The NAOS Preparation Software

What is the NAOS Preparation Software?

The goal of NAOS Preparation Software (NAOS PS) is to assist the observer during the preparation of NAOS-CONICA observations. It allows him/her to simulate the performance of the adaptive optics for the proposed targets. The output is a parameter file, containing all information to optimally set-up NAOS. This file has to be inserted in the Observation Blocks (OBs) created with p2. It also allows one to call the CONICA ETC — the exposure time calculator for the high-resolution near-infrared camera CONICA — in order to compute the required observation time.

The NAOS PS consists of:

PS Client (JNPS)
This is a Java-based application that provides an interactive interface to the PS Server, communicating with the PS Server via http protocol. The Client has to be installed and executed on a computer at the home institute of the astronomer (see below for installation).
PS Server
This is a C-based application that does the actual simulations. It runs on a ESO Web server.

For further information, see the CONICA/NAOS Users' Manual.

Current Version: JNPS-1.105

Note about this release

The NAOS Preparation Software to be used for Period 103 is version 1.105. Note that the choice of the wavefront sensor is now hardcoded to be IRWFS given the definitive unavailability of its visible counterpart.

Important note: to be able to connect to the NAOSPS server with this version, please make sure to set up the file .jnpscf in your home directory, so that the server's URL reads:

 

server.name=www.eso.org/observing/etc/naosps

Release Notes

  • v1.105 - Minor bugfixing.
  • v1.103 - The seeing enhancer mode has been introduced that can be used when choosing the LGS in the wavefront sensor menu.
  • v1.102 - The interaction with the ETC is now improved, and works in both directions. That is, the ETC and NAOS-PS interact
    • by loading the NAOS-PS-generated HTML file into your favorite web browser, or
    • when calling the ETC directly (the ETC now queries the NAOS-PS server for on-the-fly performance estimates).

Supported Platforms

In principle, JNPS 1.105 will work within any Java Virtual Machine which supports Java Runtime Environment (JDK) 1.5.0 or later. It has been reported to work using a variety of Unix and Linux flavors, as well as MacOS X.

Until further notice, ESO will only officially support JNPS under the following operating systems:

  • Scientific Linux 4.3

Complete installation kits for these systems, including an appropriate Java Runtime Environment, are available (see below).

If you wish to install and run JNPS under a different operating system, you do so at your own risk.

If you do not have access to a computer running one of the officially supported operating systems, please send e-mail to usd-help@eso.org.

JNPS Installation

Unix Installation Procedure

To install JNPS, you will need to retrieve the distribution kit for your operating system, unpack and install it, and start the JNPS executable. You may also need to retrieve a Java Runtime Environment, if you don't have one on your machine already.

Please follow these steps:

  1. Move to the directory where you want to install JNPS.
  2. Download the following installation kit:
  3. Unpack the installation kit
    • gunzip -c jnps-1.105.tar.gz | tar xvf -
    • This creates a directory structure that starts with: jnps-1.105/
  4. If needed, download the Java Runtime Environment:
    • The NAOS PS will work with versions 1.5 and later of Java. If you already have a usable version of Java on your computer, go to the next step. (Hint: if you are using P2PP on your machine, then you already have a correct version of Java.) Otherwise, download the following tarball:
    • jre1.5.0_06-Linux.tar.gz [Linux, 29.7 Mbytes compressed]
    • ... and uncompress it on your machine:
      • gunzip -c jre1.5.0_06-Linux.tar.gz | tar xvf -
      • This creates a directory structure that starts with: jre/
  5. Set path to the Java executable:
    • Make sure that the java executable is accessible, setting your PATH variable appropriately. For example, if you have downloaded one of the above Java tarballs into your home directory, then you will need to set the PATH variable in this way:
    • for csh and tcsh shells: setenv PATH ${HOME}/jre/bin:${PATH}
    • for sh and bash shells: export PATH=${HOME}/jre/bin:${PATH}
  6. Set proxy server information:
    • If you run the JNPS application on a computer which has a direct connection to the Internet, go to the next step. Otherwise, if your computer is connected to a internal network which has access to Internet services through a proxy server, you must provide information related to the proxy server by adding the following lines into the file .jnpscf located in your home directory:
    • proxy.enable=true
      proxy.name=[yourProxyServerName]
      proxy.port=[yourProxyServerPort]
    • For example, with a proxy server named web-proxy.eso.org using port 3120, the $HOME/.jnpscf file should contain the following: proxy.enable=true
      proxy.name=web-proxy.eso.org
      proxy.port=3120
  7. Move to the JNPS bin directory and add it to your Unix PATH
    • for csh and tcsh shells: cd jnps-1.105/bin
      setenv PATH ${PATH}:${PWD}
      rehash
    • for sh and bash shells: cd jnps-1.105/bin
      export PATH=${PATH}:${PWD}
      hash -r
  8. Execute JNPS:
    • simply type jnps at the prompt in a terminal window.
    • If the JNPS main panel appears, then you have successfully installed JNPS. You can delete the compressed TAR file.
    • Warning: Make sure you are really running JNPS 1.105. The JNPS version is listed at the top of the main window.

      Important note: to be able to connect to the NAOS PS server with this version, please make sure to set up the file .jnpscf in your home directory, so that the server's URL reads:

      server.name=www.eso.org/observing/etc/naosps

For a list of the changes in this release, see the list at the top of this page.

Suggestion: Update Your Unix Path Definitions

If you update the PATH definition in one of your rc or login files, you can run JNPS by simplying typing jnps next time you login. Possible files to update: $HOME/.tcshrc $HOME/.cshrc $HOME/.loginHere is an example PATH line:

  • for csh and tcsh shells: setenv PATH ${HOME}/jnps-1.105/bin:${HOME}/jre/bin:${PATH}
  • for sh and bash shells: export PATH=${HOME}/jnps-1.105/bin:${HOME}/jre/bin:${PATH}

NAOS/CONICA Users' Manual

Check the NAOS-CONICA documentation page

The user manual includes a Section specific to the Preparation Software. It is more than 100 pages long. To save trees, we suggest using a double-sided printer when making hardcopies.

Bug Reports

Please report JNPS bugs using the User Support Department helpdesk.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Instrument selector

This page is specific to NACO

NAOS PS