MDM Observatory 2.4m Telescope Observing Report for 2020 Jan 19

Observer(s): John Thorstensen
Institution(s): Dartmouth

Instrument: OSMOS/B

Worked for 12 hours (all night)
Conditions were Mixed most of the night.
No equipment or software problems were encountered.

Seeing and Weather:
   Beg: Seeing 1 arcsec, Cirrus, Winds Light & Variable
   Mid: Seeing 1.5 arcsec, Patchy Clouds, Winds Moderate
   End: Seeing 2 arcsec, Cirrus, Winds High

Observing Summary:

The forecast was for cloud to roll in during the evening, and so
it did.  However, it never covered the whole sky -- clear bands
came rolling through -- and then later in the night a big clear 
spot came and hovered; satellite images showed a pocket of clear
sky with clouds rotating around it, and we were in the pocket.
Seeing started off very good but the winds picked up after 
midnight and it went soft, but never blew up as it can.  KPNO was
closed briefly due to wind, but it wasn't anywhere near the limit
here.  Humidity never rose.  

So I got more data than I expected, and among other things was 
able to kill off a cycle count alias by taking the telescope
to over 4 airmasses!

David Schiminovich and his students spent most of the evening
working on CHaS in the shop, but they worked quietly and 
without the overhead lights (which I really don't like) and 
were pleasant company.  They definitely deserve thanks for being
so considerate these last few days.

Also, it's worth noting that I didn't suffer from any real 
tech faults on either telescope for the whole run!  There's
some luck involved but good maintenance really doesn't hurt.

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Submitted on 2020 Jan 20 [6:56:14]