Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment APEX
OLD pages, check new site
Observing time calculator
MPIfR Bonn   ESO   Onsala Space Observatory
  APEX TWIKI CONTACT SEARCH HELP NEWS DISCLAIMER

Home > Instrumentation > Heterodyne Instruments > Observing time calculator > Calculator
Use this calculator for on-off observations. If you are planning on-the-fly mapping, you should instead use the dedicated OTF calculator

Integration Time Calculator

Heterodyne receivers By entering the atmospheric temperature (some 10 degrees below the ground temperature at Chajnantor), the (average) elevation of the source, the receiver temperature, required σ (in K), and the spectral resolution, the on-source integration time can be estimated. Also the total time is calculated assuming toff=ton and a system observing efficiency of 0.4, i.e. ttotal=(ton + toff)/0.4.The system efficiency takes into account both system and setup+calibration overheads. System overheads include telescope movements, software overheads, observing mode efficiency, etc. Setup+calibration overheads include source acquisition, pointing, focus, receiver tuning and calibration scans.
Frequency [GHz]
Redshift Z
Sky Frequency [GHz]
Trec [K]
PWV [mm H2O]
Tatm [K]
Zenith opt depth
Source elevation [deg]
RMS [K]
FFTS [Number of channels]
Vel. resolution Δv [km/s]
Tsys [K]
Position switching on-time Total PSW time [s]
Beam switching on-time Total BSW time [s]
     

 

RMS Calculator