CWRU Nassau Station Robotic Telescope

Getting Started

You may want to open up another web browser so that you can keep this guide in one window while you follow the steps and links in the other.

Where ever you see this question mark icon, you can normally click and follow a link for help.

Four Easy Steps

Here are four easy steps to becoming an active NSRT Telescope User. This quick guide is no substitute for the information contained in the NSRT Reference pages but it should get you started in the right direction.

1. Create A User Account

   On the NSRT User Options page follow the link to New User Registration under the heading "User Accounts." Follow the instructions to fill out the form to receive your NSRT User account.

2. Submit an Observing Proposal

   Now that you have a user account you can submit observing proposals to the telescope. On the NSRT User Options page follow the link to Submit a new observing proposal under the heading "Telescope Access." There is extensive help for filling out the observing proposal form found in the form of links on the form (remember, look for the question mark icons) and a reference document entitled "Help Submitting a Proposal," found on the NSRT Reference pages. We suggest that new users use the siplified "snapshot" proposal submission form while learning the ropes.

3. Patiently Wait

   Your proposal is entered in the telescope observing queue ( information on the queue here) and you will be notified by e-mail when it has been processed and completed. In the mean time, you can check on the proposals you have submitted using the Browse/Manage submitted proposals option under the "Telescope Access" heading on the NSRT User Options page. General statistics on the scheduler's queue processing activities can be found on the LINUS page. In preparation for receiving your data you may want to read up on software to reduce and display FITS data and the theory behind raw astronomical data reductions on the NSRT Reference pages.

4. Download Your Data

   Follow the Download data for completed proposals link under the "Telescope Access" heading on the NSRT User Options page. Download the data for your proposal from the "user download area" and the observing logs and calibration data from the "public download area."

From there what you do with the data you get is up to you.

Return to the NSRT User Options page

Questions, comments, or inquiries about the Case Western Reserve Nassau Station Robotic Telescope can be e-mailed to robotmail@grendel.cwru.edu