Remote Telescope Markup Language

1
Remote Telescope Markup Language
F.V. Rick Hessman (MONET/Univ. Göttingen) plus
many collaborators, e.g. C. Pennypacker (HOU), B.
Denny (DC-3 Inc), R. Emmerich E.C. Romero
(SALT), G.Tuparev (TT Inc.)
2
Where Im coming from..

• MONET MOnitoring NEtwork of Telescopes
• Two 1.2m f/7 imaging telescopes (Texas, South
  Africa)
• 60 science, 40 educational
• Strong interest in global networking

3
VOEvent STC ?

• IVOA/STC provides
• standard VO description of target coordinates
  (space, time, velocity, wavelength/frequency)
• standard VO description of observatory
  coordinates
• What VOEvent needs in addition
• physical description of event (type, origin,
  location, behavior)
• astronomical description of how event was
  observed or needs to be observed

4
The Purpose of RTML

• XML-based astronomical interface for
• exchange of observation requests/reports,
• support of remote, robotic, and service
  observations
• transfer of telescope/observatory status
  information
• exchange of project information (Phase I II,
  ToO)

5
A Short History of RTML
Pre 1999 Various inscrutable (if usable)
formats for description of observing
requests (e.g. ATIS) 1999 Development of RTML
1.0 by S. Gordon of Hands-On Universe 2001
Discussion of RTML 2, creation of eStar-RTML,
adoption of RTML 2.1 by many interested
parties (HOU, DC-3,...) 2002 RTML 2.1 syntax
published (Pennypacker et al., AA 395,
727) Pre-release of 3.0 by Göttingen for
discussion using XML Schema rather than
DTD 2003 First releases of RTML 3.0 by
Göttingen 2004 Schema administration via
XML-parsing TWiki, prototype RTML editor
Anduril, proposal of RTML-Server Registry (TT
Inc.) 2005 RTML 3.1 ready for MONET, SALT, VO
6
What RTML Does

• Fairly completely succinctly encapsulates
  standard astronomical information about
  targets, catalogues, (currently ground-based)
  telescopes, instruments, and miscellaneous
  devices
• Permits either the use of generic cameras and
  spectrographs and/or detailed non-generic
  instruments (also non-optical)
• Provides a description of astronomical
  scheduling constraints
• Description of calibration constraints and
  observations
• Some support for pipeline data reduction and
  results

7
What RTML Does (continued)

• WebService/VO-like syntax for server names
• Support for document permanence, server-side
  macros variables via references to unique
  document plus internal document IDs
• Provides a document format for standard Phase I
  II project information, including
  multi-institutional PIs/Co-PIs and
  time-charging - as a by-product!
• Simultaneous use of foreign schemata supported
  (3.1)
• Currently minimal support for IVOA/STC
  ltVOObservatoryLocationgt and
  ltVOObservationLocationgt as alternatives to
  native ltLocationgt and ltCoordinatesgt elements

8
What RTML Doesnt Do

• Not (originally) intended to describe events per
  se
• Full integration of IVOA STC, VOTable (yet)
• Not intended for dynamical control of
  telescopes/instruments (e.g. Instrument Neutral
  Device Interface, http//INDI.sourceforge.org
  )

9
Basic Building Blocks

• History time-stamped entries containing changes
  by agents
• Project contact info, scientific and technical
  justification
• Catalogue nameable collection of targets
• Target celestial, terrestrial, calibration
  direction, brightness/flux
• Telescope optical description, location
• Camera spectral region, detector, filterwheel,
  filters, platescale, spectral efficiency,
  position angle
• Spectrograph spectral region, dispersion,
  standard optical elements, detector, spectral
  efficiency, filter wheel, position angle,
  slit/slit mask
• Device generalized instrument composed of
  hierarchical elements
• Setup macro, collection of elements
• Schedule structure for detailed planning,
  constraints,

10
Scheduling Patterns

• Simple State-Model need a
  complete set of primary elements
  (Telescope) TargetCamera/Spectrograph/Device
  ExposureTrigger in order to have schedulable
  event
• Ideal for expressing preliminary Phase III, ToO
  info
• Ease of interpretation current state easily
  modified by changing/addition of elements
• Hierarchical scheduling blocks
• Hierarchical scheduling constraints airmass,
  aperture, selection from catalogue, time,
  exposure, extinction, FOV, moon, phase,
  position, S/N, seeing, simultaneity, sky
  brightness, chaining
• Connection/association of blocks via ids refs

11
Managing the Creation of the Schema

• XML Schema
• TWikiXML
• http//monet.uni-sw.gwdg.de/twiki/bin/view/RTML/
  WebHome
• Self-documenting
• Manual schema definitions
• Dynamic Schema checking
• XML syntax checking
• Dynamic graphical syntax images

12
Current Uses of RTML

• ACP2 request interface for many advanced
  amateurs and small professional installations
  using DC3s Astronomers Control Panel software
  (RTML 2.1, but update to 3 planned)
• Hands-On Universe? observation request and
  database format (RTML2.1, but update to 3
  planned)
• eStar Project request interface for eStar
  network, including 2x Faulkes 2.2m telescopes
  (RTML 2.2)
• MONET Project request, report, and telescope
  server administration interface for 2x 1.2m
  robotic telescopes (RTML 3.1)
• Exposure Time Calculator RTML 3.0 can be fed
  directly to the general- purpose MONET Imaging
  Telescope Simulator
• Editor prototype RTML 3.0 editor/Phase III
  tool Anduril
• SALT prototype phase I/II preparation tool
  document format (3.0)
• Other Projects interest expressed by many other
  robotic telescope projects..

13
RTML and VOEvent

• Some things match (at some level)
• Curation, Where, When, How, What, Hypothesis
• Informal registry via unique document ids
• STC-compatible already (3.1)
• Some things dont really (at some level)
• Designed as triggered observation report,
  not report of event
• Explicit time-charge model
• Areas which need VOEvent work
• Stronger difference between events triggers?
• Better STC compatibilty?

14
Solution(s)?

• Accept internal detail of STC and other VO
  standards
• Insist VO standards are flexible, as simple as
  possible
• RTML VOInstrument VOSchedule???
• Create conversions between formats as needed
  (e.g. XSLT)

15
Finis
16
A Simple RTML (3.1a) Document
ltRTML xmlnsxsi"http//www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema
-instance" xmlnshttp//www.rtml.org
http//MONET.Uni-Goettingen.DE/RTML/RTML-3.1a.xsd"
version"3.1a" mode"request" uid"de.uni-goet
tingen.MONET//G2003-0001"gt ltHistorygt ltEntry
timeStamp2003-05-19T114354gt ltAgent
nameHandy RTML Editor Version 1.0/gt
ltDescriptiongtCreation of documentlt/Descriptiongt
lt/Entrygt lt/Historygt ltProjectgt ltContact
principleInvestigatortruegt
ltUsernamegtDE.Uni-Goettingen.MONETfhessmanlt/Userna
megt ltNamegtFrederic V. Hessmanlt/Namegt
ltCommunicationgt ltEmailgthessman_at_astro.physik.Un
i-Goettingen.DElt/Emailgt lt/Communicationgt
ltInstitution nameGeorg-August-Universitaet
typeuniversitygt ltCommunicationgt
ltAddressLinegtGeismarlandstr. 11, 37083
Goettingen, Germanylt/AddressLinegt
ltFaxgt49-551-39-5043lt/Faxgt lt/Communicationgt
lt/Institutiongt ltTimeCharge unitspercentgt100
lt/TimeChargegt lt/Contactgt ltTitlegtDark Matter
in Markarian 1234?lt/Titlegt ltAbstractgtBy using
deep images of....lt/Abstractgt lt/Projectgt
XML stuff
Unique doc. I.D.
History mechanism
User info
Time-charge info
Project info
17
A Simple RTML 3.1a Document (cont.)
... ltTarget nameMarkarian 1234gt
ltClassificationgtagnlt/Classificationgt
ltCoordinatesgt ltRightAscensiongtltValue
unitshoursgt1.23456ltlt/Valuegtlt/RightAscensiongt
ltDeclinationgt ltDegreesgt1lt/DegreesgtltArcminu
tesgt2lt/ArcminutesgtltArcsecondsgt3lt/Arcsecondsgt
lt/Declinationgt ltEpochgt2002lt/Epochgt
ltCoordinatesgt lt/Targetgt ltCameragt
ltFilterWheelgt ltFiltergtltTypegtVlt/Typegtlt/Filtergt
lt/FilterWheelgt lt/Cameragt ltSchedulegt
ltDateTimeConstraintgt ltDateTimeStartgt
ltValuegt2003-05-31lt/ValuegtltSystemgtUTlt/SystemgtltError
gtP1Dlt/Errorgt lt/DateTimeStartgt
lt/DateTimeConstraintgt ltSeeingConstraint
maximum-1.5 unitsarcsecs/gt ltObservation/gt
lt/Schedulegt lt/RTMLgt
Target info

• RTML could fill the niche needed by VOEvent to
  describe astronomical information beyond STCs
  positions and coordinates
• RTML is designed to permit the transfer of
  observation requests
• Syntax is simple, straight-forward and humanly
  readable
• Conscious compromise between power/complexity and
  ease of implementation
• Development of XML Schema via parsing Twiki with
  graphics

Instrument info
Scheduling constraints
Triggered only if an ltObservationgt is in a
ltSchedulegt
18
Finis
http//HOU.lbl.gov/rtml http//www.Astro.physik
.Uni-Goettingen.DE/hessman/RTML Pennypacker et
al., 2002, AA 395, 727 (RTML 2.1) http/MONET.Un
i-Goettingen.de/bin/twicki/RTML