OB Naming Conventions
General Rules
So as to facilitate the observers' job, some OB naming conventions are required. Regardless of the instrument, the following generic prefixes must be used when naming OBs:
- PRE_ - pre-imaging OB (e.g. PRE_Field A)
- TOO_ - Target of Opportunity OB (e.g. TOO_GRB-1); see also note below
- RRM_ - Rapid Response Mode OB (e.g. RRM_grb346+580_3x600s)
- MOV_ - Moving Target (i.e. solar system) OB (e.g. MOV_TNO-43A)
- CAL_ - Calibration star (e.g. photometric, telluric, radial velocity, polarization, etc) (e.g. CAL_TNO-43A)
Note: All observations belonging to a ToO run must start with the TOO_ prefix, including those belonging to the other categories mentioned above: for instance, an OB intended to observe a star for calibration of a ToO science observation should have a name starting with TOO_CAL_.
Note: Pre-imaging OBs for moving targets should have a name starting with the prefix MOV_PRE_.
For OB time sequences, please name your OBs in such a way that the sequence is obvious. Examples:
Field A - Night1
Field A - Night2
Field A - Night3
Field B - Baseline
Field B - Baseline + 1 week
Field B - Baseline + 2 weeks
Please use always a unique name for each of your OBs, even if they are identical to each other. For example, a series of 3 identical OBs on NGC 5128 may be called NGC5128-1, NGC5128-2, NGC5128-3, instead of calling all three OBs NGC5128.
Please use always names which do not contain 'No Name'.
Note: allowed characters in the OB name: letters, digits, space, + - _ .
Additional Naming Rules for VLTI
Any VLTI OB must have its name beginning by one of the following prefixes, in order to indicate the type of target (either science or calibrator):
- SCI_ or TOO_SCI_ (Target of Opportunity programs)
- CAL_ or TOO_CAL_ (Target of Opportunity programs)
For moving targets, the prefixes MOV_ or TOO_MOV take precendence (i.e. MOV_SCI_, MOV_CAL, TOO_MOV_SCI_, or TOO_MOV_CAL).
It is recommended to use unique OB names across an observing programme (i.e. across different runs of the same programme).
Additional naming rules for GRAVITY
- No additional rules.