Pool preparation

From our experience, the chances of success of a program are higher if it is scheduled in a pool than in the traditional way of dedicated observing blocks. This is due to the flexibility of pooled observations with respect to demand on weather quality and equipment availability. It is therefore advantageous for any project to participate in these pooled observing sessions. Participation is of additional interest for low rated proposals which may otherwise not be scheduled. Astronomers with little or no experience are welcome as observers at the IRAM 30m radiotelescope.

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Scripts preparation

Pooled observations should be fairly simple and straightforward to observe. Note that your project will NOT be observed in case you do not send your observing instructions to the GISMO pool manager before the begin of the pool. It is highly recommended to use the standard scripts provided by the IRAM staff:

You can download these example scripts and adapt them to your project. If you have questions please contact the GISMO pool manager.

Pointing Sources

It is possible to select pointing sources nearby to your science targets using XEphem and the IRAM 30m catalog of pointing sources. The ongoing IRAM flux monitoring program provides flux estimations for most of these pointing sources. These data are provided ONLY to help in the planning of observations, in particular to select pointing and focus sources at the IRAM 30-m telescope. They should not be used for any other purpose.

Observing modes

Two different total power mapping modes are offered:

• On-the-fly mode: Data are taken while the telescope follows a traditional zig-zag pattern. This mode is appropriate for large maps. It is necessary to specify the size of the map (in arcminutes) and the position angle (in degrees) measured North through West. For example, for a 6'x12' on-the-fly map rotated 25 degrees launch the gismo_onthefly script with the following parameters:

    PAKO> @ cont_onthefly 6 12 25

• Lissajous mode: Data are taken while the telescope follows a Lissajous curve pattern. Lissajous maps are square shaped. For example, for a 3'x3' Lissajous map launch the gismo_lissajous script with the following parameters:

    PAKO> @ cont_lissajous 3

Lissajous curves give a better noise distribution than the classical OTF maps, but they cannot be used in maps larger than 4'x4'. If observers need larger maps, they should use on-the-fly maps or make mosaics with smaller Lissajous maps. For deep field integrations, both Lissajous or on-the-fly maps could be used.

Obsolete scripts

Fully tested scripts from previous runs are also available within the ~/PaKo/obs/ folder. The following list shows how to launch some of the most popular obsolete scripts:

    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_tiny1min
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_tiny2min
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_tiny5min
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_tiny10min

    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_2mx2m
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_3mx3m
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_lissajous_4mx4m

    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_otf_6mx6m
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_otf_8mx8m
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_otf_10mx10m
    PAKO> @ obs/gismo_otf_30mx30m

Author: Israel Hermelo (GISMO pool manager)

email: hermelo@iram.es

Created: 2013.10.25

Last update: 2013.10.25