README web version of /home/usg/OPS/MTS/readme_xml/readme_82066200

Principal Investigator Email Address

• Paul.Crowther@sheffield.ac.uk

Estimated Total Execution Time (hours, including overheads)

• 7.0

General Description

• MOS spectroscopy of Wolf-Rayet stars in NGC300, including the candidate
   Wolf-Rayet plus black hole binary NGC300 X-1 (alias WR41 from Schild et al 2003).
   Our primary science goal is to verify that the WR star (Crowther et al. 2007) is
   a genuine member of the 32.8 hr period binary NGC300 X-1 (Carpano et al. 2007) and
   provide a radial velocity curve for the HeII 4686 line in the WR star from which
   a mass estimate for the candidate black hole can be established. Secondary goals
   are to use MOS spectroscopy to confirm photometric WR candidates from Schild et
   al. (2003) and Crowther et al. (2007). 
  
  We require a total of 10 identical 25min exposures, with 2 exposures per night (minimum
   separation of 4 hr, or 1/8 of the orbital period) ideally spaced over 5 consecutive
   nights for the required phase coverage.  Observing conditions (seeing, cloud cover)
   are modest. All OBs NGC300X1-1 through NGC300X1-10 are identical. The target is
   observable for 5 consecutive hours each night during Oct/Nov 2008 - see below:
  
       RA & dec:   0 55 10.0, -37 42 13, epoch 2000.0
  Site long&lat:  +4 41 36.8 (h.m.s) West, -24 37 30 North.
  
  Shown: local eve. date, moon phase, hr ang and sec.z at (1) eve. twilight,
  (2) natural center of night, and (3) morning twilight; then comes number of
  nighttime hours during which object is at sec.z less than 3, 2, and 1.5.
  Night (and twilight) is defined by sun altitude < -18.0 degrees.
  
   Date (eve) moon      eve            cent           morn     night hrs@sec.z:
                      HA  sec.z      HA  sec.z      HA  sec.z    <3   <2   <1.5
  2008 Sep 28   N   -5 08   2.4    -0 32   1.0    +4 04   1.7   9.2   8.7   7.3 
  2008 Oct 14   F   -3 57   1.6    +0 26   1.0    +4 49   2.1   8.7   8.6   7.3 
  2008 Oct 28   N   -2 52   1.3    +1 20   1.1    +5 31   2.9   8.3   7.5   6.5 
  2008 Nov 12   F   -1 40   1.1    +2 19   1.2    +6 18   5.1   7.2   6.3   5.3 
  2008 Nov 27   N   -0 27   1.0    +3 22   1.4    +7 11  28.2   6.0   5.1   4.1 
  2008 Dec 11   F   +0 40   1.0    +4 23   1.8    +8 06  down   4.9   4.0   3.0 
  2008 Dec 26   N   +1 47   1.1    +5 30   2.9    +9 12  down   3.8   2.9   1.9 
  2009 Jan 10   F   +2 48   1.3    +6 36   7.0   +10 23  down   2.8   1.9   0.9

Waiver Requests

• No Waiver Request was submitted

Critical Observing Condition Constraints

• None

Time-Critical Aspects

• We require well spaced observations (2 OBs/night, separated by a minimum
   of 4 hrs or 1/8 of the orbital period) ideally over a period of 5 consecutive nights
   to establish the radial velocity curve of the WR star and so provide a mass estimate
   for the candidate black hole. The target is avaialable for 5 consecutive hours per
   night during Oct/Nov 2008 (see table in general description).

Special Execution Requirements

• 2 observations of 25 minutes per night, separated by a minimum of 4 hours
   (1/8 orbital period), ideally over 5 consecutive nights to provide the necessary
   phase coverage. Observing conditions (seeing, cloud) are modest.

Special Calibration Information

• None

ToO Information

• N/A

ToO Activators List

• N/A

Is this a Pre-imaging run ?

• false

Pre-imaging Requirements

• N/A

Source(s) of Pre-imaging

• FORS2

Pre-imaging sources not listed above

• ---(Empty)---

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

• YES

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 ?

• 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 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 ?

• N/A

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 have prepared your finding charts with tools other than FIMS,
 do they comply with the specifications on the FORS1 Phase 2 web page ?

• N/A