Chapter 6:
Orbit Calculation for a Phase I Proposal
6.1 Overview of an Observing Program
6.1.1 General Observer (GO) Programs
6.1.2 Snapshot Programs
6.2 HST Visits
6.2.1 Defining New Visits and Optimizing Scheduling Efficiency and Flexibility
6.2.2 Instrument Specific Limitations on Visits
6.3 The Visibility Period
6.4 Acquisition Times and Instrument Overheads
6.4.1 Guide Star Acquisition Times
6.4.2 Target Acquisition Times
6.4.3 Instrument Overhead Times
6.4.4 Telescope Repositioning Overhead Times
6.5 Constructing Your Program
An important issue when preparing an HST observing proposal is calculating the amount of observing time you need to request. This chapter guides you through the steps that are required to accomplish this task. Appendix A illustrates some simple orbit calculations for each of the instruments.
