Remote observing with the Keck Telescopes

Albert Conrad; John Gathright; Robert I. Kibrick

doi:10.1117/12.278817

18 September 1997 Remote observing with the Keck Telescopes

Albert Conrad, John Gathright, Robert I. Kibrick

Proceedings Volume 3112, Telescope Control Systems II; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.278817
Event: Optical Science, Engineering and Instrumentation '97, 1997, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

We describe the remote observing capabilities currently provided at the Keck Headquarters in Waimea (located approximately 32 km from the Keck summit and at an elevation of 850 m) as well as the subset of capabilities now available from the mainland via the Internet. The bandwidth available between the telescope and the remote observing site determines which of several remote observing software and networking architectures is most cost-effective. We describe our operational experience with several different architectures, differentiating between those used at Keck headquarters and those used for remote observing from the mainland. Methods for optimizing bandwidth are explored, including the pipelining of image readout with data compression and transmission to the remote site. Tradeoffs between network bandwidth, security, and portability of software to remote observing sites are also explored.

Citation Download Citation

Albert Conrad, John Gathright, and Robert I. Kibrick "Remote observing with the Keck Telescopes", Proc. SPIE 3112, Telescope Control Systems II, (18 September 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.278817

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