MAPS posts

System is ready, but Weather is here. Last night we started the night with clouds above and over 30 mph winds. We got the system ready for on sky time and then waited for the wind to die down. Hopefully it will all clear out and we will start doing some AO’ing soon. https://youtu.be/8fNhoHoGUe4?si=HqxhxJiuGwyEsA5k

…to defeat…chronic back pain. Or something like that. Yesterday, the MagAO-X team partook in rigging and crane safety training (or craining for short). “Why do we need a blog post about rigging? I just don’t get it!” ~ Anonymous MagAO-X Team Member Fair point, anonymous group member. However, plenty of excitement occurs during crainings. I have ...

Usually you would think, the big W problem for an observing run would be Wind. And usually you would correct… but not this time. When we went to sleep today morning, we were prepared for facing clouds at night but not Water shortage. There was no water at the bowl…would be a statement a thirsty ...

With all the bits and pieces working and at the end of last night. Tonight is geared toward the goal of the AO consistency, training, and reliability. As one can see from the picture from the start of the night it does not look promising. Training Training Training Amali had a classroom of future AO ...

‘Twas the night before running AO, when all through the telescopeThe wind was violently stirring, we had lost all our hope;The MAPS team decided that the night would finishIn hopes that tomorrow the gales would diminish;There are 52 more lines in this old-time poemSo I will write the remainder of this blog in the way ...

We started the night with a group photo featuring the stars of the show: the 6.5-meter primary and our beloved ASM watching over us from directly above our heads. It’s a good thing Ruby, Dan and the MMT day-crew gang ensured its secure installation. Courtesy of TO Ben Kunk. Peep Amali in her muppet coat! She’s just too cool for French fashion school.(no ...

Hello! I am a former MagAO-Xer cutting her teeth in the adaptive secondary world as a new member of the MAPS team. Last night, as winds hurdled through the dome, and I was crouched under the MIRAC mid-IR imager attached to the MAPS topbox (aka WFS unit), trying to see what knobs my fellow optical ...

Welcome to the last blog for the MAPS August 2024 observing run! The evening started off with Grant and Oli performing an LED strip test that would allow us to more clearly see out of focus images on our pupil lens and visible wavefront sensor. The LED light strip was placed in front of the ...

The duality of nature is something I’ll never stop wondering at: my first post came to you on a night so action-packed, I felt incapable of writing every detail down. Last night, however, we didn’t leave lightning shutdown. To bide the time in hopes of some sky-time, Amali guided me through the MAPS CACAO simulation; from ...

Hello! My name is Lauren. Similarly to Bianca (introduced in the last blog post), I am research staff for CAAO, and the second padawan under the great Amali Vaz. This is my sixth MAPS observing run, and I have been given the duty of making my first blog post! Since we are currently clouded over, ...