The Observatory Control System (OCS): open-source applications for managing the users, proposals, observation requests, scheduling, and science data for an observatory

J. Nation; M. Bowman; M. Daily; T. A. Lister; J. Sohi; L. J. Storrie-Lombardi; R. A. Street

doi:10.1117/12.2629809

25 August 2022 The Observatory Control System (OCS): open-source applications for managing the users, proposals, observation requests, scheduling, and science data for an observatory

J. Nation, M. Bowman, M. Daily, T. A. Lister, J. Sohi, L. J. Storrie-Lombardi, R. A. Street

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX; 121860Q (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629809
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

Introducing the open-source Observatory Control System (OCS) project, which aims to provide a suite of software for managing the user-facing operations of an observatory. It includes applications for managing users and proposals, requesting and scheduling observations, and storing and accessing data products. The OCS applications are fully API-driven for core functionality, and consist of a Python Django backend with VueJS frontend (where applicable) and a set of accompanying Python libraries. Using the OCS, observatories can enjoy seamless integration with the Astronomical Event Observatory Network (AEON) initiative. The core of the project consists of the Observation Portal, which provides user account and observational request life-cycle management, and the Configuration Database, which defines the capabilities of telescopes and instruments at the observatory. The OCS provides a fully functional adaptive scheduler and science archive, while its modular architecture allows them to be substituted for solutions specific to a given observatory. A flexible observation request language is employed which is suitable for a wide-range of telescope and instrument types. The OCS project applications are currently in use at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCOGT), managing a network of 25 telescopes, thousands of users and their proposals, and millions of observations.

Conference Presentation

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J. Nation, M. Bowman, M. Daily, T. A. Lister, J. Sohi, L. J. Storrie-Lombardi, and R. A. Street "The Observatory Control System (OCS): open-source applications for managing the users, proposals, observation requests, scheduling, and science data for an observatory", Proc. SPIE 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX, 121860Q (25 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629809

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