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Overriding the OT's time estimate

There are circumstances under which the OT's sensitivity-based time estimate might not be reliable. For example, although the instantaneous $uv$-coverage of ALMA is excellent, there might be occasions on which a very bright source with a complicated structure might require more time than estimated by the OT. Another case might be the need to observe a source whose flux density is highly variable and thus the major factor in determining the time is to observe the source for long enough to track a certain number of variability cycles. If this is the case, then it is possible to override the sensitivity-based time with a user-entered estimate. This should be the time required for the most-extended 12-m configuration, including calibration and overheads. If other configurations and arrays are required, the OT will calculate the times for these in the same way as if the 12-m time had been calculated from the sensitivity. Why a user-defined override is necessary must also be rigorously justified in the Technical Justification node and a detailed description of the user-defined time estimate given.


next up previous contents
Next: Time specification - Solar Up: Control and Performance Previous: Time Estimation   Contents
The ALMA OT Team, 2017 Dec 18