README web version of /home/usg/OPS/MTS/readme_xml/readme_83001700

Principal Investigator Email Address

• driebe@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de

Estimated Total Execution Time (hours, including overheads)

• 10

General Description

• This is a program aiming at observations of the outer atmopshere of 4
   oxygen-rich Mira stars. Together with observations in forthcoming periods we plan
   to monitor the phase- and cycle-dependent changes of the apparent size of the stars
   and the size differences between continuum and the molecular CO bands at 2.3 micron.
   All observations should be carried out in medium spectral resolution mode using
   FINITO. Since we aim at detecting cycle-to-cycle variations in the apparent sizes
   of our targets, a good absolute visibility calibration is a key issue for our program.
   
  
  The DIT should be at least 200 ms to cover all 512 detector pixels, i.e. to get
   a spectral window as large as possible. In order to be compliant with the current
   requirements for both AMBER and FINITO, we have chosen at DIT of 1 sec for all OBs.
  
  Since all 4 targets are Mira stars, the following should be noted concerning the
   visual magnitudes of the science targets: We used the AAVSO database to extrapolate
   the expected visual brightness to the most likely observing time within P83 (based
   on RA). By doing this, we checked that all 4 targets can be easily guided without
   external Coude guide star, since the condition V brighter than 13th magnitude is
   fullfilled in all 4 cases. The expected V magnitude for P83 is the one specifield
   in the science target OBs. Note that in the finding charts attached to the OBs,
   the brightness is in some cases very different from the one expected for the P83
   observations. For instance, for S Gru we expect that the visual brightness will
   be close to maximum in late Aug/early Sep 2009 (V = 8 mag), while S Gru is obviously
   around minimum in the digital V band image attached to the OB. The K- and H-band
   magnitude changes of all targets are within 1 mag and can, therefore, be neglected
   in the context of sensitivity issues.

Waiver Requests

• No Waiver Request was submitted

Critical Observing Condition Constraints

• There are no time-critical observing conditions for this program.

Time-Critical Aspects

• There are no time-critical aspects for this program.

Special Execution Requirements

• None

Special Calibration Information

• All calibrators have been chosen from the CalVin database provided by
   ESO.

ToO Information

• ---(Empty)---

ToO Activators List

• ---(Empty)---

Is this a Pre-imaging run ?

• false

Pre-imaging Requirements

• ---(Empty)---

Source(s) of Pre-imaging

• ---(Empty)---

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

Did you indicate for each science star OB the corresponding calibrator
 star OB (and vice versa) in the 'Instrument Comments' field ?

• YES

Did you check that your chosen calibrator is bright enough for the instrument
 mode used ?

• YES

If you use calibrator stars which are not in the CalVin database, did
 you specify their characteristics in the README file and in the OBs ?

• N/A

Do you use the same DIT for pairs of science target and associated calibrator?

• YES

Are the magnitudes of science target and calibrator within +/- 1 mag
 ?

• YES

Did you verify that your coordinates are as accurate as possible (2Mass
 coordinates recommended) and that they include proper motions if available ?

• YES

Did you specify the LST range of the calibrators such that they cover
 the range from 30 min before the start of the LST range of the science target to
 30 min after the end of the LST range of the science target ?

• YES