The QSO Project QSO Manager: Nadine Manset ESPaDOnS Main Coordinator: Nadine Manset System Programmer: Tom Vermeulen Database Specialist: Billy Mahoney Senior Service Observer: Todd Burdullis Service Observers: Mary Beth Laychak, Peter Forshay, Adam Draginda

Welcome to the QSO Page! This section presents the most recent news regarding the QSO mode with MegaCam, WIRCam and ESPaDOnS! Come back often and stay informed on the progress made in our QSO endeavor...

Last update: 09/23/2009

QSO Run summaries for previous semesters are available starting with 2004A.

The first step for applying for time in a queue mode is to submit a proposal to the Time Allocation Committee. For the Canadian, French, Taiwanese, and Brazilian communities, this must be done through CADC's Web interface, Poopsy. All the necessary information for queue proposals with MegaPrime, WIRCam and ESPaDOnS for the semester 2010A can be found in the Web documents below. It is STRONGLY recommended to carefully read the relevant document before starting to work with Poopsy; those documents are updated with new information before each semester. Investigators should spend some time to familiarize themselves with the QSO concept, the characteristics of the instruments, and the general procedures.

Notes for 2010A:

• CFHT offers non-sidereal tracking in QSO mode for all 3 QSO instruments. With this option, targets defined with ephemeris will get their non-sidereal rates calculated and sent to the Telescope Control System. Note that the tracking starts to exhibit drifting after only a couple of minutes. Non-sidereal guiding is not offered; only tracking with non-sidereal rates will be available. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the QSO Team at qso-=at=-cfht.hawaii.edu .
• The minimum exposure time for WIRCam has been lowered to 2.5s.
• New for 2010A for WIRCam:
  1. Staring Mode is now offered, please see details on the 2010A page and send any question to qsoteam -=at=- cfht.hawaii.edu
  2. PIs MUST include 15s overheads for each telescope slews performed between a target position and a sky position.

For more information concerning the QSO Project and for any help during the preparation of your queue proposal, contact the QSO Team.

PH2 is a sophisticated Web based tool designed specifically for the Phase 2 submission of observations with MegaCam, WIRCam, and ESPaDOnS, and available from the CFHT Web site.

The phase 2 period for accepted proposals for 2009B with MegaCam, WIRCam and ESPaDOnS will open on June 5, with a deadline of June 18, 2009, at 14h HST.

1. The telescope schedule is prepared after PIs have all entered their PH2; if not knowing the telescope schedule in advance causes problems for your PH2, please email qsoteam -=at=- cfht.hawaii.edu for further instructions.
2. NEW since 09A: we now offer non-sidereal tracking with all 3 instruments. Please consult the Tutorials below for a few helpful tips (about guiding, maximum length of exposures, disabled options, etc.).
NEW for ESPaDOnS: users can prepare and upload their own Finding Charts. Please see the Tutorial for requirements.
3. If you have any question or comment, please email the QSO Team (qsoteam -=at=- cfht.hawaii.edu). Do NOT email individual members of the team, because this can delay answers depending on each member's schedule.

List of 2009B QSO programs for MegaPrime, WIRCam, and ESPaDOnS.

The documentation has been re-organized and simplified. Two short documents present How QSO works at CFHT and the General Principals of Phase 2 (PH2). Each document starts with an Abstract and a set of keywords, to help users find topics of interest. All users are encouraged to read those documents at least once, which should take about 15 minutes.

The tutorials for each instruments have been simplified and updated. A short section at the top summarizes the basics of PH2. A Table of Content and links throughout the tutorials ease navigation. The tutorials are available within PH2 through the "Tutorial" button, or directly from the following links:

You need to contact the QSO Team? Please send an email to qsoteam -=at=- cfht.hawaii.edu. During a QSO run, communication between the investigators and the QSO Team will be done exclusively through the QSO Coordinator, not the QSO observer. For the status of your program, please refer first to the Web night reports (below).

The QSO mode is well-adapted for target-of-opportunity programs. If you want to submit unpredictable TOO observations to be carried out in a queue mode with the MegaCam, WIRCam or ESPaDOnS during the current semester, you must fill up a special Web form. Following this information, the CFHT Executive Director will review your proposal. If telescope time is allocated, the QSO Team will either ask the PI to fill in the required PH2 information, or extract the necessary information from the Web form and prepare the observations. If you have already received telescope time from the TAC for your TOO program, you do NOT have to fill this form.

The complete CFHT TOO policy and the proposal submission form are available below:

During a semester, night reports are available from this page, after data evaluation performed by the QSO Team (done following each observing night).  The night report page allows the user also to extract the current status on the QSO programs. Thus, you will not have to contact us to know what's happening with your observing program.  We are also publishing some statistics on the QSO mode during a given semester (see next section). More information, notably regarding the weather conditions and data distribution, have also been added to these reports. Suggestions are also welcome!

QSO Night Reports

The current statistics on the QSO mode are now available on this page. This includes the time distribution for the different Agencies as well as some global numbers on the programs.

Current Statistics (MegaCam)

Current Statistics (WIRCam)

Current Statistics (ESPaDOnS)

The proprietary period of QSO data extends by default to 1 year + 1 month starting at the end of the QSO semester. For instance, data taken for the 2009B semester (August 1 - January 31) will have a default release date set to 02/28/2011. The extra month is allowed because of possible delays in the data reduction distribution of observations carried out near the end of a semester. If an extension is requested in Poopsy during the Phase 1 period and is approved by TAC, a new date will be set for this program through the QSO system. This release date for the QSO data is indicated in the fits headers by the keyword REL_DATE.

Note: Since data can be taken at almost any time during a semester in a queue mode, it will not be possible to change the release date after the beginning of a semester. For snapshot programs, the proprietary period is three months following the end of the semester. The CFHTLS data have a different release date, regarding the proprietary period system supported by the Board of Directors.

QSO Project Technical Documentation

QSO reports for semesters: 2008B 2008A 2007B 2007A 2006B 2006A 2005B 2005A 2004B 2004A 2003B 2003A 2002B 2002A 2001B 2001A