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The Messenger Telescopes and Instrumentation

Should I stay, or should I go? Service and Visitor Mode at ESO’s Paranal Observatory

No. 173 (September 2018), 2–6

Authors
  • Rejkuba, Marina [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
  • Tacconi-Garman, Lowell E. [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
  • Mieske, Steffen [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
  • Anderson, Joseph [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
  • Gadotti, Dimitri [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
  • Marteau, Stephane [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
  • Patat, Ferdinando [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
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Section
Telescopes and Instrumentation
Abstract

Since the beginning of Very Large Telescope (VLT) operations in 1998, ESO has been offering time in both Visitor Mode (VM) and Service Mode (SM). In this article we discuss the advantages and limitations of these two observing modes, explain the rationale behind the one-hour observation rule in SM, and provide some statistics comparing the usage in each mode. Community demand has been steadily growing for SM observations and is now above 80% for normal programmes (i.e., not Large or Guaranteed Time Observation programmes). Here, we highlight the benefits of VM and promote its usage to the community. We also emphasise the low demand for SM for observations in the most demanding seeing conditions.

DOI
Bibcode
2018Msngr.173....2R
Dates
Created: 2018-09-01/2018-09-30
Length
5 pages
Rights
Copyright European Southern Observatory

Cite this article:

Rejkuba, M., Tacconi-Garman, L., Mieske, S., Anderson, J., Gadotti, D., Marteau, S., Patat, F.; Should I stay, or should I go? Service and Visitor Mode at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The Messenger 173 (September 2018): 2–6. https://doi.org/10.18727/0722-6691/5090