MDM Observatory 2.4m Telescope Observer's Report for 2008 May 12

Observer(s): M. Kilic
Institution(s): OSU

Instrument: Direct/Echelle

Worked for 8.5 hours (all night)
Conditions were Mixed most of the night.
Problems were encountered, see the separate trouble report for details.

Seeing and Weather:
   Beg: Seeing 0.8 arcsec, Clear, Winds Moderate
   Mid: Seeing 1.2 arcsec, Clear, Winds Moderate
   End: Seeing 1.6 arcsec, Clear, Winds Light & Variable

Observing Summary:

Before I started, I've noticed that the A/C system for the mirror
was giving problems sometimes. It somehow thought that the ambient
dome temperature was several hundred degrees for couple of
seconds, and it would disable the A/C cooling system. After awhile
the cooling would start again. However, due to this problem, the
mirror was 10.7 C when I started, instead of 10 C. The seeing was
really good at the beginning. However, after the middle of the
night the mirror ended up warmer than the ambient temperature and
the seeing got worse. The weather also had a big part on the
seeing as the temperature dropped suddenly after 1am.
Overall, a scientifically useful night, but the seeing could
be better for the second half of the night.

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Submitted on 2008 May 13 [5:33:01]