Setting Up and Managing Accounts

How do I set up an account with SSON?

After you register with SSON, you can log into your personal SSON account. After you log in to SSON, additional menu items appear on the navigation tree at the top of the SSON web site. If you are the primary owner of the account, two new menu selections appear on the navigation tree: Manage My Account and Manage My Affiliates.

What are Affiliates and what do I do with them?

Affiliates are people to whom you want to allocate part of the credits in your account to enable them to schedule their own images – through your account. If you are the only person scheduling images on an account, then you do not need to assign any Affiliates. However, you can set up an account to enable one or more people other than yourself to use the credits in your primary account and allocate any amount of your credits you choose. This is a convenient account management tool for professors, teachers, clubs, and individuals to allocate and manage the credits in an account among many people.

Image Data

What data do I receive when I schedule images?

Your completed images are stored as standard FITs files compressed as ZIP files on our server in your personal SSON FTP directory when you download them. You can decompress your files using any of the many readily available unzip programs.

What are the pixel scale and field of view of the images I receive?

The pixel scale and field of view of your images depends on which SSON telescope you select for your imaging runs. You can review the specifications for each telescope in the network from the Observatories section of our web site:
Sierra Stars Observatory
Rigel/Winer Observatory Telescope
Mt. Lemmon Sky Center Telescope

How do I schedule images?

You use the SSON Observation Request Form, which you access from the Manage My Account section of our web site. Scheduling images on this form is easy and straightforward. You can select objects (stars, galaxies, nebula, asteroids, comets, and so on) from a large list of astronomical catalogs on the Observation Request Form. Alternately, you can select a specific RA and DEC field to image. When you schedule image and they are accepted, you get an acknowledgement when you submit your schedule.

Do I need to schedule my own calibration files (bias, dark, and flats)?

No. We create calibration files for each observing run (night) and automatically calibrate the raw data for you.

How do I get the images I schedule? How do I know when they are ready?

You must use an FTP program to retrieve your image files. If you do not have an FTP program available on your computer, you can use this browser-based ftp site to retrieve your image files: http://www.ftpvweb.com/. Alternatively, you can download this free ftp program called Filezilla.

You can find more detailed information about downloading your images on the Jobs Completed section of your SSON account.

You receive an email message when SSON uploads your images to your personal SSON FTP directory. Your images are available for you to download shortly after the completion of the observing run for each observatory.

Can I cancel a job schedule I submitted before it runs?

Yes. You can cancel any scheduled pending jobs up until the cutoff times listed on the SSON Scheduling Form.

What happens if the jobs I schedule are not run on the night I set to take them?

By default, your scheduled jobs run the night when you submit a schedule. If for some reason your jobs do not run that night, then they will run the next available night (weather permitting). You have the option on the schedule form to set a specific date only to run a schedule. If that schedule does not run on that date, then the schedule will not run afterward. To run that schedule again you must resubmit the schedule.

If one or more of my images are corrupted does SSON charge my account for the imaging time used?

No. We ensure that you only pay for reasonable high-quality image data. If your images are corrupted by clouds (or other weather related causes) or due to any other reason (a tracking failure or other equipment malfunction), simply let us know and we will credit your account for the time used.

Planning Schedule Runs

Sierra Stars Observatory Network requires that you have at least a rudimentary knowledge of what they are seeking to image. This requires some planning on your part. Try to schedule objects that appropriate for the time of year and for our observatory location (latitude north or south of the equator). Also, be sure to schedule images for objects that have a reasonable chance to be near transit during an observing run. You can use one of the many free and commercial planetarium and observation planning programs to help you determine which objects to select for your observation scheduling.

See the Operations Guide for Using SSON from more detailed information about planning schedule runs.

If you do not understand these concepts, you have some homework to do before making effective use of our system. We are always there to help you though so don’t hesitate to ask if you need help.