Mopra Schedule File Creator: On-the-Fly (OTF) Map V7.0

Schedule Metadata
Project / Year:
Observer Initials:
Schedule filename:
Please note: The directory for your project and year (e.g. ~/sched_tcs/2010/M123) must exist on bigrock. Also, you cannot overwrite files.
If either applies, you must create the directory or delete the existing file manually. The schedule maker will fail (gracefully) if either condition exists.
Correlator / Filterbank Configuration
MOPS Configuration:
Open graphical frequency editor
Center Frequency:  MHz
MOPS Zoom Band 1:   Enter up to four numbers, separated by a comma. (e.g. -37,-43,-51). Use the graphical frequency editor to determine the zoom window numbers.
MOPS Zoom Band 2:
MOPS Zoom Band 3:
MOPS Zoom Band 4:
Source Information
Coordinate system:   B1950  J2000     Galactic
Source Name:
Source Position:RA/GLon:     Dec/GLat: 
Map Parameters
Cell size:  arcsec (The spacing between integration cycles. Guidelines: 12" for 3mm, 22" for 7mm, 40" for 12mm)
Scan offset:  arcsec (The spacing between scan columns. Guidelines: 15" for 3mm, 30" for 7mm, 60" for 12mm)
Map size along the scans:  arcmin
Map size across the scans:  arcmin
Map orientation:  degrees (East of North on the sky, i.e. positive values for counterclockwise rotation)
Reference (OFF) Position Value: (absolute coordinates separated by a space)
Number of scanning rows per OFF: 2     1
Tsys (paddle) measurements after: min (enter "0" for 12- and 7-mm band observations)
Note: This is the minimum time between Tsys measurements. The earliest Tsys will be done after this time elapses, and the current scan as well as reference are complete.
Nyquist Frequency (optional): MHz
Time spent on OFF scans (optional): s
Proper motion of the source(optional): arcsec/hour

To refresh the screen using the default entries, press SHIFT and click the 'reload' button simultaneously.

Project

The project number assigned to your proposal.

Example: M007

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Observer

Initials or short name of the observer(s).

Example: ZOZ

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Schedule Filename

The filename to use when saving the schedule file to bigrock.

Example: ZOZ

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MOPS configuration

Select a MOPS configuration from the menu. MOPS refers to the Mopra Spectrometer, the new polyphase digital filterbank. MOPS is now the standard mode. MOPS can operate in wideband mode (8.2 GHz bandwidth) or zoom mode (137.5 MHz bandwidth). There is an option for the wideband mode to observe with only 1024 channels and therefore reduce the size of the data files. This third option is rarely used.

Example: MOPS zoom

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Central Frequency

Enter the centre frequency of the 8 GHz covered by MOPS. If Doppler tracking is enabled, the frequency here will be interpreted as the rest frequency of the observed line. If Doppler tracking is disabled the frequency here would be the actual observing frequency (sky frequency).

Make sure your frequency is within these limits:

Example: 92900

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MOPS Zoom Band values

For MOPS zoom mode use the mops_vis.pl script available on pyroclast to determine which values to enter into the 4 spectral windows of each band. For unused windows leave blank.

Example: 33,44,51,56

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Doppler Tracking

Enable/disable Doppler tracking. Note that this only adjusts the centre frequency, it does NOT continuously track the Doppler shift during an observation. For observing with MOPS it is recommended that Doppler tracking be disabled.

Example: disabled

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Radial Velocity

The radial velocity of your source. Also choose the reference frame, LSR (local standard of rest) or barycentric. The radial velocity information provided here will be ignored if Doppler tracking is disabled.

Coordinate system

The coordinate system of your coordinates. You may choose between equatorial (J2000 or B1950) or Galactic coordinates.

Example: J2000

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Source Name

Specify the name of your source here. If left blank the source name defaults to "source".

Example: Orion

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Source Position

Please provide the source coordinates in the specified coordinate system here. This determines the centre of the on-the-fly map. Please take care of the format: Equatorial, RA: hh:mm:ss DEC: dd:mm:ss, Galactic GLON: ddd.xxxxx GLAT: dd.xxxxx.

Example: RA: 23:41:32  DEC: -82:43:09

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Reference (OFF) Position Type

You may choose only absolute positioning for the reference position.

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Reference (OFF) Position Value

The position of the reference integration (2 values separated by a comma). Please take care of the format: Equatorial, RA: hh:mm:ss DEC: dd:mm:ss, Galactic GLON: ddd.xxxxx GLAT: dd.xxxxx.

Example 1:  12:33:15.3, -72:54:04.8   
Example 2:  366.4988, -54.0000   
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Map Width

The size of the map in arcmin. Only square maps are supported at this stage. The maps always have an odd number of rows so that one row passes through the map centre. Consequently the final map width may vary from what you specified here.

Example: 5

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Map orientation

The direction of the scans as measured by this angle counterclockwise on the sky from North.

Example: 325

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Number of scanning rows per OFF

Number of OTF rows before returning to the OFF position. You may choose 1 row for large maps (say more than 2 arcmin in size) and 2 for small maps.

Example: 1

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Tsys (paddle) measurements

For observing at 3-mm only. Approximate time in minutes between Tsys measurements, i.e., ambient load calibration using the paddle. The true intervals between the Tsys measurements may slightly vary from the input due to other constraints of the schedule.

* For observing at 7- and 12-mm no Tsys measurement is required. In this case enter "0" for the time interval. This will ensure no Tsys measurements are entered into the output schedule file.

Example: 15

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Nyquist Frequency:

This frequency value (in MHz) is used to calculate the Nyquist sampling rate for the scanning. Default is the value given in Observing Frequency.

Example: 88000

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Time spent on OFF scans:

Time spent on OFF scans in seconds. Default is calculated from the time spent on each row. Please seek advice from support staff if you require no reference scans.

Example: 120

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Spacing between rows:

Spacing in arcsec betwen rows (orthogonal to the scanning direction). Calculate from the Nyquist frequency using an extra 0.9 oversampling factor and a 2" guard band to mitigate against tracking errors.

Example: 40

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Cell Size

Beam size in arcsec (FWHM). Calculate from the Observing frequency with a Nyquist sampling rate (lambda/2D, where D=22 m). This value is then used to determine the scanrate.

Example: 40

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Proper Motion

(Note: This option has not been tested.)Proper motion of the source, in arcsec/hour in the directions of specified coordinate system (RA/Dec or GLON/GLAT). Two values separated by white space. Default is zero. Note: Proper motion tracing is inexact and based on an estimate of how time passes during the map. The map centre is updated at the beginning of each scan. You should give as the map centre the position of the source at the start of the map. Coordinates and proper motions of the planets are available on JPL's HORIZONS website.

Example: 10.2 -3.5

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Original: Balthasar Indermuehle (10-OCT-2009)
Modified: Balthasar Indermuehle & Nick Tothill (08-OCT-2010)