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  2. Mid-Scale Observatories — Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
  3. Current Instruments
  4. COSMOS
  5. COSMOS Startup
  6. COSMOS Startup

COSMOS Startup

COSMOS Startup

  1. Open the COSMOS dark slide in the Cassegrain cage
  2. Logon to the observer2 console:
    • username: cosmos
    • password: ****
  3. Open a terminal window on observer2
  4. From the terminal window, logon to the cosmosspare computer to see if the COSMOS vncserverfor observing is running
    • ssh -l observer cosmosspare-4m.ctio.noao.edu
    • password: ****
    • ls -l .vnc
    • If the vncserver(s)is (are) running, you should see thefile(s)
      • cosmosspare-4m:20.pid and
      • cosmosspare-4m:21.pid
    • The first vncserver (:20) is used to run the NOCS soaftware to write and execute observing scripts. The second vncserver (:21) can be used to display data in IRAF separately. It is generally not needed for classical observing but it is useful for remote observing when one has limited monitor space.
    • To start a vncserver, execute the command from the home observer directory
      • ./bin/vnc_cosmos_obs
      • ./bin/vnc_cosmos_iraf
    • To stop a running vncserver, execute the following:
      • vncserver -kill :20
      • vncserver -kill :21
  5. Exit the ssh session to cosmosspare-4m.ctio.noao.edu on the observer2 terminal window
  6. Open the vncviewer from the terminal window of the cosmos account on observer2
    • vncviewer -Shared cosmosspare-4m.ctio.noao.edu:20 &
    • password: ****
    • vncviewer -Shared cosmosspare-4m.ctio.noao.edu:21 &
    • password: ****
  7. You should now have a vncviewer window open on the observer2 console
    • Use the mouse to expand the vncviewer screen to its limits.
    • In the vncviewer on display :20 , you should see a terminal window open that has the title "COSMOS Desktop"
    • In the vncviewer on display :21, you should see a terminal window open that has the title "COSMOS IRAF Desktop"
  8. From the vncviewer "COSMOS Desktop" on display :20 use a terminal window tologon to the COSMOSacquisitioncomputer
    • ssh -X -Y -l observer cosmos-4m.ctio.noao.edu
    • password: ****
  9. Open another terminal window from the "COSMOS Desktop" window using the following command
    • xterm &
    • You should be logged in as observer@cosmos on this new xterm window. This should be seen in the command line prompt.
  10. Start the COSMOS observing software (i.e., NOCS) from either of the open terminal windows on the vncviewer desktop
    • ./bin/fixlink
    • nocs start hardware
    • nocs start all
    • nocs start klog (optional)
    • The script ./bin/nocs_start.csh performs the first three of the commands above.
  11. Windows will now start to appear on the vncviewer
  12. In the "Data Handling System Supervisor" window
    • Click on the"Paths & Files" tab
    • Set the "Raw Image Dir" to the proper date (YYYYMMDD) and apply the change
    • Set the "Image Root Name" to the desired value (e.g., night1, night2, etc.) and apply the change
    • Click on the "Process Status" tab
  13. In the "NOCS Monsoon Supervisor Layer (NMSL)" window
    • Watch the text screen as the detector controller is initializing
    • If the background to the text screen is orange or yellow (not-white), the controller has initialized in simulation mode
    • Simulation mode is caused by the following
      • The Torrent controller is turned off
      • The fiber is not properly connected
      • The ethernet cable is not plugged into the proper port (Port 17) in the Cassegrain cage
    • To fix the simulation mode problem stop the NOCS and ask Observer Support and/or Telescope Operations to check the fiber, cables, and power supply to the Torrent controller and restart the NOCS from Step 10 in this guide.
    • Verify that the controller voltages are in range
      • If the voltages are not in range run the follwoing from the command line
      • nmslReset
    • Click on the "Options" button and select "Hide Text Window" if desired
  14. Open the "NOCS Telescope Control System (NTCS)" window from the button on the toolbar
    • Click on the "Options" button and select "Enable Command Buttons"
    • Click on the "Options" button and select "Hide Text Window" if desired
  15. Open the "NOCS Instrument Control System (NICS)" window from the button on the toolbar
    • Click on the "Options" button and select "Enable Command Buttons"
    • Click on the "Options" button and select "Hide Text Window" if desired
  16. The "NOAO KOSMOS Spectrograph (NGUI)" window should be open on the screen
    • Click on the "Options" button and verify that"Include Lamp Control?" is not selected.
    • Click on the "Options" button and verify that"Include Lamp Prompt?" is not selected.
    • Click on the "Options" button and select "Set Project". This is only done at the start of an observing run.
      • Update the information in set project
      • Select "Save" when completed
      • From a terminal window, issue the following command
        • nocs set project
  17. From the COSMOS IRAF Desktop vncviewer on display :21
    • Go to the terminal window labeled "COSMOS IRAF Desktop"
    • ssh -X -Y -l observer cosmos-4m.ctio.noao.edu
    • Open an xgterm from the terminal window
    • Switch to the xgterm window and start iRAF
      • cl
      • cd /data2/observer/YYYYMMDD
      • !ds9 &
    • Load the necessary IRAF packages
      • obsutil
      • mscred
    • Open another xterm window from the "COSMOS IRAF Desktop" window
      • xterm &
      • ssh -l monsoon cosmos-4m.ctio.noao.edu
      • Execute the "vncdhs &" from the command line to open the DHS vncviewer.
  18. You are now ready to create observing scripts and start observing

COSMOS Shutdown

  1. Go to one of the terminal windows
  2. Stop the NOCS software
    • nocs stop all
    • nocs stop hardware
    • nocs stop klog
  3. Close the IRAF and ds9 windows, if desired. If you are observing for multiple nights you may want to keep these running.
  4. Close the dark slide of the instrument in the Cassegrain cage.

COSMOS Restart

Sometimes the COSMOS Data Handling System (DHS) will freeze during readout. If this occurs follow the steps below.

  1. Stop the NOCS from a terminal window
    • nocs stop all
    • nocs stop hardware
  2. Logon to the COSMOS DHS computer
    • ssh -l monsoon cosmosdhs-4m.ctio.noao.edu
    • password: ****
  3. Clear the temporary files that are causing the problem
    • /dhs/bin/zzkpvm
    • cd /tmp
    • ls -a
    • rm .smc*
  4. Exit the COSMOS DHS computer
  5. Start the NOCS software
    • /home/observer/bin/fixlink
    • nocs start hardware
    • nocs start all
  6. Follow steps 14-16 from the COSMOS Startup Guide
  7. After restart, check that the camera focus value before resuming obsevervations.
  8. If the DHS is freezing frequently, it may be necessary to reboot the DHS computer. This is best done during the day in case the disk needs to run a file system check (fsck).

Updated on January 6, 2022, 4:12 am