6.4 Target Entry

The Spitzer observing proposal process is started by launching the Spitzer Planning Observations Tool (Spot) and entering the target information. As described in §2.4.1, we first start Spot and bring up a new Target window, either by selecting ``New Target'' from the ``Targets'' pull-down menu, or by clicking on the target icon (the ``bullseye''), from the left on the taskbar (see Figure 2.1). The completed Spot Target window for this example is shown in Figure 6.1; the steps for filling in the Target window as shown are described below.

Figure 6.1: Completed Spot Target window.

In this example, we wish to obtain spectra at a single position, of a non-moving target. Hence, we choose the ``Fixed Single'' tab in the Target window. Type ``3C 273'' in the ``Target Name'' entry box, and enter the RA and DEC in the target table. Options to resolve the coordinates of a named target using NED or SIMBAD can be accessed from Spot's Target window. However, the proposer should confirm that the returned coordinates are accurate and represent the desired location for the observation (especially in the case of extended targets). If the target's proper motion is non-negligible, then these values should also be entered in the target form. Although the field of view is small through any of the IRS slits, we select the boxes to avoid bright moving objects during the observations (both ``Earth+Moon'' and ``Others''; the latter includes Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the brightest asteroids currently visible to Spitzer. This will prevent the observations from being made when the target coordinates are within $7^{\circ}$ of the Earth and Moon, or within $30^{\prime}$ of the objects in the ``Others'' list.