SLA_OBS

Observatory Parameters

ACTION:
Look up an entry in a standard list of groundbased observing stations parameters.
CALL:
CALL sla_OBS (N, C, NAME, W, P, H)
GIVEN:

N

I

number specifying observing station


GIVEN or RETURNED:

C

C*(*)

identifier specifying observing station


RETURNED:

NAME

C*(*)

name of specified observing station

W

D

longitude (radians, west +ve)

P

D

geodetic latitude (radians, north +ve)

H

D

height above sea level (metres)


NOTES:
(1)
Station identifiers C may be up to 10 characters long, and station names NAME may be up to 40 characters long.
(2)
C and N are alternative ways of specifying the observing station. The C option, which is the most generally useful, may be selected by specifying an N value of zero or less. If N is 1 or more, the parameters of the Nth station in the currently supported list are interrogated, and the station identifier C is returned as well as NAME, W, P and H.
(3)
If the station parameters are not available, either because the station identifier C is not recognized, or because an N value greater than the number of stations supported is given, a name of ‘?’ is returned and W, P and H are left in their current states.
(4)
Programs can obtain a list of all currently supported stations by calling the routine repeatedly, with N=1,2,3... When NAME=‘?’ is seen, the list of stations has been exhausted. The stations at the time of writing are listed below.
(5)
Station numbers, identifiers, names and other details are subject to change and should not be hardwired into application programs.
(6)
All station identifiers C are uppercase only; lower case characters must be converted to uppercase by the calling program. The station names returned may contain both upper- and lowercase. All characters up to the first space are checked; thus an abbreviated ID will return the parameters for the first station in the list which matches the abbreviation supplied, and no station in the list will ever contain embedded spaces. C must not have leading spaces.
(7)
IMPORTANT – BEWARE OF THE LONGITUDE SIGN CONVENTION. The longitude returned by sla_OBS is west-positive, following the pre-1984 Astronomical Almanac. However, this sign convention is left-handed and is the opposite of the one now used; elsewhere in SLALIB the preferable east-positive convention is used. In particular, note that for use in sla_AOP, sla_AOPPA and sla_OAP the sign of the longitude must be reversed.
(8)
Users are urged to inform the author of any improvements they would like to see made. For example:
  • typographical corrections
  • more accurate parameters
  • better station identifiers or names
  • additional stations

Stations supported by sla_OBS at the time of writing:

ID NAME

AAT Anglo-Australian 3.9m Telescope

ANU2.3 Siding Spring 2.3m

APO3.5 Apache Point 3.5m

ARECIBO Arecibo 1000 foot

ATCA Australia Telescope Compact Array

BLOEMF Bloemfontein 1.52m

BOSQALEGRE Bosque Alegre 1.54m

CAMB1MILE Cambridge 1 mile

CAMB5KM Cambridge 5 km

CATALINA61 Catalina 61 inch

CFHT Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6m Telescope

CSO Caltech Sub-mm Observatory, Mauna Kea

DAO72 DAO Victoria BC 1.85m

DUNLAP74 David Dunlap 74 inch

DUPONT Du Pont 2.5m Telescope, Las Campanas

EFFELSBERG Effelsberg 100m

ESO3.6 ESO 3.6m

ESONTT ESO 3.5m NTT

ESOSCHM ESO 1m Schmidt, La Silla

FCRAO Five College Radio Astronomy Obs

FLAGSTF61 USNO 61 inch astrograph, Flagstaff

GBVA140 Greenbank 140 foot

GBVA300 Greenbank 300 foot

GEMININ Gemini North 8m

GEMINIS Gemini South 8m

HARVARD Harvard College Observatory 1.55m

HPROV1.52 Haute Provence 1.52m

HPROV1.93 Haute Provence 1.93m

IRTF NASA IR Telescope Facility, Mauna Kea

JCMT JCMT 15m

JODRELL1 Jodrell Bank 250 foot

KECK1 Keck 10m Telescope 1

KECK2 Keck 10m Telescope 2

KISO Kiso 1.05m Schmidt, Japan

KOSMA3M Cologne Submillimeter Observatory 3m

KOTTAMIA Kottamia 74 inch

KPNO158 Kitt Peak 158 inch

KPNO36FT Kitt Peak 36 foot

KPNO84 Kitt Peak 84 inch

KPNO90 Kitt Peak 90 inch

LICK120 Lick 120 inch

LOWELL72 Perkins 72 inch, Lowell

LPO1 Jacobus Kapteyn 1m Telescope

LPO2.5 Isaac Newton 2.5m Telescope

LPO4.2 William Herschel 4.2m Telescope

MAGELLAN1 Magellan 1, 6.5m, Las Campanas

MAGELLAN2 Magellan 2, 6.5m, Las Campanas

MAUNAK88 Mauna Kea 88 inch

MCDONLD2.1 McDonald 2.1m

MCDONLD2.7 McDonald 2.7m

MMT MMT, Mt Hopkins

MOPRA ATNF Mopra Observatory

MTEKAR Mt Ekar 1.82m

MTHOP1.5 Mt Hopkins 1.5m

MTLEMMON60 Mt Lemmon 60 inch

NOBEYAMA Nobeyama 45m

OKAYAMA Okayama 1.88m

PALOMAR200 Palomar 200 inch

PALOMAR48 Palomar 48-inch Schmidt

PALOMAR60 Palomar 60 inch

PARKES Parkes 64m

QUEBEC1.6 Quebec 1.6m

SAAO74 Sutherland 74 inch

SANPM83 San Pedro Martir 83 inch

ST.ANDREWS St Andrews University Observatory

STEWARD90 Steward 90 inch

STROMLO74 Mount Stromlo 74 inch

SUBARU Subaru 8m

SUGARGROVE Sugar Grove 150 foot

TAUTNBG Tautenburg 2m

TAUTSCHM Tautenberg 1.34m Schmidt

TIDBINBLA Tidbinbilla 64m

TOLOLO1.5M Cerro Tololo 1.5m

TOLOLO4M Cerro Tololo 4m

UKIRT UK Infra Red Telescope

UKST UK 1.2m Schmidt, Siding Spring

USSR6 USSR 6m

USSR600 USSR 600 foot

VLA Very Large Array

VLT1 ESO VLT 8m, UT1

VLT2 ESO VLT 8m, UT2

VLT3 ESO VLT 8m, UT3

VLT4 ESO VLT 8m, UT4