Data Sets for Data Reduction

[Tom Droege <tdroege@veriomail.com>]

I have recruited the start of a Data Reduction Group.  We will try to get 
some useful information out of the data I have accumulated.  This is 
represented by two growing data sets.  One which I will call T was taken 
with TOM.  The M data set was taken with MICHAEL.  Note, that once MICHAEL 
is shipped at the beginning of December, I will continue taking M data with 
MIKE, the next system down the line.

The T data set.  Presently 60 disks or 4800 images.

TOM can only peak out of the tower at the sky.  It is the prototype and I 
am more interested in finding problems with it than performing a 
survey.  It operates as follows:

It is fixed (but might move if I bump it) in declination.

1) Rewind to the reference RA position.
2) Start tracking the sky
3) Take a dark frame of 100 seconds
4) Take 4 sky frames of 100 seconds
5) Repeat to 1) through the night.

There is some overlap in RA.   The first sky frame has one corner obscured 
by a tree limb.  The others look clear.  As time progresses, there are 
fewer and fewer ice crystals on the images.

Data set T gets 4 measurements of each star each evening spaced by 2-4 
minutes.  There are 18 good evenings.  Many stars will have 10 sets of four 
measurements spaced over 48 days.  The four images can be easily stacked to 
go to fainter detections.

Data so far is from JD below with the 80 image CD ROMs taken:
1803		2
1804		2
1805		2
1813		2
1814		2
1815		4
1816		5
1817		6
1820		5
1824		3
1827		2
1828		1
1829		3
1836		4
1837		5
1838		3
1839		4
1851		5

The M data set.  Presently 30 disks or 2400 images.

MICHAEL is sitting on the balcony and can see more sky.  It also has a 
working declination drive, such as it is.  It is thus being operated to 
watch a large area of the sky.

1) Rewind to the reference declination position, 14 N
2) Rewind to the reference RA position 0 W
3) Start tracking the sky
4) Take a dark frame of 80 seconds
5)  Move up 3 (later data is stepped 3.5 degrees) degrees in declination
6) Take a sky frame of 80 seconds
7) Repeat to 5) four times.
8) Repeat to 1) through the night.

Coverage is roughly 14 to 27 degrees in declination by whatever RA was 
available from dusk to dawn.  The frames overlap in both RA and 
declination, I believe.  I have only looked at a fraction of the 
data.  There is a curvature problem.  We may find that the frames only 
overlap in RA at the highest declinations.  I have tried to adjust the 
exposure time and the declination steps for the best coverage.  We may want 
to change some parameters.

Note that data set M covers a large piece of sky once an evening.  I have 
already data for 5 nights.  So many stars will have 5 points in time taken 
over 14 days.

Data so far is from JD below with the 80 image CD ROMs taken:
1837		5
1838		3
1839		4
1846		3
1851		5


Note that all measurements consist of a V and an I exposure.

Tom Droege