MDM Observatory 2.4m Telescope Observing Report for 2009 Mar 26

Observer(s): Kathryn Stanonik
Institution(s): Columbia

Instrument: Echelle

Worked for 5 hours (first half of the night)
Conditions were Non-Photometric most of the night.
No equipment or software problems were encountered.

Seeing and Weather:
   High Winds all night.
   Beg: Seeing 1.5 arcsec, Patchy Clouds, Winds High
   Mid: Seeing 2 arcsec, Clear, Winds High, dusty
   End: Clear, Winds High, dusty

Observing Summary:

Wind was strong throughout the night, blowing at about 20 mph 
with gusts up to about 30 mph.  On a few occasions this pushed 
the telescope significantly, however on multiple occasions this 
seemed to result in larger jumps to the east, like the telescope
slipped a little.  This first occured when the dome was pointed 
into the direction of the wind (N), and when I switched targets 
to something slightly more to the east this problem went away.  

Observations were limited by the poor seeing and windy 
conditions, and I closed the dome just after midnight due to 
strong winds (35 mph gusts) and dust in the air. I checked 
repeatedly throughout the night, and the dust let up but never 
totally went away. The 4m closed about the same time I did, and 
never reported reopening, so I stayed closed as well.  It's 
possible I am being overly cautious, but I figure better safe 
than sorry, and I'll check with the staff tomorrow to find out 
what amount of dust in the air is acceptable.


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Submitted on 2009 Mar 27 [5:48:27]
NOTE: This report replaces the previous 2.4m telescope
      observing report for 2009 Mar 26