User`s guide

FLAMINGOS at the MMT
IV. Taking Spectra with FLAMINGOS
Flamingos may be used for obtaining long slit or multi-object slit spectra; please see the overview section for
resolving powers within selected passbands. This section sketches out the sequence of commands required to
align a long slit or mos plate, and describes some of the calibration data typically taken. The following list of
commands is used for alignment of both long slits and mos plates:
On the flamingos command line:
config.exposure.pl Setup the filename and exposure time.
config.filter.grism.decker.wheels.pl Use to insert filter and grism and appropriate baffle.
config.mos.wheel.pl Use to insert long slit or mos plate
config.mos.dither.mmt.pl Setup the spectroscopy ABBA parameters
dither.mos.mmt.pl Take the spectrosopy ABBA data
guided.relative.offset.mmt.pl Use for offseting the telescope while guiding.
set.bias.pl Use to change bias for imaging or spectroscopy.
tweak.decker.pl Allows adjustments to the decker wheel position.
tweak.mos.pl Allows adjustments to the mos wheel position.
At the iraf cl prompt:
imexam Measure slit profiles and stellar centers (keys: a, x, g, i)
xbox Use to align a mosplate (keys: q, f, g)
A. Long slit Alignment
1. Acquire target on Flamingos. If necessary, adjust telescope pointing with relative.offset.mmt.pl until
target is positioned at the center of the array.
2. Have the telescope operator acquire a guide star, and begin guiding.
3. Have the telescope operator adjust focus; the guide camera should be confocal with Flamingos and should
give a good starting focus. Take another image with Flamingos, to see if the focus still needs a tweak.
4. Measure the object's centroid with imexam.
5. Insert decker long-slit baffle using config.filter.grism.decker.wheels.pl.
Verify slit is straight along the chip (small dx for a large dy). Use imexam and j to fit a gaussian to a
cross-cut through the slit at two different y-values. You may need to epar jimexam, and modify the
fitted sigma, since this slit is very wide.
If necessary, straighten the decker slit using tweak.decker.pl.
6. Now insert slit using config.mos.wheel.pl.
Verify slit is straight; don't forget to reset jimexam if you modified any parameters earlier when
inserting the decker.
Measure x-location of slit.
7. Use guided.relative.offset.mmt.pl to move the star onto the slit. You may need to iterate with this step,
and peak up the flux from the object through the slit.
8. Once aligned, insert filter and grism combination with config.filter.grism.decker.wheels.pl.
9. Verify bias is set to 0.75 V for spectroscopy.
10.Configure filename and exposure time.
12/23