February 6, 2018 - In tandem with LSST’s construction on Cerro Pachón, a smaller telescope will soon be assembled on nearby calibration hill, a short distance away from the main LSST Facility. LSST’s 1.2-meter Auxiliary Telescope, a gift from Edgar Smith, will measure atmospheric transmission, which refers to how directly light is transmitting through the Earth’s atmosphere in a given spot, as opposed to being absorbed or scattered. Because the presence of certain molecules and particles in the atmosphere will change the color of light detected by the LSST telescope, data collected by the Auxiliary Telescope, as it mirrors the nightly movements of LSST, will inform the catalog corrections that need to be made to LSST data in order to render it more accurate.

Elements in the atmosphere that affect how light is detected by a ground based telescope like LSST include water, oxygen, and ozone, as well as aerosols like sea salt, dust from volcanoes, and smoke from forest fires. The presence and quantity of these elements varies from night to night, so the Auxiliary Telescope will provide this important complementary data for LSST throughout survey operations. According to Calibration Hardware Scientist Patrick Ingraham, “Having a dedicated auxiliary telescope supporting the main telescope is somewhat unique, and it will increase the quality of data produced by LSST.”

The Auxiliary Telescope itself wasn’t built from scratch; it’s an existing telescope that has been repurposed for its role in the LSST survey. Since being moved from its original location on nearby Kitt Peak in May, 2014, it’s been housed in the workshop at LSST’s Project Office in Tucson, AZ. Refurbishment work has included replacement of all the telescope’s electrical parts including the motors and the position encoders, which record the exact position of the telescope at any given time. Mechanically speaking, the telescope is largely unchanged. Its mirrors, which were removed while work was done, will be recoated and replaced once the telescope arrives on Cerro Pachón; they are currently in separate protective crates that will protect them during shipping.

Currently, the subcontractor working on the refurbishment project is almost finished with the wiring of the telescope’s electrical components. Once that’s complete, the telescope will undergo functional testing of its mechanical and electrical systems. Individual tasks that make up this testing include driving the telescope toward its upper and lower limits and ensuring the system will shut off before those limits are reached (preventing damage to the telescope), testing for excessive vibration, and testing the speed at which the telescope slews, or moves from one spot to the next. Extensive functional testing is critical now, because once the telescope is on Cerro Pachón there won’t be sufficient facilities to easily make repairs. Optical testing of the telescope will occur after the telescope is installed in its facility on the summit and re-integrated with its mirrors.

Once the telescope is officially ready to be shipped from Tucson to Chile, the individual telescope assemblies will be packed in custom crates, and these crates will be loaded into a shipping container. It will take about 2 months for the shipping container to get from Tucson to Cerro Pachón. Once there, the telescope will be installed in a few pieces, with a crane, through the dome of its facility on calibration hill. Photos of the Auxiliary Telescope in the workshop, as well as the facility on Cerro Pachón, can be viewed and downloaded from the LSST Gallery. 

PROJECT & SCIENCE NEWS- Noticias del Proyecto

The 231st AAS Meeting concluded on January 12 in National Harbor, MD. LSST hosted a well-attended Town Hall during the meeting; slides from presentations given by Beth Willman, Federica Bianco, and Adam Bolton at the event are available here. LSST also staffed an exhibit booth (photo here) in the NSF Pavilion throughout the meeting.

To alleviate persistent communications challenges with terminology LSST will no longer use the Data Management terms “Level 1,” “Level 2,” and “Level 3” for communication with the scientific community about LSST data products. Instead we will use the clearer terms “Prompt Products,” “Data Release Products,” and “User Generated Products,” respectively. This terminology is consistent with the descriptions of each of the three product types in Project documents. A selection of community-facing Project documents and webpages are being updated to reflect the change.

A Provisional Acceptance Test of the washing facility will take place later this month at the Von Ardenne facilities in Dresden, Germany. The review includes observation of the washing boom, seen in this video provided by LSST Coating Chamber Engineer Tomislav Vicuna. This special machinery will remove the old mirror coating and wash the mirror prior to moving it into the coating chamber for recoating. More information about the process for washing and coating LSST’s mirrors can be found in this recent news item.

The Back Flange of the LSST Camera was received at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory last week (click here for a photo). Fabricated from a single piece of aluminum by subcontractor Keller Technologies in Buffalo, NY, the Back Flange provides structural support for the rest of the Camera and is the mechanical interface between the Camera and Telescope. At SLAC, purge line parts and covers will be attached to the flange over the next few months. Then it will be shipped to IN2P3 in France, where it will be integrated with the filter exchange carousel and auto changer.

The LSST Base Facility in La Serena gained a noticeable addition at the end of December  when a tower crane, necessary for ongoing renovation and construction, was installed on the AURA Recinto. The crane, at 29 meters high, is now the Recinto's tallest landmark. The base of the crane can be seen on the LSST Base Facility webcam, and a full photo is available in the LSST Gallery.

PERSONNEL NEWS

Bo Xin has been promoted to the position of Deputy Systems Scientist.  Bo will assist Systems Scientist Chuck Claver in leading the System Integration Team as part of the Commissioning effort. We’re so glad Bo has taken on this role; please join us in congratulating him.

Julio Alvarez joined the Telescope & Site subsystem on January 17 as a Civil Engineering intern. Julio is a student in his 6th year of Civil Engineering study at the University of La Serena. He will work with Enrique Figueroa and Oscar Nuñez on the Base Facility construction and the Pachón Hotel addition projects. His primary duties will be assisting in work inspection as well as in the review and response to contractor consultations, change requests and other submittals. He will be based primarily in La Serena but will also travel to Pachón to assist with the hotel addition project and to visit the Summit Facility.

UPCOMING MEETINGS with LSST INVOLVEMENT

(those with asterisk* are LSSTC funded):

NOTICIAS DEL PROYECTO Y CIENTIFICAS

La reunion 231st AAS Meeting concluyó el 12 de enero en National Harbor, MD. LSST organizó un concurrido Town Hall durante la reunión; las diapositivas de las presentaciones realizadas por Beth Willman, Federica Bianco, y Adam Bolton en el evento están disponibles aquí here. LSST también tuvo un puesto de exhibición (foto aquí here) en el Pabellón NSF durante la reunión.

Para aliviar persistentes problemas de comunicaciones con la terminología LSST dejarán de utilizar los términos de Gestión de Datos "Nivel 1", "Nivel 2" y "Nivel 3" para la comunicación con la comunidad científica sobre los productos de datos de LSST. En su lugar, utilizaremos términos más claros como “Productos Inmediatos”, "Productos de Liberación de Datos" y " Productos Generado por el Usuario", respectivamente. Esta terminología es consistente con las descripciones de cada uno de los tres tipos de productos en los documentos del Proyecto. Una selección de documentos del Proyecto orientados hacia la comunidad y páginas web webpages están siendo actualizadas para reflejar el cambio. 

Una Prueba de aceptación Provisional de la instalación de lavado tendrá lugar este mes en las instalaciones de Von Ardenne en Dresden, Alemania. La revisión incluye la observación de la manguera de lavado, vista en este video this video proporcionados por el Ingeniero de la Cámara de Recubrimiento de LSST Tomislav Vicuña. Esta maquinaria especial retirara el revestimiento antiguo del espejo y lavara el espejo antes de moverlo dentro de la cámara de recubrimiento para el revestimiento. Más información sobre el proceso de lavado y revestimiento de espejos de LSST pueden encontrarse en esta reciente noticia news item. 

La Brida Trasera de la cámara de LSST fue recibida en El Laboratorio del Acelerador Nacional SLAC La semana pasada (haga clic aquí para ver una foto photo). Fabricada de una sola pieza de aluminio por el subcontratista Keller Technologies en Buffalo, NY, la Brida Trasera proporciona soporte estructural para el resto de la Cámara y es la interfaz mecánica entre la Cámara y el Telescopio. En SLAC, piezas de líneas de purga y tapas serán acopladas a la brida en los próximos meses. A continuación, se le enviará a IN2P3 en Francia, donde será integrado al carrusel de cambio del filtro y al cambiador automático.

El Base Facility de LSST en La Serena obtuvo una adición notable a fines de diciembre, cuando una grúa torre, necesaria para la renovación y construcción ongoing renovation and construction, se instaló en el AURA Recinto. La grúa, de 29 metros de altura, es ahora el  punto más alto de referencia del Recinto. La base de la grúa puede ser visto en la webcam del LSST Base Facility, y una foto completa está disponible en la LSST Gallery. 

Noticias de Personal

Bo Xin ha sido promovido al cargo de Científico de Sistemas Adjunto. Bo ayudará al Científico de Sistemas Chuck Claver en liderar el Equipo de Integración de Sistemas como parte del esfuerzo de Puesta en Marcha. Estamos encantados de que Bo haya asumido este papel; por favor, únase a nosotros para felicitarle. 

Julio Álvarez se unió al subsistema de Telescopio & Sitio el 17 de enero como pasante de Ingeniería Civil. Julio es un estudiante en su sexto año de estudio de Ingeniería Civil en la Universidad de La Serena. Él trabajará con Enrique Figueroa y Oscar Nuñez en la construcción del Base Facility y en el proyecto de adición del Pachón Hotel. Sus principales funciones serán asistir en la inspección de trabajo, así como en revisiones y respuestas a consultas del contratista, órdenes de cambio y otros trabajos determinados recibidos. Él se basará fundamentalmente en La Serena pero también viajará a Pachón para ayudar con el proyecto del hotel y además para visitar la Instalación en la Cumbre.

Próximas reuniones con participación de LSST 

(aquellos con un asterisco* son financiados por LSSTC):

January 22, 2018 - To ensure optimal performance of the LSST telescope, a regular cleaning schedule of its mirrors will be implemented during operations. Weekly, the Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) and Secondary Mirror (M2) surfaces will be cleaned by spraying the surfaces with a carbon dioxide (CO₂) “snow” which removes dust particles and other contaminants. Approximately every six months, M1M3 will be cleaned with neutral soap and water using very soft chamois mops, followed by de-ionized water rinsing and drying using small air knives around the mirror cell. Both of these cleaning procedures take place without removing the mirrors from the telescope, and are completed within one summit working day. Neither the CO₂ nor wet contact wash will impact the nightly observing schedule.

In addition to these preventative maintenance activities, the mirrors will be stripped of their reflective coatings, washed, and recoated every few years. We anticipate the M1M3 (coated with aluminium) will be cleaned and recoated every 2 years, and the M2 (coated with protective silver) every 5 years. Reflectance monitoring will allow us to predict when this more time-intensive work is necessary, and it will likely be coordinated with other scheduled downtime.

The washing station, which provides for pristine optical surfaces before coatings are deposited, is a deliverable part of the coating plant contract. A Provisional Acceptance Test of the washing chamber will take place later this month at the Von Ardenne facilities in Dresden, Germany. The review includes observation of the washing boom, seen in this 30-second video provided by LSST Coating Chamber Engineer Tomislav Vicuna. This special machinery will remove the old mirror coating and wash the mirror prior to moving it into the coating chamber for recoating.

A related story about the LSST coating chamber, from March, 2017, can be found here.

Video offers peek at ultra-wide Large Synoptic Survey Telescope - Tuesday, January 16, 2018, Engadget
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/16/video-offers-peek-at-ultra-wide-large-synopt...

The biggest digital camera on Earth takes shape - Wednesday, January 17, 2018, The Daily Mail.com
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5280507/Ultra-wide-telescope-Chil...

Giant telescope comes up in Chile with 3.2-gigapixel camera - Thursday, January 18, 2018, International Business Times
http://www.ibtimes.sg/giant-telescope-comes-chile-3-2-gigapixel-camera-1500-hd-s...

The World’s Biggest Telescope In The Chilean Desert Is Almost Complete - Friday, January 19, 2018, Wonderful Engineering
http://wonderfulengineering.com/the-worlds-biggest-telescope-is-almost-complete-...

PROJECT & SCIENCE NEWS - Noticias del Proyecto

Happy New Year, and welcome back! We hope you all had a relaxing holiday break and are ready for the exciting year ahead.

LSST Assembly Integration Verification (AIV) Manager Jacques Sebag submitted this spectacular drone footage of the LSST facility, taken on December 28. The video was taken after the LSST team collaborated  with subcontractor Besalco to move the facility mobile roof to the flat area located on the north side of the lower enclosure. Congratulations to all for this achievement at the end of 2017!

The LSST Network Engineering Team (NET) is pleased to announce the first successful transfer of digital data over LSST/AURA fiber optic networks from the Summit Site on Cerro Pachon, Chile to the Base Site in La Serena, Chile and on to the Archive Site at NCSA in Champaign. The test transmissions started on December 18 and continued through December 22. Congratulations to the LSST NET First Fiber Optic Light Test Team for this milestone achievement.

The minutes for the December 8 LSST Science Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting are now available at this link. The meeting focused on the LSST Project Office’s plans for soliciting white papers from the community about LSST cadence, especially in the context of the Deep Drilling Fields. The call for these white papers is planned for June 2018.

PERSONNEL NEWS

Matthew Long joined the Data Management subsystem as a computer systems engineer on December 18, working at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). He will assist with administering LSST Data Facility computing resources housed at NCSA.

John Maloney joined the Data Management subsystem as a storage engineer on December 29, working at NCSA. He will work with the hardware, software, monitoring, and incident response environments for the LSST project. He will manage the General Parallel File System (GPFS) infrastructure at NCSA and begin building a reporting infrastructure system based on the monitoring data that has been stored for trend analysis of application and machine subsystem needs.

UPCOMING MEETINGS with LSST INVOLVEMENT

(those with asterisk* are LSSTC funded):

NOTICIAS DEL PROYECTO Y CIENTIFICAS

¡Feliz Año Nuevo, y bienvenidos de nuevo! Esperamos que todos hayan tenido unas vacaciones relajantes y estén listos para el año emocionante que se avecina.

El Manager del Assembly Integration Verification (AIV) de LSST Jacques Sebag envió esta espectacular grabación de un dron de la construcción de LSST, tomada el 28 de Diciembre. El video fue tomado luego de que el equipo de LSST colaborara con el subcontratista  Besalco para trasladar el techo móvil al área plana ubicada en el lado norte del recinto del lower enclosure. ¡Felicidades a todos por este logro a finales del 2017!

El Equipo de Ingeniería de Red de LSST (NET) se complace en anunciar la primera transferencia exitosa de datos digitales a través de las redes de fibra óptica LSST/AURA desde el Cerro Pachon, Chile hasta el Recinto en La Serena, Chile y en el Recinto de Archivo en NCSA en Champaign. Las transmisiones de prueba comenzaron el 18 de Diciembre y continuaron hasta el 22 de Diciembre. Felicidades al Primer Equipo de Pruebas de Luz de Fibra Óptica de LSST NET por este logro tan importante.

El acta de la reunión del Comité de Asesoramiento Científico (SAC) de LSST del 8 de Diciembre ya está disponible en este enlace. La reunión se centró en los planes de la Oficina de Proyectos de LSST para solicitar los documentos de la comunidad sobre la cadencia de LSST, especialmente en el contexto de los Campos de Perforación Profunda. La convocatoria de estos documentos está prevista para junio del 2018.

NOTICIAS DEL PERSONAL

Matthew Long se unió al subsistema de Administración de Datos como Ingeniero de Sistemas Informáticos el 18 de Diciembre, trabajando en el Centro Nacional de Aplicaciones de Supercomputación (NCSA). Él ayudará con la administración de los recursos informáticos de LSST Data Facility guardados en NCSA.

John Maloney se unió al subsistema de Administración de Datos como Ingeniero de Almacenamiento el 29 de Diciembre, trabajando en NCSA. El trabajará con los hardware, software, monitoreo y respuesta a incidentes para el proyecto de LSST. Gestionará la infraestructura del Sistema de Archivos Paralelos Generales (GPFS) en NCSA y comenzará a construir un sistema de infraestructura de informes basado en los datos de monitoreo que se han almacenado para el análisis de tendencias y necesidades del subsistema.

PROXIMAS REUNIONES con PARTICIPACION DE LSST

(aquellos con asterisco* son financiados por LSSTC):

LSST Assembly/Integration/Verification (AIV) Manager Jacques Sebag submitted this spectacular drone footage of the LSST facility, taken on December 28. The video was taken after the LSST team collaborated with subcontractor Besalco to move the facility mobile roof to the flat area located on the north side of the lower enclosure. Congratulations to all for this achievement at the end of 2017!

See the full video or download

PROJECT & SCIENCE NEWS - Noticias del Proyecto

On December 13th LSST was featured on ABC 7 News with footage from the SLAC National Accelerator Lab.

An all-project LSST Joint Technical Meeting will not be held in 2018 as in past years; instead, individual subsystem meetings will be held in the spring. Dates for each of these meetings can now be found in the Digest meeting list below, or on the LSST website.

The first of 21 Science Rafts for LSST’s 3.2-gigapixel camera have arrived at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The rafts are arrays of nine imaging sensors, or CCDs, each with 4K-by-4K pixels. To date, 60% of the camera’s sensors have been received at BNL, and delivery rate is on track to maintain the current schedule. Click here for photos of the arrival of the Science Rafts at SLAC.

Another milestone for the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) in Spain at subcontractor Asturfeito, recently the elevation axis was moved on the hydrostatic bearings for the first time. Photos can be found in the LSST Gallery.

On Cerro Pachón, the 9-ton movable latch for the LSST elevator, or Vertical Platform Lift, was safely lifted into place on December 7th. Read more about the installation in this recent news post.

UPCOMING MEETINGS with LSST INVOLVEMENT

(those with asterisk* are LSSTC funded):

NOTICIAS DEL PROYECTO Y CIENTIFICAS

El 13 de Diciembre, LSST apareció en las Noticias de ABC 7 con imágenes del Laboratorio de Acelerador Nacional SLAC.

Una reunión Técnica Conjunta de los proyectos del LSST no se llevara a cabo el 2018 como en años anteriores; en su lugar, las reuniones del subsistema individual se llevaran a cabo en primavera. Las fechas para cada una de estas reuniones ahora se pueden encontrar en la lista de reuniones a continuación, o en el sitio web del LSST.

El primero de los 21 Rafts de Ciencia para la cámara de 3,2 megapíxeles ha llegado al Laboratorio de Acelerador Nacional SLAC desde el Laboratorio Nacional Brookhaven (BNL). Los rafts son matrices de nueve sensores de imágenes, o CCDs, cada uno con 4K-por-4K de pixeles. Hasta la fecha, el 60% de los sensores de la cámara se han recibido en BNL, y la tasa promedio está en camino para mantener el cronograma actual. Haga clic aquí para ver fotos de la llegada de los Rafts de Ciencia en SLAC.

Otro hito para el Montaje del Telescopio (TMA) en España del subcontratista Asturfeito, recientemente el eje de elevación se movió por primera vez en los cojinetes hidrostáticos. Las fotos se pueden encontrar en la galería de LSST.

En Cerro Pachón, el pestillo móvil de 9 toneladas para el elevador LSST, o Plataforma de Elevación Vertical, fue elevado a su lugar sin peligro el 7 de diciembre. Lea más sobre la instalación en esta publicación reciente.

PROXIMAS REUNIONES con PARTICIPACION DE LSST

(aquellos con asterisco* son financiados por LSSTC):

LSST Town Hall:
Wednesday, January 10, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, Potomac D

NCOA Town Hall: 
Thursday, January 11, 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm, Potomac C 

Career Networking & Job Fair
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Maryland Ballroom A&B, Tuesday, January 9th

LSST Booth #809
Part of the NSF Pavillion.

AAS Hack Together Day
10:00 am – 7:00 pm, National Harbor 13, on Friday, January 12th.

December 14, 2017 – The LSST mirrors and camera are designed to be transported on carts, as complete subassemblies, from the telescope to the maintenance level within the summit facility during LSST's ten-year survey lifetime. The mirrors will be recoated approximately every two years and the camera clean room will be available to support maintenance and servicing. Because the maximum load (the M1M3 on its cart) will approach 75 tons, and the equipment must move up and down 27 meters, a custom, robust lifting mechanism is required. PFlow Industries has built a unique 11-meter square Vertical Platform Lift for LSST, and December 7, on Cerro Pachón the folding-edge structure for its movable roof was successfully installed. The folding edge is positioned at the top of the lift tower, and it swings back to allow passage of the lift carriage when the platform lift is called up to the telescope floor. The movable roof, which is pushed up by the lift carriage, minimizes the overall height of the lift structure and aides in airflow over the building. When the lift is not in use, the roof is securely latched down to the building and the folding edge to meet weather protection and seismic requirements. The folding edge structure, itself weighing nine tons, was safely and precisely installed in a single day to minimize interference with the ongoing adjacent assembly of the Dome.