For better or worse, the original MagAO-X NSF proposal included funds to bring a brand new type of camera to the party – a superconducting sensor array that runs at 0.1 degrees above absolute zero. The big idea is that these arrays can tell you the energy of every photon that hits them, without the pesky noise sources that typically degrade astronomical images. These detectors, called MKIDs, are also VERY FAST, which lets you play all sorts of fun games to pick faint sources out from the background starlight that MagAO-X hasn’t bothered to deal with.
This camera, called XKID, was originally meant to just be the DARKNESS instrument from Palomar moved down to Magellan. However, DARKNESS uses liquid helium for cooling, and that has become outrageously expensive, so we actually took the old ARCONS fridge and did a massive upgrade. This resulted in the beauty you see above.
XKID will extend the wavelength range of MagAO-X out to 1400 nm (J band), allowing astronomers to look at older, colder exoplanets, and also provide low resolution spectroscopy and eventually focal plane wavefront sensing to help MagAO-X clean up all the meshugas the damn atmosphere gets up to.
Jeb Bailey, Noah Swimmer, and I are in the process of getting this bad boy cooled down and tuned up, which is always an adventure. Later in the week we will mate it up to MagAO-X (for the first time!) and hopefully see stuff… Stay tuned!
Song of the day
Say what you want, I’m a sucker for the classics.
The Milky Way, taken 2/25/24 from Las Campanas with my iPhone.
This blog post was titled—somewhat optimistically—earlier today, but rest assured, dear reader: MagAO-X is even more alive now than when I wrote that. There is a polemic I could write about the Linux kernel’s casual attitude toward hardware support, but the short version is: we got everything reinstalled and connected and closed the loop in lab this evening on 1,564 modes.
As you may have heard, our Instrument Control Computer was supposed to get a software remodel, but instead ended up with the equivalent of a spit-shine and a new coat of paint. (One can imagine worse outcomes.) The best efforts of our hardware partners to provide Linux support were no match for Linux itself, which continues to defeat all comers in its ability to break software that once worked.
On the plus side, I hear the new way to write drivers is, like, super convenient. Shame about all those old drivers y’all have.
The highlight of the day (other than the loop closing thing) was the arrival of Eva and Lardy:
This afternoon a van disgorged a Professor Lardy Clos (optomechanics lead, natty dresser) and Eva Maklaod, soon-to-be-Ph.D. student in the XWCL.
It was a bit disappointing to spend all that effort on the computer upgrade and then roll it all back, but getting here early means I’ve run out my quarantine days already. And that means I’m allowed in to the dining room to dispense cappuccinos from the fancy machine, and that is an outcome worth celebrating on its own.
The third most exciting thing to happen today was spotting this neat bug:
Song of the Day
A review of the blog archives (blargchives?) revealed that nobody had ever used 2000s classic “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence as a blog post Song of the Day before. (Jared didn’t believe me.)
“Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence
Required Song Context Per Rule 2023A§5(c): It is hard to pinpoint when I became aware of this masterpiece. To date myself (and/or upset my elders) I was a melodramatic 13 year old when it came out. That alone is reason enough to resonate with the subject matter. (Wikipedia research reveals the songwriter was 19 when it was written, which tracks.)
Per the blog rules I should explain a memorable occasion when the song was played, but “being 13” might not cut it. Instead, I offer the following important facts:
“Bring Me To Life” reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, but #1 on the US Alternative chart. (And was the number one song of the year in the Australian Rock charts, what the heck.)
The sudden dude energy that kicks in at 2:50 in the song was apparently due to record executives being too chicken to release a song with female lead vocals and heavy guitars. I always thought it was incongruous and now that all makes sense.
I have just learned that it served as the official theme song for WWE’s 2003 No Way Out event, a totally normal stop on the route to international fame.
But alas, we ended the night with the decision to undo the last two days of Joseph’s hard work and abandon our attempt to upgrade a computer O/S. (We also discovered that one of our main motivations for upgrading on this run was . . . still a problem). So it’s back to trusty ‘ole CentOS in the morning.
I’ve seen Clint Black live twice. The first time was at the 1995 edition of We Fest, what was then the “Camping and Country Music Festival” but is now just a “Country Music Festival”. That there’s why I don’t go no more. The second time was in Lincoln, Nebraska a few years later. I almost saw him live a third time last Fall in Tucson, but couldn’t make it.
This is one of my favorite Clint Black songs:
A Good Run Of Bad Luck by Clint Black
Also from a great movie. It’s funny that Clint is wearing white here, both times I saw him he was in head-to-toe black as one would expect.
We had a modestly productive day today. Our main goal during these first couple of lab days is to overhaul our instrument control computer (ICC). Joseph has been arguing with it all day, and maybe has it coming into shape as of sunset tonight.
The day started with a Vizzy visit.
Vizzy the (current) cleanroom Viscacha. He was a little bit agitated because of a bunch of forklift operations, but settled down for a photo.
After a brief (planned) power outage we got to work putting MagAO-X on its air legs.
Mauricio Cabrales and Emilio Cerda helped us run the crane.
Overall it was a solid animal day.
Double Guanacos by the Telescopio Solar.Herd of burros by the 100 inch.Two cautiously friendly girls hoping for food.I have a roommate.A brightening moon hangs over the observatory at sunset.
The song of the day is “Ready to Go” by Republica. This was the signature song of an Australian cover band playing a bar in Bahrain in mid-2003. In Bahrain there aren’t very many bars and few of those were playing good ‘ole rock and role, so the crew of USS Pasadena (SSN-752)* spent a lot of time in this particular one. I’ve been listening to this ever since.
Ready to Go by Republica
*The photo of Pasadena pulling into Pearl marks my only known presence on wikipedia.
Jared and I traveled to Las Campanas Observatory over the last 24 hours, and we’re finally ready to relax get things ready before the rest of the team rolls up. Also, the travel day blog has unofficially served as the repository for surprises, changed policies, and caveats for travelers in These Unprecedented Times—so I better get them written down before I forget.
Most of the tips from the previous Day 0 post remain valid. We did, however, see some people randomly selected for post-arrival COVID-19 tests this time.
Tucson
Documentation exigencies were the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic, with only the usual passport check required. (I did hand over my vaccine cards in my passport, so I guess the agent knew I had them if needed, but no online pre-approval is required any more.)
The TUS-ATL leg was uneventful, aside from some drama wherein the Delta reservation system informed Jared that, not only was he being “upgraded” to a middle seat, but it was because his profile in the system indicated an expressed preference for middle seats. (“Said no one ever,” as the saying goes.)
I also got “upgraded” the night before and was able to switch it back quickly, but something’s clearly awry in the Delta system. Double-check your seats before you show up!
Atlanta
The Atlanta layover was uneventful, but we did notice another system malfunction: The Plane Train between terminals at ATL was in a reboot loop. We lacked the foresight to capture it for the #blog-ops channel, but apparently it does this a lot and Reddit had evidence.
Don’t worry: it was only the informational displays that were on the fritz. We did not end up stuck on a ghost train.
Also, the Atlanta gate agents were the ones who could get Jared his preferred seat back. Hooray for solving problems (of their own creation)!
In the air between Atlanta and Santiago
The new Airbus Whatever that we flew on for the long haul Delta flight from ATL to SCL was pretty dang nice. By making the seat backs paper thin and rigid they somehow seem to have increased legroom in main cabin. And I didn’t notice the chairs being less comfortable—notably, they’re more comfortable than the LATAM flight I took from LAX to SCL for 2022B.
Also, I recommend flying on a Tuesday; it seems to maximize your chance for an empty middle seat in your row. The aisle seat was occupied by a Brazilian dude named Victor who had relocated to Chile by going on vacation and never returning, then gotten a job in the Chilean embassy in DC, and now lived in Arlington, Virginia. If he is to be believed, he had previously worked not only as an embassy staffer but also as a crane operator at a mining camp in Chile and as a LATAM flight attendant, and he had quit the embassy gig to pursue some self-employment hustle.
He also said Chilean food was amazing and his favorite thing about the country. No lies detected.
Santiago
Clearing customs was uneventful. After customs, if you head left down the hall with the taxi stands, there is a LATAM recheck counter. We usually ignore this and take our bags across the way, but today we had a minor surprise: they would not accept Jared’s bag for check-in at 8:30 AM for a 1:00 PM flight. They relented after some convincing, fortunately. I, on the other hand, had re-checked my bag with the LATAM agent after customs—sparing me both the schlep and the kvetch.
Note that without LATAM “priority” (i.e. Delta loyalty status) there could be a long line to re-check bags after taking them across to the domestic terminal, which is another argument in favor of re-checking after customs. (An argument against is that the bag re-check agent in the basement is always the slowest person LATAM has working on any given day.)
The Santiago airport layover otherwise provided its usual limited selection of amusements: McDonalds and Starbucks. The McTrashcan was out of order, however.
There was also some more software gore in the ordering kiosk. Surely nobody would want to use the English interface and pay with a card, right?
After several tests, exactly one pair of working outlets was identified at the corner of the Starbucks seating area against the window, near the boarding door for the adjacent gate. (We wish you luck in securing them.)
La Serena
The flight to La Serena got a little loopy. Nothing to worry about, unless you’re operating on few hours of sleep and wondering if you got stuck in a time loop.
Once we got out of the holding pattern, we were on the hardstand in minutes.
[I had a selfie to include here but upon review I look way too tired.]
After retrieving our bags from the (only) baggage carousel, we were whisked away by Sol del Valle Transportation in a well-appointed minivan. La Serena delivered street art as usual:
The transport from La Serena to Las Campanas got us in around 5:30—to the paramedic station, to get our nostrils swabbed. They appear to have shortened the swabs themselves, effectively discouraging the nasopharyngeal gouging ritual that had been the standard in the past.
This paramedico is my new favorite!
Jared R. Males, Ph.D.
We aren’t nearly as well supplied for our three-day bubble-mode this time. I didn’t even have a mug provided to use with my coffee pot! Fortunately, I brought my own:
So, there you have it. Tucson to Las Campanas in 24 easy hours. Time to collapse.
Song of the Day
There is no rule this time that the Song of the Day must be thematically appropriate, but we did just Get Out of Tucson…
Song of the day provenance and context: I’ve long been a fan of CHVRCHES, and I saw CHVRCHES perform this in concert in Tucson with lab alumna Dr. Lauren H. Schatz, Ph.D. back in 2019.
