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ATCA Release notes for 2014OCT



ATCA observing: An important change for the 2014OCT semester is that the default observing location for all ATCA observations is the Science Operations Centre (SOC) at the ATNF headquarters in Marsfield, Sydney. Observers will no longer have the option of travelling to Narrabri to conduct routine observations. ATNF's aim is that the observing support provided at the SOC will be to the same standard as was provided at Narrabri, and as a result the Duty Astronomer and some science operations staff will be located in Sydney. Suitably qualified observers may conduct their observations remotely, as in the past, but their annual visit to requalify must now be made to the SOC. It is now possible to video-conference directly from the SOC to the control room at Narrabri should the need arise to consult with Observatory staff. ATCA support standards and observer qualifications will be revisited later this year.

The Marsfield site has a Lodge which is able to provide on-site accommodation for observers and DAs. Please use this webform to book at least two weeks in advance to ensure a room is available.

CABB modes: The 2014OCT semester will commence with the "standard" CABB 1MHz continuum mode available, and with up to 16 zoom bands per IF available in the 1M-0.5k mode. The 64MHz CABB mode provides 32 channels of 64MHz bandwidth, and with up to 16 zoom bands (each having 2048 channels across it) in each IF. There is also a hybrid mode, with 2048 x 1MHz channels in IF1 (and no zooms) and 32 x 64MHz channels in IF2 (with zooms). Finally, a pulsar binning mode is also available. CABB mode changes are mostly routine, except for changes to the 1MHz zoom mode, 64 MHz zoom mode, and hybrid mode, which require approximately one hour: this mode change is done by local staff or suitably trained others. In the graphical version of the schedule the requested CABB mode is shown in the top right corner of each block. The mode "1M*" designates those proposals which requested a different mode (usually the 64MHz mode) but without justification, and so they have been allocated the 1MHz (no zooms) mode.

Millimetre Swap Projects: In several cases, a 7mm project has been partnered with a later block of time so that the two can be swapped in the event of poor weather for the mm program. See the Swap notes page for more details.

NAPA Proposals: A number of NAPA (Non A Priori Assignable) proposals have been submitted for ATCA in 2014OCT. If triggered, a NAPA proposal may displace a proposal with a lower grade: see the linked page for more details.

Daylight Saving: Daylight saving in New South Wales starts again on the first Sunday in October, Oct 5th 2014 at 2:00am when clocks will be put forward one hour. During the daylight saving period, local "clock time" is one hour ahead of AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time), so 7am AEST is 8am daylight saving time. Daylight saving in New South Wales ends at 3:00am (AEDT) on the first Sunday in April, April 5th 2015, when clocks will be put back one hour. Note that the ATCA schedule is in AEST, so for most of the 2014OCT semester, local time (AEDT) is one hour later than AEST.

Public Holidays: Monday October 6th is the Labour Day public holiday in NSW. Thursday December 25th is the Christmas Day public holiday, and Friday December 26th is the Boxing Day public holiday. Monday 29th December is an additional public service holiday. Monday January 26th is the Australia Day public holiday.

Version history: Version 1 of the schedule was released on 2014 September 1.


Generated: Phil Edwards (14-mar-2014)