Pointing the radio dish requires logging into heiles.berkeley.edu (see datataking for instructions on creating the remote connection). The Leuschner radio dish is controlled through IDL using the following suite of commands:
| IDL Procedure/Function | syntax | example | description |
|---|---|---|---|
| dish.pro | dish, alt=value, az=value, /home, move_check = move_check | dish, alt=65, az = 120 | Points the dish to the requested alt and az.
Further functionality for maintenance can
be found in dish.pro Use the /home keyword to home or stow the dish.
Use move_check to see if coordinates are reachable by the telescope. Returns 1 for accessible, -1 for inaccessible. |
| isun.pro | isun, coord1, coord2 [,/aa] | isun, ra, dec isun, alt, az, /aa | Stores the ra and dec of the sun in ra and
dec Stores the alt and az of the sun (with keyword aa) in alt and az More thorough documention can be found in isun.pro |
| imoon.pro | imoon, coord1, coord2 [,/aa] | imoon, ra, dec imoon, alt, az, /aa | Stores the ra and dec of the moon in ra and
dec Stores the alt and az of the moon (with keyword aa) in alt and az More thorough documention can be found in imoon.pro |
| ilst.pro | lst=ilst([juldate=value]) | lst = ilst(juldate=2454140.5) | Returns the decimal hours of the local sidereal time at Campbell Hall for the specified julian date (or current LST if juldate is not given). More thorough documentation can be found in ilst.pro |
| systime | time = systime([/seconds] [,/julian] [,/utc]) | time = systime(/seconds) time = systime(/julian, /utc) | Returns the number of seconds since 1 Jan 1970 Returns the julian date (corrected for UTC if the keyword is set) This is a native IDL command |
| sixty.pro | hms = sixty(value) | hms = sixty(17.345) | Converts a decimal value and returns a sexigesimal array |
| ten.pro | h_decimal = ten(array) | h_decimal = ten([1,45,12]) | Converts a sexigesimal array and returns a decimal value |