SOHO SPWG Minutes



SPWG FINAL MINUTES Friday 26 September 2003

1. Boundary conditions


* SOHO is now rolled by 180 degrees relative to solar North.

* The next manoeuvre is planned for October 7. It will include a 180
  degree roll, station keeping (SK) and momentum management (MM).
  Due to technical constraints, the order will tentatively be:
  MM, Roll, SK, MM. Fuel estimate: 0.0156kg (MM) + 0.1245kg(SK),
  total: 0.1401kg

  The following manoeuvre is tentatively scheduled for December 30
  (TBC).

* The estimated dates for the next 3 keyhole periods are given below.
  For estimated keyhole dates through 2006 follow this link

* Sep 22        High Rate on 26m stations ends,
* Sep 27        High Rate on 34m stations ends, TBC
* Oct 11        High Rate on 34m stations starts, TBC
* Oct 16        High Rate on 26m stations starts, TBC

* Dec 23        High Rate on 26m stations ends, TBC
* Dec 26        High Rate on 34m stations ends, TBC
* Jan 4, 2004   High Rate on 34m stations starts, TBC
* Jan 8, 2004   High Rate on 26m stations starts, TBC

* Mar 15, 2004  High Rate on 26m stations ends, TBC
* Mar 19,2004   High Rate on 34m stations ends, TBC
* Apr 2, 2004   High Rate on 34m stations starts, TBC
* Apr 7, 2004   High Rate on 26m stations starts, TBC

  With the current schedule, it looks like the September/October
  keyhole will have minimal data loss (VC0/1), with a maximum gap
  between contacts of about 10 hours. Note that margins are small,
  and we will quickly lose data if we have problems getting high
  rate on the 70m stations.

  NOTE: No uplink is scheduled for September 30. Downlink only.

  NOTE: There will be very little VC2/3 (MDI high rate), even to the
  extent that the 96min magnetograms cannot be counted on all the
  time. We have submitted an OCD asking for a minimum of 6 minutes
  of VC2 per UT day (even if it causes VC0/1 data loss) to have
  at least some MDI magnetograms every day.

  From MDI: The Kitt Peak Vacuum Tower solar magnetograph has been
  decommissioned in anticipation of installing the SOLIS instrument
  on the vacuum tower.  As such it is important that as many as
  possible of the MDI synoptic magnetograms be recovered during the
  SOHO keyhole.

  Comment from Joe Gurman: GONG+ magnetograms, which are of only
  slightly lower resolution than MDI full-res magnetograms and are, I
  believe, obtained every minute.

* The situation looks much worse for the following two keyhole
  periods, due to the needs of the Mars missions. We have almost no
  70m contacts; typically only two 34m passes of about 3-5 hours each
  per day. More details will be available later, but we would like all
  teams to start thinking about their operations for such a scenario.
  Note that NRT will be scarce (and possibly at inconvenient times),
  so consider ways of conserving uplink time.
  
  Unless a Major Flare Watch is in progress, TRACE will be doing full
  disk mosaics if/when EIT is not able to do synoptic sets due to
  keyhole operations.

* MDI continuous contacts

  Sep 10-Nov 23 MDI 60-Day Continuous Contact (interrupted by keyhole)

  MDI is doing Full Disk Doppler for the CC period (before AND after
  the HGA keyhole) plus some second variable.  Before the keyhole
  (10-22 Sept), MDI did Full Disk Doppler and high resolution magnetograms.

  The plan for the second part of the 60 day continuous contact is to
  run Full Disk Cropped Dopplergrams and Magnetograms.

* Submodes: Submode 6 for the foreseeable future, except the following
  submode 5 periods:

  Nov 17-30     MEDOC Campaign #12
  Nov 24-Dec 7  Ulysses Quadrature Observations, POC: Giannina Poletto
                  UVCS/CDS(TBC)/SUMER/Ulysses/TRACE(TBC)

  Submode change dates/times for the Nov 17-Dec 7 period are not
  determined. UVCS starts Ulysses Quadrature observations November 23,
  but the first two days will be shared with star observations.

* EIT Bakeout/CalRock/Shutterless/Other:

* Sep 26-Oct 3  EIT Bakeout
* Dec 10        EIT Shutterless Run #13 Segment 1, 14-16:40 UT
* Dec 14        EIT Shutterless Run #13 Segment 2, 12-14:40 UT
* Dec 18        EIT Shutterless Run #13 Backup Day, 17-19:40 UT 

NOTE: All shutterless and bakeout dates are obviously TBD with keyhole
operations. Presumably, bakeouts will be scheduled preferentially
during periods with poor DSN coverage.

TRACE will support the EIT bakeout with full disk mosaics, and will
also support the shutterless runs.

* Commanding outlook: See AOB section.
  NOTE: No uplink scheduled for September 30.

* Long-term DSN outlook: November 1, 2003 - March 1, 2004 is a very
  heavily subscribed time for DSN. We may see less contact time than
  we are used to.

* Oct 11        TRACE atmospheric absorption expected

* Oct 26        Daylight Saving Time ends at 6 UT (US) and 1 UT (Europe),
                  GSFC local = UT-5 hours = Central Europe-6 hours


2. Priorities for the coming month & more

a) Joint observing plans and campaigns

* Sep 18-30     Moving Magnetic Features Around Sunspots, MDI/TRACE/Sac Peak,
                  POC: Mandy Hagenaar (hagenaar@lmsal.com), Ted Tarbell

MDI will support as much as DSN will permit.

* Oct 4-11      Active Regions Near Disk Centre, TRACE/SPO


* Oct 11-17     JOP150 Dynamics and Seismology of the Solar Atmosphere,
                  MDI/EIT/TRACE /Sac Peak, 
                  POC: Alexander Kosovichev (sasha@quake.stanford.edu),
                       Francesco Berrilli (fberrilli@solar.stanford.edu)

MDI support for JOP150 is dependent on the DSN schedule for 11-17 Oct.
HR Magnetograms, Dopplergrams and Filtergrams may be possible if we
have high rate times when the JOP is running.  Exact plans are TBD.

LASCO and DSN willing, EIT could add another synoptic set at 16:00 UT
on those dates.

TRACE will be supporting another SPO coordination from October 4 - 11.
So will not pick up JOP 150 until the 12th, unless it is compatible
with the SPO run.

* Oct 17-23     JOP155 Polar Coronal Jets, CDS/UVCS/LASCO/EIT/TRACE,
                  POC: Danuta Dobrzycka & Kuen Ko

EIT would appreciate input from UVCS at least two days before any
requested EIT non-195 Å observations (presumably, 171 Å or 304 Å).

Danuta has contacted instrument teams to set up the observations.  She
will be able to decide when and what kind of EIT support we will need
after we know the detailed schedule from TRACE.

TRACE: It would appear that JOP 157 is also overlapping here so we
will do some juggling if necessary


* Oct 20-29     JOP157 Bright Points in Active Regions, 8-18 UT,
                  CDS/EIT/RHESSI/TRACE(8-17 UT after Oct 23)/MDI/THEMIS, 
                  POC: Brigitte Schmieder (brigitte.schmieder@obspm.fr)

The request for TRACE support for JOP157 came after the request for
JOP155, so JOP155 has precedence for TRACE during the overlap days,
October 20-23. TRACE prefers targets for at least a full day, so we
hope JOPs 155 and 157 will communicate to remove the overlap from our
schedule.

MDI will only be able to support JOP157 with Full Disk Magnetograms and
Dopplergrams.

EIT: CME watch in 195 Å unless otherwise requested, after October 23.
SOC note: Prior to October 23, EIT is committed to JOP155 and may be
doing CME watch in other wavelengths for periods of 1 - 3 days.

CDS will support, but hope that full 10 hours/day is not needed.

* Nov 6         EIT Calibration Rocket (TBC), POC: Jeff Newmark

Since TRACE will be in eclipse season in November, they ask that the
rocket flight happen during TRACE daylight. TRACE has a 90-minute
orbit; predictions for eclipse times will be available about 2-3 weeks
ahead of time.

The date (November 6) is tentative for now, we expect to get a
confirmation soon. Unfortunately, the launch time will not be very
flexible, so it may be impossible to avoid TRACE eclipses, unless
it's only a matter of a few minutes shift.

* Nov 17-30     MEDOC Campaign #12 

NEW JOP:

* During MEDOC  JOP171 Solar Network Variability and Dynamics (TBC), 
                  CDS/EIT/MDI/TRACE, POC: Peter Gomory (gomory@ta3.sk)

CDS: JOP 171 ok, requires 8 hrs/day

Depending on when the JOP171 is run, MDI will be able to support the
JOP with different observing programs.  If the JOP is run in November
during MEDOC 12, before Nov 24, MDI will support with Full Disk Magnetograms
and Dopplergrams.  After Nov 24, MDI will support with HR
Magnetograms, Dopplergrams and Filtergrams, DSN permitting.

Support by TRACE will need to be coordinated.

* Nov 24-Dec 1  High-time-resolution Magnetograph Test, MDI/NSO,
                  POC: Craig DeForest, early UT afternoon.

* Nov 24-Dec 7  Ulysses Quadrature Observations, 
                  POC: Giannina Poletto (poletto@arcetri.astro.it),
                  UVCS/CDS(TBC)/SUMER/Ulysses/TRACE(TBC)

There was also a request sent to TRACE for these observations but
there is overlap with Brigitte's JOP so we are waiting to see how the
MEDOC folks plan to sort this out. It is our understanding that the
Ulysses coordination asked for observations first, so they will likely
get priority.

CDS received a request to run supporting studies 00:00 - 07:00
UT. This time conflicts with the synoptic studies and is under
consideration.

The UT time for this study seems to be somewhat unclear, and will need
to be clarified.

NEW JOP:

* Nov 24-30     JOP170 AR Magnetic Field Temporal Changes, 8-18 UT,
                  THEMIS/CDS/TRACE(TBC)/MDI/EIT, 
                  POC: Brigitte Schmieder (brigitte.schmieder@obspm.fr)

EIT: Not contacted with request for specific support, so will assume
only synoptics plus 195 Å CME watch will suffice until told otherwise.

TRACE: See comments above.

CDS JOP 170 ok, but hope that full 10 hours/day is not needed. 

MDI should be able to support this study with HR Magnetograms,
Dopplergrams and Filtergrams, DSN permitting.

Continuing campaigns:

*               JOP159 CMEs in Lyman-alpha (#6870), SWAN/LASCO/EIT/UVCS,
                  POC: Chris St Cyr, Eric Quemerais

Targets of opportunity for the whole period:

*               JOP136/MMOP009 Default RHESSI collaboration (#6850)
*               JOP153/MMOP003 Major Flare Watch (#6970)

Campaign number 6850 is for "individual instrument studies" selecting
an AR target [partially] influenced by the Max Millennium target.
This target will be observed by a significant number of ground based
observatories, so chances for serendipitous co-observations are good.

b) Intercalibration activities

Last Intercal 1: September 4 (Week 36)

* Week 40/41/42 Intercal 1, CDS/EIT

(Note: Weeks 40-42 are during the keyhole, but it seems likely that
the weekly planners will be able to find an opportunity at some point
during the three weeks).

CDS will match EIT's plans, suggest Tue, Wed or Thu. Week TBD by
planners.


c) Individual instrument plans

MDI:

See section 1 (boundary conditions) for MDI continuous contact periods.

All requests for MDI support need to be made several months ahead of
time and sent to mdi-ops@mdisas.nascom.nasa.gov.

MDI's REQUEST page is at http://mdisas.nascom.nasa.gov/coordination.txt
NOTE: Listing of a study on that page means *only* that a request has
been received, not that it will necessarily be supported.

Craig DeForest has requested MDI HR Magnetic/Doppler support for
his "high-time-resolution magnetograph" test with NSO for 24 Nov
through 1-Dec.  MDI will support this test with HR Magnetograms,
Dopplergrams and Filtergrams, DSN permitting.  The testing at NSO will
be early UT afternoon.

UVCS:
  See their planning page (below) and the SOHO calendar for weekly plans.
  http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/uvcs/observations/obst.html

  The following are listed because of NRT requirements or as candidates
  for collaboration (with e.g. CDS):

* Sep 25-Oct 1  UVCS Streamer Study
* Oct 2-Oct 5   UVCS Observations of South Coronal Hole
* Oct 6-12      UVCS Polar Coronal Hole Observations
* Oct 13-15     UVCS Streamer Study
* Oct 16        UVCS Spica Star Observations
* Oct 24-Nov 2  UVCS Observations of the South Coronal Hole and the Equatorial
		  Coronal Hole


CDS:
  See their request diary for details
    (http://solg2.bnsc.rl.ac.uk/scientificops/request.shtml)

CDS will consider joining UVCS in coronal hole & streamer studies,
when UVCS observes at 1.7Rsun and includes some coronal lines. An
advance summary of UVCS positions & lines would help.


LASCO/EIT:

See section 1 (boundary conditions) for EIT bakeouts/shutterless and
other special items.

LASCO has been requested to support IPS measurements of slow solar
wind between September 26-October 5. An EIT bakeout has been scheduled
for September 26-30, giving LASCO higher cadence.

From IPS lead observer:

The dates of our campaign as we see them at the moment are 5th
September to 5th October, with a break (for an EISCAT common program)
currently scheduled for 22nd to 26th September.  Between 27th
September and 5th October we have a good radio source lying within the
LASCO C3 field of view and so would like C3 in high cadence mode for
at least some of this time if at all possible.

For the ~7 day duration of the bakeout, LASCO will implement the
following program: 6xC2 and 6xC3 images per hour taken
alternatively. Thus both instruments operate at a 10-minute
cadence. pB sequences will be taken at their usual times, colour
sequences at their usual times except for the weekend


TRACE:

NOTE that TRACE in general reserves the right to withdraw support from
agreed, existing collaborations if a sufficiently "good active region"
is called by the Max Millennium group.


3. AOB


* Next SPWG: Friday October 24, right after weekly meeting in the EOF.

* The ECS software support group has identified the problem, and have
  a fix that has been successfully tested on the development hardware.
  Tests on the operational ECS hardware are being scheduled. However,
  considering the long time that has passed since last recompilation
  of the ECS software, and a personnel change (Paul Doupont has
  retired, ECS Sysadmin is now Rusty Sapper -
  rsapper@ecsman.nascom.nasa.gov), this may take a while. We hope to
  have the tests done before the end of the keyhole (lack of contact 
  allows more time for testing).

* The OBT correction procedure prior to OBT distribution (after a Warm
  Startup) has not been formally approved. However, it would be
  applied if approval is given by the Program Office before the OBT is
  distributed.

* Commanding issues: NRT versus background queue.

MDI has very good experiences with big loads on the background queue.

UVCS has successfully tested the background queue, and will likely
use it on a regular basis during future keyhole periods.

LASCO/EIT will not be able to use the background queue due to technical
limitations relating to the electronics box.

CDS use of the background queue is impossible due to the interactive
verification of table loads etc.

* DSN support should be requested at least 6 months in advance.  Keep
  this in mind for: ground-based collaborations that require MDI
  support, stellar/shutterless observations that require NRT, etc.

* If anyone has projects that require high-cadence MDI support, now is
  a good time to ask! If you need MDI data, make sure you request it
  specifically. There is no significant change in the shutter
  performance over the last 10 months; monitoring continues, but no
  immediate changes in operations are planned.

* Commanding outlook

Week 40 - Sep 29 - Oct 05: Lots of downlink/uplink pairs and gaps all week.
                           Monday NRT before SVM and after 23:30 UT.
                           NO UPLINK ON TUESDAY.  The rest of the
                           week has limited NRT usually just before or after 
                           SVM time.  Some evening NRT every night except
                           Tuesday and Wednesday.  DSS-27 is on Wednesday, 
                           Thursday and Saturday.

Week 41 - Oct 06 - Oct 12: Monday only NRT is before and right after SVM.  
                           Tuesday SOHO Manoeuvre on early pass, 4-hour gap,
                           then DSS-34 at 20:10 UT.  Wednesday has 10-hour gap
                           until 17 UT, then 7 hours of contact.  Limited
                           uplinks on Thursday (10-15:20 UT) and 
                           Friday (11:30-15:20 UT) Two-hour gap at 18 UT 
                           Saturday and gaps at 12:20 and and 20 UT Sunday.

Week 42 - Oct 13 - Oct 19: DSS-27 every day except Tuesday and Friday.
                           Good commanding Monday except for 12-14 UT gap.
                           Tuesday has 12-19:40 UT gap and Wednesday a
                           12:20-18:30 UT gap.  Continuous contact resumes
                           at 7 UT Thursday.  Downlink-only station Friday
                           15:35-19:55 UT.

Week 43 - Oct 20 - Oct 26: Continuous contact all week.  Downlink-only on
                           Monday 16:40-19:55 UT and Wednesday 21:25-05:05 UT.
                           DSS-27 every day but Friday.

Week 44 - Oct 27 - Nov 02: Continuous contact all week.  Downlink-only 
                           stations on Monday 11:15-15:30 UT, 
                           Tuesday 8-13:45 UT, Wednesday 02:35-06:05 UT, 
                           Thursday 11:35-13:50 UT, and Friday 17:15-20 UT.  
                           DSS-27 every day except Sunday.