators List

• None.

Do all your OBs comply with the instrument-specific requirements listed
 on the instrument-specific Phase 2 web page ?

• YES

Do all your finding charts comply with both the general and instrument-specific
 Phase 2 Web Pages ?

• YES

If you submitted OBs for standard stars, did you specify the magnitude
 and spectral type of all standard stars in the OBs ?

• N/A

Have you specified the S/N ratio at given wavelength in the User Comments
 field of each OB?

• YES

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?

• N/A

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

• YES

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

If you need secondary guiding, are there suitable objects within 30 arcsec
 from your target ?

• N/A