Night Reports 2018

In the tables below, Observing, Weather and Technical refer to time spent observing, time lost to bad weather, and time lost because of technical problems. Note that Observing includes time spent on calibration observations and, occasionally, scheduled on-sky test observations; Technical does not include scheduled downtime (e.g. for planned engineering work).

The Night Duty Officer estimates whether the night was photometric or non-photometric (spectroscopic) based on satellite imagery and SkyCam data obtained through the night. This is a qualitative assessment only and may not always be entirely accurate. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT, ON OCCASION, OBSERVATIONS REQUIRING PHOTOMETRIC CONDITIONS ARE ACQUIRED IN NON-PHOTOMETRIC CONDITIONS. Users should check the quality of their data carefully. Good, average and poor seeing refers to inferred zenith seeing of < 1.0 arcsec, 1.0-2.0 arcsec, and > 2.0 arcsec, respectively. Calima refers to a warm wind that occasionally blows over from the Sahara and brings a lot of fine dust forcing a shutdown to protect the optics.

SKYCAM MOVIES AND ATMOSPHERIC TRANSMISSION

Below we also provide links to Movies constructed from a sequence of optical images obtained with either SkyCam-A (covering the whole sky), SkyCam-T (a 9 degree field centred on each target; was 21 deg before Oct 2014) or SkyCam-Z (1 degree field). Images are obtained every minute or so throughout the entire night. These movies can usually be used to establish, qualitatively at least, how clear or cloudy a given night was. On bright nights (i.e. when the moon is up), the smaller-field camera's T and Z are often more useful than the full-sky camera A. Additional movies and still images are available from the Skycam Archive. Plots of SkyCamZ Zero Point data are also provided. Zero points here are defined with respect to APASS 10 < r < 13 with no colour term. These indicate to first order periods of thin or thick cloud. A clear night usually results in a flat distribution of ZP values, while thick cloud causes a dip in the ZP level. 'A', 'T' and 'Z' in the SkyCam columns refer to the camera from which the data were acquired.

July 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
19 Jul	7.2	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good seeing. Calima.	Z	A T Z
18 Jul	7.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
17 Jul	7.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing. FRODO was offline.	Z	A T Z
16 Jul	7.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
15 Jul	7.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
14 Jul	7.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Average seeing.	Z	A T Z
13 Jul	7.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
12 Jul	7.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric (cloud in twilight). Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
11 Jul	7.1	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric (thin cirrus). Seeing average.	Z	A T Z
10 Jul	7.1	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric (dust). Seeing good.	Z	A T Z
9 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric (dust). Seeing good.	Z	A T Z
8 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Seeing good. Dust levels rising.	Z	A T Z
7 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Seeing good	Z	A T Z
6 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Seeing good	Z	A T Z
5 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Seeing good/average. IO:I offline.	Z	A T Z
4 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Seeing good. Considerable dust extinction	Z	A T Z
3 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Scheduler mode set photometric, but probably some dust extinction. Seeing good	Z	A T Z
2 Jul	7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Seeing good	Z	A T Z
1 Jul	6.4	0.0	0.5	Photometric, seeing good/average	Z	A T Z

June 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
30 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
29 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
28 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
27 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
26 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
25 Jun	6.0	0.0	0.9	Photometric, average seeing. Poor pointings.	Z	A T Z
24 Jun	6.9	0.0	5.0	Photometric. Good seeing. Hydraulic Main Pump Fault.	Z	A T Z
23 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good - average seeing.	Z	A T Z
22 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good - average seeing.	Z	A T Z
21 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing throughout apart from spike of bad seeing in middle of night and for final hour of observation.	Z	A T Z
20 Jun	6.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing turned bad at end of night	Z	A T Z
19 Jun	6.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
18 Jun	6.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
17 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
16 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Set non-photometric but was in reality pretty clear, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
15 Jun	6.4	0.5	0.0	Average seeing. Set photometric, however cloud came in after dusk eventually being thick enough to close the enclosure around 4am.	Z	A T Z
14 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
13 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
12 Jun	5.4	1.5	0.0	Photometric, average seeing. High humidity.	Z	A T Z
11 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
10 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
9 Jun	6.9	0.0	0.0	Photmetric with good seeing.	Z	A T Z
8 Jun	2.6	4.3	0.0	Good seeing. Most of night lost to high humidity.	Z	A T Z
7 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric with good seeing.	Z	A T Z
6 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric with good seeing	Z	A T Z
5 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric with good seeing.	Z	A T Z
4 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric with average seeing.	Z	A T Z
3 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good-to-average seeing. IO:I offline.	Z	A T Z
2 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good-to-average seeing. IO:I offline.	Z	A T Z
1 Jun	7.0	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric; average seeing. IO:I offline.	Z	A T Z

May 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
31 May	5.5	1.1	0.5	Non-photometric, average/good seeing. Some cloud, and enclosure PLC fault near dawn.	Z	A T Z
30 May	7.1	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric; average/good seeing	Z	A T Z
29 May	7.1	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric; average seeing.	Z	A T Z
28 May	7.1	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric; good seeing.	Z	A T Z
27 May	7.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
26 May	7.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
25 May	0.3	6.9	0.0	Non-photometric, average seeing. High humidity for most of night.	Z	A T Z
24 May	5.7	1.6	0.0	Photometric with average seeing. Multiple short closures due to spikes in humidity.	Z	A T Z
23 May	6.7	0.6	0.0	Photometric, average/good seeing. High humidity briefly at end of night.	Z	A T Z
22 May	7.3	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, average/good seeing.	Z	A T Z
21 May	6.9	0.4	0.0	Photometric, average/good seeing. Spike in humidity towards end of night.	Z	A T Z
20 May	7.3	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
19 May	7.3	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Average seeing.	Z	A T Z
18 May	7.4	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
17 May	7.4	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
16 May	7.4	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
15 May	7.4	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Average seeing.	Z	A T Z
14 May	7.5	0.0	0.0	Photometric with average/good seeing.	Z	A T Z
13 May	7.5	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Seeing good becoming average.	Z	A T Z
12 May	7.5	0.0	0.0	Spectroscopic. Average seeing.	Z	A T Z
11 May	7.5	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
10 May	7.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
9 May	7.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
8 May	7.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
7 May	7.7	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
6 May	7.7	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
5 May	0.0	7.8	0.0	High humidity and freezing temperatures.	-	- - -
4 May	7.8	0.0	0.0	Set photometric, but some light cloud around at various points throughout the night. Average seeing.	Z	A T Z
3 May	7.2	0.7	0.0	Photometric, average seeing. High humidity.	Z	A T Z
2 May	7.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
1 May	0.0	7.9	0.0	High humidity.	-	- - -

April 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
30 Apr	7.9	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
29 Apr	8.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing. Full Moon.	Z	A T Z
28 Apr	8.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good-average seeing.	Z	A T Z
27 Apr	8.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good-average seeing.	Z	A T Z
26 Apr	8.0	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
25 Apr	8.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
24 Apr	0.0	7.0	1.1	High humidity, hydraulic system fault.	Z	A T Z
23 Apr	0.0	8.1	0.0	High humidity, no observing.	-	- - -
22 Apr	0.0	8.1	0.0	Closed for low temperature and high humidity.	-	- - -
21 Apr	0.0	8.1	0.0	Closed for low temperature and high humidity.	-	- - -
20 Apr	0.0	8.2	0.0	Closed for low temperature and high humidity.	-	- - -
19 Apr	0.0	8.2	0.0	Closed for low temperature and high humidity.	-	- - -
18 Apr	8.2	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
17 Apr	8.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric for most part of the night, good/average/poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
16 Apr	8.3	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
15 Apr	8.4	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
14 Apr	6.5	2.0	0.0	High humidity, non-photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
13 Apr	8.0	0.5	0.0	Photometric, good/average seeing. Short spell of high humidity	Z	A T Z
12 Apr	4.6	4.0	0.0	High humidity, average seeing, photometric.	Z	A T Z
11 Apr	7.6	1.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing. Closed briefly for high humidity.	Z	A T Z
10 Apr	8.0	0.6	0.0	Photometric, average seeing. High humidity before sunrise.	Z	A T Z
9 Apr	0.0	3.0	5.6	High humidity, low temp.	-	- - -
8 Apr	0.0	8.6	0.0	High humidity	-	-
7 Apr	8.7	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
6 Apr	0.5	8.2	0.0	High humidity	Z	A T Z
5 Apr	8.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Excellent seeing	Z	A T Z
4 Apr	8.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
3 Apr	8.8	0.0	0.0	Became non-p'metric towards end of night. Good seeing.	Z	A T Z
2 Apr	8.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Good seeing	Z	A T Z
1 Apr	0.0	8.8	0.0	Thick cloud and high humidity. IO:O offline.	-	- - -

March 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
31 Mar	8.9	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good seeing. IO:O offline later in evening.	Z	A T Z
30 Mar	8.9	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric; average seeing.	Z	A T Z
29 Mar	9	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric. Average-poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
28 Mar	8.3	0.7	0.0	Non-photometric, cloudy in evening, calima throughout night. Poor-to-average seeing.	Z	A T Z
27 Mar	0.0	9.1	0.0	No observing; cloud all night	-	- - -
26 Mar	9.1	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric; poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
25 Mar	9.1	0.0	0.0	Photometric with average seeing.	Z	A T Z
24 Mar	9.2	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric with average seeing.	Z	A T Z
23 Mar	9.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric with average/good seeing.	Z	A T Z
22 Mar	9.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric with average seeing.	Z	A T Z
21 Mar	9.2	0.0	0.0	Photometric with average seeing.	Z	A T Z
20 Mar	9.3	0.0	0.0	Photometric with average seeing	Z	A T Z
19 Mar	6.0	3.3	0.0	High humidity at start of night. Non-photometric with average seeing.	Z	A T Z
18 Mar	2.0	8.3	0.0	Non-photometric, good seeing. Close between 2100 and 0600 hours due to high humidity.	Z	A T Z
17 Mar	9.0	1.4	0.0	Opened late due to high humidity in the early evening. Non-photometric and good seeing for the rest of the night.	Z	A T Z
16 Mar	9.4	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, average/good seeing.	Z	A T Z
15 Mar	1.4	8.0	0.0	Photometric and average seeing. Close for high humidity in late evening.	Z	A T Z
14 Mar	1.4	8.0	0.0	Non-photometric and average seeing. Closed for high humidity in late evening.	Z	A T Z
13 Mar	9.4	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing until early morning. Thin cloud and average seeing after around 3am.	Z	A T Z
12 Mar	9.5	0.0	0.0	Photometric, good seeing.	Z	A T Z
11 Mar	9.5	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
10 Mar	9.5	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
9 Mar	0.0	4.7	4.9	Water contamination in hydraulic oil. High humidity.	-	- - -
8 Mar	0.0	9.6	0.0	Water contamination in hydraulic oil. High humidity and high winds.	-	- - -
7 Mar	0.0	4.8	4.8	Water contamination in hydraulic oil. High humidity.	-	- - -
6 Mar	0.0	0.0	9.7	Water contamination in hydraulic oil. High humidity.	-	- - -
5 Mar	0.0	7.6	2.1	Water contamination in hydraulic oil. High humidity.	-	- - -
4 Mar	0.0	9.7	0.0	High humidity. Ice on enclosure.	-	- - -
3 Mar	0.0	9.8	0.0	High humidity. Ice on enclosure.	-	- - -
2 Mar	0.0	8.8	1.0	High humidity. Ice on enclosure.	-	- - -
1 Mar	0.0	9.8	0.0	High humidity and wind. Ice on enclosure.	-	- - -

February 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
28 Feb	0.0	9.8	0.0	High humidity and wind. Ice on telescope.	-	- - -
27 Feb	0.0	9.8	0.0	High humidity and high wind speed. Ice on telescope.	-	- - -
26 Feb	0.0	9.9	0.0	High humidity + low temp. Ice build-up on telescope.	-	- - -
25 Feb	0.0	9.9	0.0	High humidity. Ice on telescope.	-	- - -
24 Feb	0.0	9.9	0.0	High humidity. Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
23 Feb	0.0	10.0	0.0	High humidity. Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
22 Feb	0.0	10.0	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
21 Feb	0.0	10.0	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
20 Feb	0.0	10.0	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
19 Feb	0.0	10.0	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
18 Feb	0.0	10.1	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
17 Feb	0.0	10.1	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
16 Feb	0.0	10.1	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
15 Feb	0.0	10.1	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
14 Feb	0.0	10.1	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
13 Feb	0.0	10.2	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
12 Feb	0.0	10.2	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
11 Feb	0.0	10.2	0.0	Ice on enclosure	-	- - -
10 Feb	0.0	10.2	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
9 Feb	0.0	10.3	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
8 Feb	0.0	10.3	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
7 Feb	0.0	10.3	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
6 Feb	0.0	10.3	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
5 Feb	0.0	10.4	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
4 Feb	0.0	10.4	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
3 Feb	0.0	10.4	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
2 Feb	0.0	10.4	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
1 Feb	0.0	10.4	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -

January 2018

Date	Hours Used			Comment	SkyCam
	Observing	Weather	Technical		ZP Plot	Movie
31 Jan	0.0	10.5	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure	-	- - -
30 Jan	0.0	10.5	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure.	-	- - -
29 Jan	0.0	10.5	0.0	High humidity, ice on enclosure.	-	- - -
28 Jan	0.0	10.6	0.0	High humidity and sub-zero temperature.	-	- - -
27 Jan	9.6	1.0	0.0	Photometric until early morning, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
26 Jan	10.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average/poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
25 Jan	10.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
24 Jan	8.6	2.0	0.0	Non-photometric, seeing improved over night from poor to good. Lost 2 hours to clouds early in the night.	Z	A T Z
23 Jan	7.6	3.0	0.0	Non-photometric, average seeing. Lost 3 hours to clouds early in the night.	Z	A T Z
22 Jan	10.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric and good seeing for most of the night, thin clouds and average seeing near morning twilight.	Z	A T Z
21 Jan	10.6	0.0	0.0	Photometric and average/poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
20 Jan	10.7	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average/poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
19 Jan	10.7	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
18 Jan	8.9	0.0	1.8	Photometric, average seeing. Cassegrain axis torque errors in middle of night.	Z	A T Z
17 Jan	0.0	10.7	0.0	Closed due to ice on enclosure and high humidity.	Z	A T Z
16 Jan	0.0	10.7	0.0	Closed all night due to high humidity and ice.	Z	A T Z
15 Jan	0.7	10.0	0.0	Closed most of the night for high humidity, high wind speed and ice risk. Poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
14 Jan	6.0	4.8	0.0	Photometric, average/poor seeing. High humidity.	Z	A T Z
13 Jan	3.0	7.8	0.0	Non-photometric, average seeing. High humidity.	Z	A T Z
12 Jan	10.7	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, good/average seeing.	Z	A T Z
11 Jan	7.3	0.0	3.5	Photoemtric, average seeing. Cass bearing fault.	Z	A T Z
10 Jan	10.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
9 Jan	10.8	0.0	0.0	Non-photometric, average seeing.	Z	A T Z
8 Jan	0.0	10.8	0.0	Ice on the enclosure.	-	- - -
7 Jan	0.0	10.8	0.0	Ice and humidity	-	- - -
6 Jan	0.0	10.8	0.0	High humidity & rain	-	- - -
5 Jan	6.5	4.3	0.0	Poor seeing. Intermittent humidity.	Z	A T Z
4 Jan	9.4	0.0	1.4	Photometric. Average/poor seeing. Cass bearing fault.	Z	A T Z
3 Jan	10.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
2 Jan	10.8	0.0	0.0	Photometric. Poor seeing.	Z	A T Z
1 Jan	0.0	0.0	10.9	Photometric. Poor seeing. Some obs in twilight, then E-stop fault.	Z	A T Z