2023APR Observing Schedule Release Notes

Staged release: The Parkes schedule for 2023APR will be released in stages due to uncertainties in spacecraft tracking commitments. On March 1st, the schedule for the first 2.5 months (April, May, 1-15 June) was released.

Receivers: At the start of the semester the telescope will be fitted with the Ultra Wideband Low (UWL) receiver and the 8 GHz ("MARS") receiver. The Cryogenic Cooled Phased Array Feed (CryoPAF) is expected to arrive at Parkes mid August for installation.

Backends: The MEDUSA GPU cluster based system is the default system for use with the UWL. DFB4 is no longer available..

Breakthrough Listen: The agreement between the Breakthrough Foundation and CSIRO to use the Parkes Telescope to Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) continues, identified as 'BL'. For the whole of the 2023APR semester this will equates to approximately 200hrs.

FAST: The agreement with the collaboration associated with the Five hundred metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) continues, identified as 'PX500', and amounting to 144 hrs for the whole of this semester.

Spacecraft Tracking: New agreements with companies for space craft tracking may commence in the 2023APR semester, identified in the schedule as 'ST'. Due to the nature of spacecraft launches the exact timing of the allocation may vary, efforts will be made to communicate any changes as early as possible.

Parkes Observing: Parkes observers need to register in the PORTAL for their upcoming observations, ideally at least two weeks in advance, using the PORTAL. Access to the PORTAL requires CSIRO unix or nexus account details: for users who do not have an account, one can be requested from HERE. Account generation typically takes several working days.

Parkes Observing Support: This semester, we will be moving away from having a desinated Project Expert, to a system where each project has their own Observing Expert who can provide support before, durng and after observations. To learn more about our new basic training and Observing Expert model, please visit the ATNF support page.

First-time observers are required to undertake a telescope orientation session to introduce them to observing systems and monitoring tools. These programs are held on set dates on a monthly cadence. For this reason, it is necessary to organise your training well in advance. When first-time remote observers register their upcoming observing session(s) on the PORTAL they are sent links to on-line documentation and training material to help them prepare. It is a requirement that the on-line documentation is read before the training session. A list of the essential documents is given on the 'Help' and 'Links' tabs of the PORTAL.

Observations can be conducted by trained observers at any location, including the Parkes Observatory, the Marsfield Science Operations Centre (SOC) or remotely.

Please ensure that an observer is appropriately trained well in advance of observing. Responsibility lies with the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure the observers on their team are trained and competent observers.

If anything remains unclear, please email ATNF-Parkes-Remobs[at]csiro.au or further clarification.

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI): Where possible notifications of expected RFI will be posted on the PORTAL Alerts. Other listings of known RFI are given on the Parkes observers pages.

Green Time: Directors Discretionary Time or 'Green Time' should be requested through the Portal and via email to Parkes Observatory support staff (ATNF-Parkes-Remobs@atnf.csiro.au) with a summary of what you are requesting to observe. Requests for green time can be made at any time during the semester, but the final allocation will not be made until ~1-2 weeks beforehand.

Only projects explicitly approved and that appear in the Portal schedule may be observed on the telescope. Under no circumstances can the telescope be used without prior permission from the Directors or the scheduler.

Marsfield On-site Accommodation: The Marsfield site has a Lodge which is able to provide on-site accommodation for observers. Please use the new webform to book at least two weeks in advance to ensure a room is available.

Daylight Saving: Daylight saving in New South Wales will end at 3:00am (AEDT) on Sunday, 2nd April 2023, when clocks will be put back one hour. AEST is 10 hours ahead of UTC . Daylight saving in New South Wales will begin again at 2:00am (AEST) on the first Sunday in October 2023

Public Holidays:

Version history:

Version 5 of the scheulde was releasedon 14 July 2023. This version reflected a shift in the CryoPAF installation timeline and redistributed observation blocks that were originally scheduled for commissioning.

Version 4 of the schedule was released on 1 June 2023. This version released the remainder of the semester schedule covering 1 April - 30 September 2023.

Version 3 of the schedule was released on 28 March 2023. Early semester projects were rescheduled to accomodate OE and observer training.

Version 2 of the schedule was released on 1 March 2023. Scheduling blocks were consolidated.

Version 1 of the schedule was released on 1 March 2023.


Updated: Jane Kaczmarek (28-February-2023)