Images of the glorious mountain accommodations!

I am the third person in a sequence of six people who are divying up a 35 day run on this telescope. Our number one priority is a certain binary star system with a period of 28 days - we have other instruments observing it at the same time in other wavelengths (gamma ray, X-ray, radio), i.e., a multi-wavelength campaign.
We switch between looking at the spectrum of the star in red colors to looking in blue colors during the night. There are also some other side projects - heck, it's a 35 night run!

My telescope, the Coudé Feed and how to use it.

Click on pictures to make them bigger :)

The Timeline:

Saturday, October 25, 2008
4:15 a.m. - alarm went off :( Ugh. Only 2 hours (damn file transfer crap - ARGH!)
5:00 a.m. - got on the road to airport (such nice friends :) )
6:00 a.m. - flight to Denver - slept fitfully and unhappily
      - on Tucson flight slept a little better but still feel awful
9:25 a.m. MST (thus akin to PDT) - landed in Tucson - SO GORGEOUS (clear blue sky, warm sun, nice temperature - high 70s, dry, slightest of breezes)
      - shared ride van to NOAO headquarters, chatted with an ACTUAL rocket scientist! He's doing stuff with the boosters on the Atlas rocket
11 a.m. - ended up taking an earlier shuttle than planned, stopped for some munchies (the mountain food gets a little old after a week ;) ), found the dance station after a while, nice leisurely drive - saw a huge pumpkin patch with LOTS of people picking their own pumpkins :)
      Day 1:         The daytime weather  
1 p.m. - arrived on mountain, got keys and unpacked (I like to put stuff in drawers while here :) ), took a nap til 3:30, walked around, but nothing to do really so went and took another little nap ;)
4:50 p.m. - got up and went to dinner, found Rachel (grad student with the shift before mine) - salad bar, fries, bean/cheese burrito, icky spinach, mixed veggies, good pineapple :)
5:45 p.m. - up to the telescope! Got ready
      The lovely sunset      
6:33 p.m. - first star!! Observing stars and chatting with Rachel
10 p.m. - switched to blue
      - went down to kitchen for hot chocolate, Rachel went to bed (has to drive down at 7 a.m. tomorrow!)
12 midnight - finally put on radio ;) Rar, cannot get the dance station to stream :(
      - gosh these blue exposures are long...
2:30 a.m. - switched to red
      - checking red exposure times to use better times for future observations
5 a.m. - gotta switch back to blue for 3 stars!!! Cripes!
5:15 a.m. - got the night report call
5:50 a.m. - last exposure done! Beautiful sunrise with gorgeous small crescent moon
6:17 a.m. - done closing down, now off to bed.
      - I'm so glad I took naps :) Goodness yes!!
      - hmmm, forgotted jammy pants :( DAMN
      Ah sunrise :)
Total observing time: 11 hrs
Star total: 38
My soundtrack for the night: chatting, the radio

Sunday, October 26, 2008
      Day 2:         The daytime weather   so very clear...
9:15 a.m. - do not want to be up! Okay, back to sleep :)
12 noon - okay fine, now I'm up - dang blackout shade is not quite good enough
      mmm, lunch - ham/turkey sammich, applesauce, pineapple and sat outside, Cooking Light
      took shower
1:45 p.m. - out taking pictures (like this one of a fascinating version of a sundial ), wandering, visitors center, got ahold of neighbor
      wandered up to telescope, checking stuff, sent e-mail to collaborator, organized plan for tonight (start blue, will do spectrophotometry if night is good)
4:40 p.m. - guess I'll go back down for dinner, make photocopies, sit in sun... :)
      The lovely sunset but it looks a lot like yesterday's...
5:25 p.m. - now to start getting ready!
      - hmmm, still light out... But that's okay
      - grrr, drive alarm - reset and now fine
5:49 p.m. - domes are officially open! Looks like a great night!
5:52 p.m. - I'm all ready to go! :) Sun's not quite set yet... I'm gonna go take a picture
6:08 p.m. - yay! First star! (had to go away from sunset for a bit...)
      - mmm, long blue exposure...
7:53 p.m. - switched to red
8:05 p.m. - start spectrophotometry - OMG
9:12 p.m. - finished spectrophotometry - OMG so fast! I'll do better next round...
9:55 p.m. - switched to blue again for a bit - yay long exposures!!! :)
      - oh yeah, there's a radio ;)
11:30 p.m. - back to red
12:20 a.m. - spectrophotometry again! But this time I was totally prepared! :) Much much easier!
1:10 a.m. - done with round 2 of spectrophotometry! One more to go...
2:30 a.m. - it's getting really windy now :( I went out for a sec to see if there are any clouds, but there aren't, just wind! Even though the night is great, may not get to do more spectrophotometry... It's moving my star around a lot :(
      - finally got Energy92.7 (dance station) going on my computer but found out that they will close down on Halloween! :( Dammit. I liked that station...
      - Yay for my hat! :)
3:40 a.m. - back to blue! I won't get everything but I'll get close...
      - wind is a little better
      - man is it dry here! My eyes are unhappy. And the water is cold.
      - mmm, salad :) And Oreos! ;)
      - checked the focus (using comps) - within acceptable parameters :)
5:13 a.m. - got the call for my report
      - wind is dying down a little (stars aren't moving as much)
      - hah! I'm gonna push it WELL into twilight :) - it worked!
6:15 a.m. - Done with last exposure!
6:41 a.m. - finally have everything closed, off, done
      One of the best features of the Coude Feed is getting to go outside to open/close the shed, thus getting to see gorgeous sunsets/sunrises. However, I have to go outside when the wind is whipping around out there! :( I thought I'd get blown over...
      - off to bed!! Lovely sunrise...
     
Total observing time: 12 hrs
Star total: 49
Music: radio, streaming version of Energy92.7

Monday, October 27, 2008
      Day 3:         The daytime weather is the same as yesterday... Not a cloud in the crystal clear blue sky :)
11ish a.m. - ugh, do not want to be awake
12:20 p.m. - finally got out of bed, went straight to lunch - ham/turkey & cheese sammich, sat outside reading "Budget Traveler" :)
1:40 p.m. - got back to my room and took a shower (I luvs the humidity)
      - ended up laying down again, dozing in and out
4:00 p.m. - got myself up and decided I needed to walk around cuz groggy
5:15 p.m. - dinner! :) Salad, cheese enchilada (not good), Spanish rice, refried beans (quite good with taco shell chips ;) )
5:40 p.m. - damn, sunset is getting earlier!! Ran up to telescope
      The remarkably-similiar-to-last-night's sunset:
6:00 p.m. - first star!! :) Still a bit light out though... I'll do a brighter star first tomorrow :/
      - started up Energy92.7 early tonight :)
      - catchin' up on the LJ world (it's been a couple of weeks!)
8:45 p.m. - switched to red
      - switched to radio (there's a bunch of repeating)
      - switched back cuz radio sucks! But those commercials are killer :(
11 p.m. - I've run into an interesting problem - I don't have enough stars to look at! The LSI observations require me to stay in red for 4 hours but I've looked at all of them. I guess I'm going to redo some :) Yay!
12:20 a.m. - dammit! My first saturated star :( Ah well. At least it's only 10 min
      - oh god I can't take that damn commercial anymore! Switched to radio for a bit
      - working on modified exposure times - I luv spreadsheets
      - got my foodz (but I've been snacky anyway)
2:30 a.m. - switched to blue
      - I like my hat :)
      - I am not going to get all of the required stars (sigh)
4:25 a.m. - called 4m to ask if they thought it photometric - they basically suggested I go outside. I figured I would do the spectrophotometry if possible as the forecast for the next few nights involve some (mostly light) clouds. But it seemed the stars were too twinkle-y...
      - Yay! I have the GIMPforMac now! And it works!
5:00 a.m. - the call!
6:15 a.m. - whoa! So bright in the guider camera! Shut down exposure 73 sec early
6:28 a.m. - done with everything :)
      - O_o OMG - there is a heater in my room!!! ((happy dance!))
      Sunrise pictures :)      
Total observing time: 12 hr 15 min - another gorgeous night
Star total: 43
Tonight's musical selections: streaming Energy92.7, radio

Tuesday, October 28, 2008
      Day 4:         The daytime weather another clear and gorgeous day
1:20 p.m. - Wow, I didn't actually get up in time for lunch! Whoa. Being warm helps :) But now too warm :/ Ah well :)
1:45 p.m. - actually got out of bed and showered (gotta get that humidity in my room!). Ate a banana, then went off in search of dental floss and a dryer sheet (for static). Successfully obtained floss, but no love from the dryer sheet gods - I did find some Static Guard...
      - p.s. I heart dry weather - my hair is actually rather well behaved! No flyaways!
3:00 p.m. - up to the telescope to get started on data reduction but I'm just wasting time really, checking up on the world ;)
3:50 p.m. - a seester called! I'd just gone up to check my phone :)
4:45 p.m. - went down for supper - salad, broccoli quiche, rice, peas, acorn squash (no go on the seafood curry for me! bleh).
      - apparently I didn't fill the liquid nitrogen dewar all the way :( Dammit! That thing fakes me out!
      - got an ice cream sandwich too - after I dropped my water bottle with lots of water - now the bottle is deformed on the bottom :( Dammit.
      - heh, people really dig the SoDak t-shirt I have :) Two guys asked about it - one lived in Vermillion and one went to Augie! :)
5:25 p.m. - up to the telescope! I'm gonna be ready! We'll start with red tonight
      - chatted with the 2.1m folks at sunset for a bit :) They're looking at Trojan asteroids - from U of OK
      Another sunset just like the last two and a closer view :)
5:54 p.m. - First star!!! Hmm, maybe should wait a little bit longer - it's still plenty light out ;)
7:30 p.m. - switched to blue!
10:40 p.m. - switched back to red
      - decided to put Eevah (my Mac) on a book...
      - I like my hat :)
2:30 a.m. - transferring music from jump drive to my computer :) Yay!! Hmmm, software updates, must restart...
2:40 a.m. - switched to blue for a bit (cuz can't get spectrophotometry yet!)
      - it is a fantasticly gorgeous night! The air is still, the sky is crystal clear - amazing :)
      - ooo, got iTunes going! Now going through it... Grrrr
4:00 a.m. - switched to red and did spectrophotometry - geez
4:38 a.m. - back to blue (took a little longer than I wanted but that's okay)
5:02 a.m. - the call! (she's very prompt)
6:14 a.m. - too much light! Had to stop the exposure! Shut down
6:30 a.m. - all done! Off to bed!
      Sunrise
Total observing time: 12 hrs 20 min
Star total: 47
Tonight's musical selections: streaming Energy92.7, radio, stuff in newly-set-up iTunes!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
      Day 5:   (next to a part of my telescope)
      The daytime weather   - the first real clouds I've seen the whole time! Mind you, the rest of the sky is clear
1:10 p.m. - hunh! Slept through lunch again... I'm glad I have a banana
1:45 p.m. - actually got up... Shower, etc
      - to the gift shop, got postcards, chatted with cashier and a docent
      - writing postcards, chatted with that docent again
      - read "The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning" book for a bit
4:45 p.m. - chomping at the bit for supper ;) Roast beef, potato, mixed veggies, zucchini, and an excellent pinto bean casserole! Took some to scope...
      Pretty sunset
5:15 p.m. - I'm gonna get everything going early! :)
5:55 p.m. - having trouble with the flats - they turn out as zeros...
      - dur, the corrector plate cover is still on!
      - that didn't fix it!
      - checking to see that light is actually entering the coude room - yes it is
      - Coude guru Daryl not home! :( Getting other people involved...
6:45 p.m. - call from electrical dude, he's coming up
      - yay! Got ahold of Daryl on the phone!
      - wow. The dewar slipped. By FIVE millimeters! :/ Damn. Thus the starlight was not even falling on the chip!
8:23 p.m. - first star!!! Geez!
      - mmm, iTunes rankings...
9:15 p.m. - went to cafeteria to get some foodz ;) Cheerios, hot chocolate, bagel
      - dude at the 2.1meter scared me on the way back in ;)
10:30 p.m. - switched to red
      - got my night lunch
3:07 a.m. - switched to blue
5:02 a.m. - the call
      - oh crap! I didn't hit enter on the last exposure! I lost 10 precious minutes! :(
6:05 a.m. - finished the last star!
6:30 a.m. - all done! Off to bed!
      sunrise
Total observing time: 9 hr 45 min (even with that dewar issue :) )
Star total: 34
Tonight's musical selections: sounds of utter frustration, stuff in iTunes, a little bit of streaming Energy92.7

Thursday, October 30, 2008
      Day 6:   (in the control room).       The daytime weather apparently didn't get photographed :/ Ah well - like yesterday :)
11 a.m. - no, go back to sleep...
3 p.m. - whoa! Just getting up now!! Latest I've slept in a long time up here.
      - got postcards sent
      - ate some Goldfish and showered
      - dinking around til dinnertime
4:50 p.m. - supper!! :) Salad, rice pilaf, broccoli, peas, bleh zucchini casserole - sat with Charles (WIYN dude with trivia about Coude Feed), Peter? (Steward), and Arthur (0.9m guy)
      A sunset with clouds on the horizon :)
5:20 p.m. - up to the scope, I feel rushed but pretty sunset :) A few little horizon clouds
      - OH MY GOD it's happening again! The dewar slipped again! WTH? I fixed it but lost 45 min - tomorrow I will come up before dinner and do zeros and flats early. Or maybe just check everything...
6:45 p.m. - First star!
10:15 p.m. - switched to red
1:00 a.m. - got my night lunch - where's my spoon? :(
      - Hmmm, I just made a mistake - I thought the computer beeped at me and so I went out to do the comp, came back in and noticed the exposure was still going :( So I aborted that exposure and restarted it - sigh.
2:10 a.m. - switched to blue
      - hmmm, there are some clouds now :( There's one big sky-wide one that is coming across the meridian :( May be quite bad for HD 259440
      - that cloud has vanished, now it's little horizon clouds - stay at meridian!
5 a.m. - the call - he mentioned that I should put in a service request, I'm also going to e-mail Daryl directly. Well, maybe not... Wait, I have to as I cannot seem to submit to the thing :(
5:05 a.m. - switched to red to finish out the night (right on schedule too :) )
5:30 a.m. - whoa, where did my star go? Upon inspection of the outdoors, there is a haze over everything :( Damn.
      - trying a very bright star, usually 15 sec exposure. Try 30 sec instead. WORTHLESS! Now 180 sec exposure - still worthless!! :(
      - I'm just waiting now...
6:00 a.m. - it's light now, shutting down - lost 45 min to weather
6:30 a.m. - done and goin' to bed
      - wow, interesting cloud formations! Pretty sunrise :)
      Those clouds made for a pretty sunrise!      
Total observing time: 10 hr 45 min
Star total: 27
Tonight's musical selections: iTunes

Friday, October 31, 2008 - Happy Halloween!
      Day 7:   (in my room)       The daytime weather
12:15 p.m. - had set alarm to get up and get stuff done. But I snoozed a little ;)
12:45 p.m. - got over to lunch - ham/turkey/cheese sammich and fruit
      - shower
      - paid for the dorm up here and found Tina won't be here til later
1:30 p.m. - up to the telescope to see if it's been fixed and to get going on data reduction
      - doods up here to mess with dewar - maybe be a screw that's now partially stripped - they gave it to me as a souvenir ;)
3:45 p.m. - Tina got here, I showed her around the scope
      - uh oh, where's my room key???? :/
4:45 p.m. - dinner - salad, fruit, baked ham (not bad), parmesan potato, some veggies (not so good)
5:30 p.m. - had to go break into my room - there's my key :/ Dur!
      - up to the scope!
      Back to pretty clear sunset - although there is haze (and we're late)
6:18 p.m. - first star!
      - totally giving Tina too much info too fast! ;)
7:30 p.m. - switched to blue
      - we're doing 16 consecutive exposures of a star to look for NRP ;)
      - goodness that was a long time (been working on webpage)
1:20 a.m. - switched to red
      - went down to the cafeteria for hot chocolate :)
2:25 a.m. - back to blue - we have lots to do!
      - OMG I LOVE the Mac Automator! I can make batches of thumbnails or scale my images or whatever! OMG!
4:40 a.m. - the call to report - let Tina handle most of it :)
5:00 a.m. - switch to red
6:07 a.m. - last star done!!
      We were out there pretty late for a good sunrise picture.
Total observing time: 12 hrs
Star total: 22 (plus one that we looked at 16 times in a row ;) )
Tonight's musical selections: chatting and instructing, iTunes

Saturday, November 1, 2008 - My last night!
      Day 7:         The daytime weather
9:48 a.m. - got up and was convinced I had overslept and Tina was up at the telescope without me - had to look outside to reconfirm it was daytime :/
12:20 p.m. - Rolled out of bed, shower, lunch - a sammich with Swiss cheese this time - I prefer cheddar...
      - working on website
4:50 p.m. - down to supper! Salad, penne pasta (with just butter and parmesan!), mixed veggies, sat with John from U of IN and Solvang from U of MD
5:25 p.m. - up to the scope!
      Back to pretty clear sunset - although there is haze (and we're late)
- Tonight Tina is going to do everything, I'm just going to sit and reduce the data - she gets to ask questions but it's all her! She's feeling pretty good about it.
12:15 a.m. - down to the cafeteria for hot chocolate :) OMG, Daylight Saving Time just ended (not that it matters in Arizona as they don't use it) but my computer is now different - man, I am missing out on some major partying :(
- still working on data reduction - damn is this hard due to the wavelength switching! :(
- ARGH!! The dewar shifting at the beginning of the run makes this SO IRRITATING!
6:05 a.m. - Tina got the last star and took pics of a beautiful sunrise and I was so engrossed in my crazy data reductioni that I didn't even go look! DUR!!
- trying to finish something up
6:50 a.m. - OMG I'm tired now and not thinking as well...
Total observing time: 11 hr 45 min
Star total: I don't know :)
Tonight's musical selections: iTunes

Sunday, November 2, 2008
11:20 a.m. - alarm went off (I have lots to do before leaving)
11:40 a.m. - actually got up, got packed, got lunch
12 noon - up to the scope for more data reduction
- Tina came up
3:30 p.m. - finally finished what I wanted to, went to make copies of everything
4:10 p.m. - started down the mountain!
5:20 p.m. - got to NOAO headquarters, needed the security guard to let me in to give the car (a Ford Escape hybrid!) back
6:00 p.m. - ExNashvillianFriendMikeNowOfTucson picked me up in the DesertMobile (an old Geo Tracker with Christmas lights on it!), he cooked a wonderful dinner of pork loin, he and his very nice family chatted with me then they were off to bed
- my crazy schedule wouldn't let me sleep so I stayed up learning more about Quicksilver on my Mac and how to change icons and still rating iTunes
- Goodness! Crazy kitty just decurtained the window :-/
3:45 a.m. is too late to go to bed :-/

Monday, November 3, 2008
9:30 a.m. - after a wonderful breakfast with all of them, Mike took me to the airport
6:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time) - landed in Nashville thus ending the trip.