NIKA2 run #8 January-February 2017

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Goals of the run

Continue the commissioning started in run 5 and continued in run 6:

• Open the cryostat, change the array 1 corrugated lens with the old smooth lens to see if the flat field (gain) gradient we observe since run 5 on this array is due to a problem with the corrugated lens.

• After cooling down the cryostat few hours of tests on sky to check wether everything is OK or if we need to warm up to fix something inside the cryostat.
• Given the operations done during phase 1 of the run (Jan 10-12), namely 5mm drop of the 50K optics block which was too high, and tightening the M6 stop screw (+ implementation of the pneumatic actuator before the Feb phase 3), need to redo the alignment (laser for pointing + ecosorb for pupil alignment), and then the pointing model.

• Start real test observations in February: again perform the scans which are the most useful for commissioning: stack more beam maps at various focus (Z,Y,X), various elevation and various scan orientations.

• Continue to monitor regularly secondary calibrators to check stability of the instrument gains.
• Continue any necessary work on detectors working point, electronics, acquisition, synchronizations, data files... monitoring possible effects on the beam maps.
• Continue all necessary calibration scnas (pointing, focus, skydips...)
• In parallel to beam maps, test deep integration on well known sources to show reproducibility in reaching the rms expected.
• Map extended features (see previous run).
• Start polarization commissioning.

See all the goals listed and described in run 5 and related links for more details.

Schedule of the run

• January Telescope Schedule: opening of the cryostat, lens change, closing, cooling down.

• February Telescope Schedule 24h/day Observations.
  

All the persons who will participate to the run must appear in the table below; each one must have informed at least Samuel, Esther (for the rooms in Granada and at the telescope), Beatrice (for the ones who fly on IRAM funds, see NIKA2 travel rules).

Staff of the run: table of the nights spent at the observatory for the NIKA2 collaboration members participating to the run (T = Tuesday, S = Saturday, 1 = night scheduled at the telescope, g = night in Granada office.

• JANUARY:

(*) Count persons from the NIKA collaboration not from IRAM Granada.

• FEBRUARY:

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IRAM's Astronomer on Duty.