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Measure/monitor detector characteristics
(read noise, gain, linearity, fringing) (Rees)
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We do not currently measure the characteristics of our CCD
detectors at any regular interval. Doing so would allow us
to track any changes in CCD behaviour as a function of time.
You will gain an understanding of read noise, gain, and
linearity of CCDs and how we measure these properties.
Automating the measurement of these properties will allow
us to monitor them longer term.
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Create an exposure time calculator for Nickel (Rees)
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Exposure time calculators can help astronomers prepare their
observations by predicting how exposure time maps to signal-to-noise.
Creating an ETC for the Nickel will provide an understanding of
signal-to-noise calculations, and response curves for CCDs and
filters.
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Update the APF source brightness predictions using GAIA data (Rees)
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The Automated Planet Finder (APF) currently uses V-band magnitudes
and B-V colours to predict expected photon count levels on the
guide camera (for monitoring cloud conditions and predicted
signal-to-noise levels).
With the advent of the Gaia data releases, we now have broadband
magnitudes for 1.8 billion sources.
Practically any source bright enough to be observed by the APF will
have a Gaia magnitude. It would be useful to update the APF photon
arrival rate prediction model to use the Gaia magnitudes.
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Determining the Missing Link in Stellar Atmospheres (Rees)
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Stellar atmosphere models allow us to transform theoretical stellar
models (i.e. temperature, luminosity) to the observational plane
(colour, magnitude).
At cooler temperatures (T<4000K) the stellar atmosphere models fail
to predict the colours of stars correctly.
By conducting simultaneous photometric and spectroscopic measurements
of stars around this temperature range in a well-known benchmark star
cluster we will investigate the differences between the atmospheric
models and observations.
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Remote Public Nickel Observing Night (Gates, Lynam, Rees)
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In the past we have run public nights with the Nickel telescope
via Zoom, giving members of the public the chance to see the
Nickel in action and taking observations of interesting objects.
Taking part in one of these observing nights could include running
the telescope, taking observations, or monitoring the public chat
and curating questions.
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Start-up scripts e.g. for public nights.
(Gates / Lynam / Rees):
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Including start browser with the following Google
interactive view of the Nickel enclosure that can
be clicked-and-dragged around to explore:
Nickel Enclosure
As well as ingest appropriate target lists, GUIs,
web pages, etc.
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Visualizing the growth of light pollution
(Anthropogenic Light At Night, ALAN).
(Lynam):
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Using Mount Hamilton camera and archive:
HamCams
Characterize and monitor change in light pollution.
Retrospectively assemble images into an animation
of the growth of light pollution over the past few
years.
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Explore and characterize how (hamcam1, allsky,
skycam1, skycam2, hamcam2) data archive is
structured.
(Lynam):
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Survey each camera archive to isolate
noteworthy/significant dates (e.g. dates when the
camera was replaced/re-positioned/disconnected).
Inspect the timescale and integrity of the archive
(i.e. are there images in the archive from an earlier
generation of/different format cameras prior to
4 December 2009 that we could potentially use?
Otherwise we only have a decade's worth of data to
chart the growth of light pollution.
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Prescription for semi-autonomous serendipitous
transient searches.
(Lynam):
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e.g. Can we automatically detect, identify and
eliminate known non-sideral sources in imaging
data?
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The contrasting nature of giant Elliptical galaxies
in differing environments in the local Universe.
(Lynam):
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Investigations of if/how/why giant Ellipticals may
be "special".
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Instructional video of rotating sky from all-sky
images.
(Lynam)
-
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Instructional video of Mars retrograde from all-sky
images.
(Lynam)
-
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Automated measurement sky brightness via multiple
systems e.g. Nickel data; all-sky cameras; Kast
data.
(Rees/Lynam)
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The Nickel CCD2 is an imaging detector, and can be used to
measure the brightness of the sky background at Lick Observatory.
Using images of standard stars (stars of known brightness) from
the Nickel data archive, you will measure the sky brightness as a
function of time --- and coarsely identify the contributions from
different sources (e.g. traditional incandescent lighting vs
blue-rich LEDs).
Similar explorations of archival data from the Kast spectrograph
will provide higher resolution study of the acceleration of LED
contributions to regional light pollution.
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Pseudo-continuous monitoring of configurable
region(s) of interest in HamCams to detect changes
in illumination pattern and automatically transmit
notifications.
(Lynam)
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Re-cast mtham landing webpage.
(Gates / Lynam / Rees):
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Migrate to format consistent with latest UCO and Lick
public pages.
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Investigation of automated third party web
monitoring services. (Lynam):
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Possibly as a means to augment our own coding,
investigate, review and demonstrate the suitability
and applicability of on-line services that we may be
able to harness (e.g. by getting them to monitor
regularly-updated images for changes).
Particularly advantageous for our purposes will be
the ability to pre-define a region-of-interest.
Multiple applications (e.g. light pollution
monitoring;
meteor detection; atmospheric phenomena; spacecraft
characteristics and anomolies) e.g.
wachete;
distill.io;
visualping.io;
zapier;
IFTTT
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Identify/streamline/automate retrospective lunar
illumination calendar queries.
(Lynam):
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Find (a) reliable online lunar (phase/illumination)
calendar(s), that can be referred to in order to
identify which nights were at or around new Moon.
Similarly, identify/modify/create a reliable
(online?)
resource to determine how long the dusk and dawn
twilights last, sunset and sunrise times (e.g. which
will help to constrain the time intervals from which
representative images of the illuminated
city at night can be grabbed).
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The link between light pollution and human health (Lynam):
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A multitude of studies over the past 30+ year have revealed
correlations between many human diseases (e.g. obsesity,
coronary heart disease, depression, mild cognitive impairment)
and light pollution. Causal connections have been established
between Light At Night, LAN and several cancers (e.g. Lung,
Colorectal) - especially hormonally-induced cancers
(i.e. Breast, Prostate).
Lick Observatory, with its decades long data archive, is arguably
the best location on earth to study the connection between
changes in night sky brightness and public health --- particularly
within the past 30 years which have witnessed the wide-scale
adoption and accelerted deployment of modern, economic and efficient
lighting technologies (primarily LEDs).
This project involves identifying reliable well-controlled sources
of public health data for the region, which can be compared with
trends in night sky illumination.
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