Configuring Telescopes¶
Before you can run the scheduler, you need to register at least one telescope (also called a facility in RIA-TOM). The scheduler uses the telescope's configuration to determine observation feasibility, compute overhead times, and apply mechanical constraints.
Adding a telescope¶
- Go to Telescopes in the main navigation.
- Click Add Telescope.
The form is divided into several sections described below.
General information¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A unique name for the telescope (e.g. IAC80, TNG, GOTO-N). |
| Description | Optional free-text description of the instrument or programme. |
| Public | If checked, all users can see and use this telescope. If unchecked, access is restricted to selected groups. |
| Groups | The user groups that can use this telescope. You, as the creator, are the administrator. |
Geographic location¶
The telescope's coordinates are used for:
- Computing the local sidereal time and target altitude.
- Fetching the weather forecast for that specific location.
- Calculating astronomical twilight times.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Latitude | Geographic latitude in decimal degrees (positive = North). |
| Longitude | Geographic longitude in decimal degrees (positive = East). |
| Elevation | Altitude above sea level in metres. |
Be precise
Even a small error in latitude (e.g. 0.1°) can shift twilight times by several minutes. Use the observatory's official coordinates whenever possible.
Mechanical constraints¶
These fields describe the physical limitations of the telescope mount and its movement:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Slew rate | Degrees per second the telescope can move. Used to calculate slew time between targets. |
| Settle time | Seconds the telescope needs to stabilise after a slew before the shutter can open. |
| Mount type | ALT-AZ or EQUATORIAL. Equatorial mounts may require a meridian flip. |
Instruments¶
Each telescope can have one or more instruments. Instruments are used to assign observation frames and calculate readout overhead.
Click Add Instrument to define each instrument:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Instrument name | Identifier (e.g. CCD-V, CMOS-g, EMCCD). |
| Readout overhead | Time in seconds the camera needs to read out after each exposure. |
You can add multiple instruments if the telescope has more than one camera or mode.
Observation limits¶
These fields define the angular limits within which the telescope can safely point:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Minimum altitude | Lowest elevation (degrees) the telescope can point to. This is a hard limit imposed by the mount or dome, independent of the per-target constraint. |
| Limiting magnitude | Faintest magnitude observable under typical conditions at this site. |
ASCOM robotic control¶
If your telescope is controlled by an ASCOM driver (common for smaller automated observatories), RIA-TOM can slew and start sequences automatically.
- Check the ASCOM Enabled box.
- Enter the ASCOM ProgID of your telescope driver (e.g.
ASCOM.Celestron.Telescope,ASCOM.iOptron.Telescope).
Once configured, the Start Sequence button will appear in the schedule viewer, allowing automatic execution of the night's plan. See Viewing Schedules — Robotic execution for details.
ASCOM availability
ASCOM is a Windows-only framework. This feature requires RIA-TOM to be running on a Windows host, or on a machine with network access to an ASCOM Remote server.
Editing and deleting telescopes¶
From the Telescopes list, click on any telescope to open its detail view. Use the Edit and Delete buttons to modify or remove it.
Deleting a telescope
Removing a telescope will also delete all associated FacilitySettings and may affect existing SchedulingProfiles that reference it. Scheduled windows assigned to that facility will lose their facility assignment.
Sharing telescopes between groups¶
If your observatory has multiple observing teams, you can share a telescope with specific groups:
- Edit the telescope.
- In the Groups field, add the groups that should have access.
- Uncheck Public if you want to restrict access only to those groups.
Members of those groups will be able to assign the telescope to their targets and run the scheduler for it.