Hacked Observing Software for NSOCSUN IR Cam wIDL Widgets

1
Hacked Observing Software for NSO/CSUN IR Cam
w/IDL Widgets

• Matt Penn, NSO ( Cal State Northridge)

2
The Basic Idea

• Do new solar observations at the SFO Big Dome
  accessible to students and producing useful
  scientific results.
• The upgrade idea take IR spectropolarimetry data
  with the CSUN/SFO 24-inch vacuum telescope and
  spectrograph

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The Way to do it

• The Dept of Defense funded a proposal to purchase
  a new 256x256 HgCdTe camera system at 189K
• In October 2001 Rockwell Science delivered the
  system to CSUN/SFO (Jonathan Clarke, James
  Garnett)
• (I joined NSO 1 Aug thus the NSO/CSUN Camera
  system)

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The NSO/CSUN Camera System

• TCM2620 HgCdTe 256x256 array w/clocking and
  readout electronics
• One PC for camera control and data handling
  running Win2000
• A 1-liter LN2 dewar
• J,H,K and 10830 cold filters
• LN2 auto-fill equipment
• IDL test software a7.pro

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NSO/CSUN IR Camera Future Users

• CSUN Faculty
• Steve Walton
• Gary Chapman
• CSUN Students
• Jose Ceja
• Rebecca Linck
• Greg Frye
• Elizabeth Bell

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The Problem

• a7.pro had a poor real-time display and saved
  images in csv mode

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The Answer

• a7.pro was hacked apart to form irobs.pro
• Using IDL widgets irobs.pro facilitates
  spectrograph setup like focus and tilt by doing
  on-the-fly dark and/or flat corrections.
• Irobs.pro also provides simple 3-D fits file
  storage for time sequence data and simple fits
  reader

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IDL Widgets Basics

• irobs.pro describes the widgets
• base WIDGET_BASE(TITLE "IROBS", row2,
  XSIZE400)
• button_labels2'getDark','getFDark','getFlat','ge
  tData','getSeq','Imaging'
• mu1'1\SYSTEM','0\Init','0\Colors','2\Exit
• row1 widget_base(base,/row)
• second_menu_id CW_BGROUP(row1, button_labels2,
  column6, /RETURN_NAME)
• widget_control,base,TLB_SET_XOFFSEToxbase
• WIDGET_CONTROL,base, /REALIZE
• XMANAGER,"irobs",base,GROUP_LEADERGROUP

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IDL Widgets Basics

• Irobs_event.pro handles the events
• PRO irobs_event, event
• choiceevent.value
• CASE choice OF
• 'getSeq' begin
• getFITSseq
• end
• 'Imaging'Imaging

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The Demo

• About 60 IDL routines included currently
• Simulation getfakedata.pro to feed fake data
  into the program pipeline.

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Sample Data
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The Plan

• irobs.pro modified to include circular
  polarimetry for 18-28 Mar 2002 run at Kitt Peak
  McM/P
• Circular polarimetry at CSUN/SFO sum 2002
• Full Stokes polarimetry McM/P win/spr 2003
• Full Stokes polarimetry CSUN/SFO sum 2003
• Real software will be written when other
  resources become available (CSUN new hire).