2012AprS Release Notes

2012AprS Observing Schedule Release Notes

Shutdowns: The 2012APR semester schedule for Parkes has a two-week shutdown from May 28 to June 8, and a one-week shutdown from August 13 to 17, intended primarily for work on the site HV power supply, relocation of the maser hut, and antenna drive UPS installation.

NASA Support: Discussions are underway with NASA about the use of Parkes during the descent phase of the Mars Science Laboratory on Monday August 6. The schedule has provisional allocations for this support, which will be revised as appropriate depending on the outcome of the discussions.

Daylight Saving: Daylight saving will end in NSW on Sunday 1 April 2012 at 3:00 am, when clocks will be put back one hour. The schedule is in AEST. During the daylight saving period, local "clock time" is one hour ahead of AEST, so 7am AEST is 8am daylight saving time. (Daylight saving will next start in NSW at 2:00 am on the first Sunday in October, when clocks are put forward one hour.)

Leap Second: A leap second will be introduced at 00:00 UT on July 1st. A block of time has been reserved in the schedule to ensure the leap second is appropriately handled by observatory hardware and software.

Public Holidays: The Easter long weekend runs from Friday 6 April to Monday 9 April. Good Friday (April 6) and Easter Monday (April 9) are public holidays. Wednesday April 25 is the ANZAC Day public holiday. Monday June 11 is the Queen's Birthday public holiday. Tuesday August 28 is a half-day holiday in Parkes for the local Agricultural Show.

Version history: Version 1 of the schedule was released on March 1.