LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

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This page is under heavy development and is subject to change.

List of Observation Types for LSSTCam

The observation types used when observing with LSSTCam (via the IMGTYPE FITS header) provide information to downstream users telling them the primary reason for the observation. It is preferable for observations that are being done for a specific purpose as part of standard observing to use a specific observation type to make it easy to find them and simplifies processing configurations. This metadata is available in Butler via the exposure.observation_type metadata field.

Here the list of all the agreed upon observation types.

Table 1 Observation types for LSSTCam

Name	Purpose
BIAS	A bias observation (shutter closed and 0s exposure).
DARK	An exposure taken with the camera shutter closed.
FLAT	Observation of the flatfield screen.
OBJECT	A science observation suitable for standard survey processing. Called “science” in butler for consistency with other instruments.
ENGTEST	Tracking observation of the sky (maybe with dome closed) used during telescope testing.
ACQ	Short (~1s) exposure to check target acquisition or image quality after another observation (e.g., focus or CWFS sequence).
CWFS	Curvature wavefront sensing images, typically extremely out of focus, used to determine wavefront errors and compute optical corrections.
FOCUS	A sequence with a large initial focus offset. Data is taken while returning the focus toward its original position, passing it by a similar amount.
STUTTERED	An observation where rows are shifted during the exposure.
INDOME	An image taken in the dome with the shutter open but not aimed at the calibration screen or CBP.
CBP	An image taken in the dome with the shutter open and pointed at the CBP.
SFLAT	A sky or twilight flat.
DFLAT	A flat-field exposure taken with lights off — effectively a dark with shutter open.
SPOT	A spot observation.