6.9.5.1 Using Spot to Automatically Add a Background Observation

When you create a LH or SH AOR and click "OK", Spot brings up a window asking whether or not you would like background observations to be taken (Figure 6.13).

Figure 6.13: Example of Spot's ``background observations'' window.

If you click on Generate Background AOR, Spot will bring up a "Fixed-Cluster positions" window (Figure 6.14) which enables you to enter the sky coordinates where you would like the background AOR to be taken. It is the responsibility of the observer to ensure that the coordinates of the background position do not have a source and that it is a reasonable measure of the background underlying the science target.

Figure 6.14: IRS Staring Mode AOT window for 3C 273 showing target, peak-up, slit, ramp, and cycle settings.

Spot will then generate a second AOR which is grouped with your science target AOR. Only SH and LH observations will be taken for this background and the integration time/cycles will be exactly the same as that of your science target SH and LH observations.