Claire Moutou - Resident Astronomer at CFHT

1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job

I am Claire Moutou, resident astronomer at CFHT (Maunakea) since mid 2013. Two third of my job is related to science operations of the observatory and instrumental duties. One third for reasearch. My duties are made of: observatory and science preparations for the incoming instrument SPIRou (I'm the observatory scientist so in charge of the  performance evaluations on site); queue observing (less than 25 night per semester, and mostly daytime duties); plus miscallenous science-operation development and follow-up activities.

On the science side, I'm contributing to several observational projects in the exoplanet field -also implying SPIRou.

2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?

 I went to college close to Paris at the public university in fundamental physics and astrophysics. Continued with a PhD in a space observatory near Paris (IAS) on interstellar medium chemistry. Then I changed research subject, spent one year at Observatoire de Haute Provence working on high-contrast imaging instrumentation; followed by 3 years of fellowship at ESO -2y at Paranal and 1y in Garching. Then I entered CNRS on a full-research position in France and spent 12y at LAM working on radial-velocity and space-based transit surveys. In 2013, I joined CFHT for 6y to get closer to science operations and work on SPIRou. I made that choice because the opportunity presented itself and it was a good moment wrt the projects I was working on. I was eager to come back to science operations as I had known them at ESO.

3- How long have you been working in an observatory?

3y at ESO + 4.5y at CFHT for the moment, over a 20y long career, so not continuous. I appreciated the opportunity to go back and worth between observatory work and pure-research (and administration) work. I never applied for a long-term observatory position as I really enjoyed focusing on research projects during some years.

4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?

Pros: there is a huge variety of different interactions in an observatory, that are more sparse in a research lab - either with our different users, or with other astronomers or engineers of the observatory with whom we develop and maintain the observatory tools and the instrument monitoring systems. Maunakea observatories offers many opportunities for interactions and mutual training as well, which is a great richness.

Cons: Isolation from the science community, as the trends are for more automated remote observations. Less time for research projects.

5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

Having become a guide tour! That was unexpected. Or having visitors demanding to observe parts of the sky which were below the horizon...

6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

Thunder at Pic du Midi. Seeing telescopes falling down (twice).

7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?

That's very frequent, as operations require to take micro-decisions all the time. Reboot computers by instinct when you don't have a precise procedure. Start the cooling of an instrument when you see it warming up and nobody is around to take this decision.

8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? 

Go for it! you need a strong interest in technical stuff, either instrument or low-level data analysis, preferably both! Being a woman is no problem for observatory work; on the contrary I always found very weel integrated and welcomed as a woman. If possible, I would recommend either alternate between observatory and research lab, or make strong connection with some users (especially if you're instrument scientist) and contribute to their science. SciOps people are very good additions to a research team.

9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?

 I don't understand the question. It's always for fun at the observatory! we've got a lot of opportunities to mix day staff and night staff -monthly snacks; once-a-year full day of games or sports.

10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?

Pretty personnal :) I like to hike and to paddle on the ocean. Like to sing and dance as well!

Atsuko Nitta - Head of Science Operations at Gemini North Observatory

1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job

I am an astronomer working at Gemini Observatory. Gemini has two telescopes, one in Hawaii (Gemini North) and one in Chile (Gemini South). I currently serve as the Head of Science Operations at Gemini North. 

2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?

I was studying theoretical particle physics (mainly on CP violation) in Japan. I got a fellowship to go overseas for two years. I went to University of Texas and instead of returning after two years, I completed my graduate studies there and earned my PhD in astronomy.

3- How long have you been working in an observatory?

I have been at Gemini for 11 years.

4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?

It is exciting to be at the forefront of new science and discovery. But that is only achieved by all of us working so everything is working as expected all year round (like a hopspital , for instance) 

5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

Someone putting a "comet" image on the cloud camera on April Foo's night.

6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

The sound of the 82inch dome at night. It makes such creepy sound. 

7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?

Studying physics and astronomy. Not considered those bring good future. 

8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? 

I have had good and bad time, but most importantly, it has been rewarding.
Observatories tend to be in isolated locations, so it might work for some people for some time, but not for everyone for all the time. But it is hard to find out if you don't try. So give it a shot. 

9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?

Work is not all stress, it is fun too. I also enjoy interacting with people from all over the world and different backgrounds. That is fun for me. 

10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?

Hang out with friends/family. Yoga, beach, reading... 

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array : ALMA Observatory by Adele Plunkett

My position as “fellow” at ESO includes 50% of my work time dedicated to operations of the ALMA observatory, which in practice sends me to the ALMA observatory “Operations Support Facility” (OSF) about once every month or two.  We call these shifts “turnos”, as is the case at Paranal (link to Pascale post).  At ALMA, the astronomer’s turno lasts 8 days (Monday to Monday, or Wednesday to Wednesday, typically). 

Image: google, ESO

ALMA is located in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, about 30 km from the tourist village San Pedro de Atacama.  In relation to Paranal (another important ESO site), ALMA is located to the northeast, near to the border with Bolivia.  To arrive to ALMA, we fly from Santiago to Calama (an important mining city), and from there we take a charter bus to OSF.  Door to door, the trip can take 5-6 hours. 

Credit:

ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), W. Garnier (ALMA). Acknowledgment: General Dynamics C4 Systems

ALMA OSF is situated in the hillside at an elevation of 2900 meters above sea level.  For reference, the ALMA antennas are located at the “Array Operations Site” (AOS), about 25 km from OSF and at an elevation of 5000 meters.  Even though the OSF at 2900 m is much more hospitable than the Chajnantor Plateau at 5000 m, during the first few days at OSF it’s important to drink plenty of water, eat light meals, and try to rest even though sometimes sleeping is disrupted by the lower oxygen content.  

The astronomers work in three shifts to cover observations throughout 24 hours per day: morning (6:00-16:00), day (13:00-23:30), and night (22:30-6:30).  Typically, we work with one or two astronomers on duty (AoD), along side two antenna operators. Among astronomers, a slight minority are women; and among the antenna operators, only one is a woman.  The women in the engineering and computing groups are also a minority.  It’s not unusual to spend a week in the control room without many female co-workers.  Nonetheless, more females work at the OSF in the groups/roles of administration and hospitality (this is a non-exhaustive list, the point being that there are women at the OSF, but in certain groups they are the minority).  It has been important to intentionally make contact with the other women at the ALMA OSF, because otherwise we stay busy and focused only on work, and we lose the possible camaraderie and support of the others outside the control room.  For example, I have seen women bring or share toiletries with others who forgot something during the shift. 

Now I explain a typical day, i.e. today (a day in October, 2017).  During this turno, I have the morning AoD shift.

Credit: Adele Plunkett

6:00 — Arrive to the control room (sala de control), where the night shift astronomers will soon finish at 6:30 am.  During this time of “handover", they explain to me the observations of the previous night, including any problems they had with the observations.  They show me the current observations, so that ideally when I take their place, the observations continue smoothly.

Credit: Adele Plunkett

8:15 — Around this time, the AoD lead arrives for a daily meeting, and with him/her I share an update about how observations are going.  At ALMA, we run projects from a “queue”, or a prioritized list of projects. The projects have been ranked through an annual proposal review process, and given the weather conditions and the array configuration, we choose the highest-ranked projects with sources above a certain elevation.  On a given day, we might observe projects for astronomers from all over the world, covering all science categories (link) of the ALMA project.  

13:00 — The day shift AoD arrives, and along with the AoD lead, we balance responsibilities for the observations.  Sometimes we have to monitor many screens of data and up to 3 separate observations at once.  Other times it can be much simpler, and/or we get “in the zone” and can handle the process smoothly.  While observations are running, we should monitor the current execution, including weather, antenna status, and signal correlation.  Once a project finishes (and while the next one runs), we perform the first stage of a procedure called “quality assurance” (QA), and in case the observation is marked a success, then it passes to the next stage of QA in Santiago, or at an ALMA Regional Center (or node) somewhere in the world.

15:00 — Daily meeting with AoDs, leads, and astronomers in Santiago (via videocon).  We communicate the success/unsuccess of observations from the previous 24 hours, discuss any issues that arose, explain tests that were run or need to be run, and we make a plan for the coming 24 hours. 

16:00 — My shift is finished.  Since the day shift AoD arrived a few hours ago, and we recently had the daily meeting, the handover happens naturally.  Some shifts have other miscellaneous activities: interviews from journalists, public tours on the weekend (http://www.almaobservatory.org/en/outreach/alma-observatory-public-visits/), safety courses like how to drive 4x4 in emergency situations.  Being an astronomer can incorporate many (interesting and exciting) skills.

PM — What to do in the arid desert, separated from any town or “public” activities, yet with access to internet and an incredible natural playground?  Option 1 is to keep the “workflow" momentum, and transition to work on personal research.  Working from the site of an extremely advanced telescope, surrounded by experts in all the details, is motivating; it seems that intelligent and technical thoughts are in the air.  Option 2 is to disconnect entirely from computer monitors and data.  My preference is to spend at least 1 hour outdoors every day, of course with the proper sun protection and water supply.  I like to trail run, take a walk towards the canyons and cacti, or borrow a mountain bike to use on the surrounding dirt roads.  Here we have privileged access to experience the beauty of the Atacama Desert in our “free time”, I will never forget to be grateful for this.  Other exercise options (not outdoors, but still invigorating) include the new swimming pool and updated gym space.  Of course, I’ve been enjoying the novelty of finishing my exercise in the new sauna!  

Credit: Pablo Carrillo

The new facilities I mentioned are provided by the recently constructed “residencia” (our hotel space).  The residencia includes the hotel rooms where we stay, reception, cafeteria (to be opened soon), exercise facilities, laundry, and lounge space.  Remember that many ALMA employees work shifts of 8 days on, 6 days off, and repeat.  In other words, they spend about half of their lives “living” at ALMA!  The idea of the residencia is to enhance the “quality of life” for the workers, and in general I see it working.  In the gym or other common spaces, we can cross paths with coworkers outside of “work-mode”.  

True, a woman at the gym or in the swimming pool, or running or mountain biking, naturally catches the attention of the others here as something “different”.  But, it can also spark conversations with other athletic coworkers, male or female, to find common ground and share experiences.  Recent conversations during this shift began: “What race are you training for now?”, “One of the engineers is going biking today, maybe you could join him,” and “One of my coworkers trains for trail runs, he has a race this weekend.” ALMA also organizes twice annual “corridas” (fun runs) on the hilly loop around the facilities.  What I learned (after some time trying to secretively do exercises with no one noticing) is that it’s best to do what I enjoy and be myself here.  Sometimes being a minority (North American female, there are very few of us here) gives me more freedom, because I don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations.  They don’t know what to expect!  

Photo: Pablo Carrillo

18:30 — I try to have an early dinner, so that I can also get to sleep early.  There will always be complaints about institutional food, but in my opinion, I appreciate immensely that a team is cooking for me and cleaning my dishes after each meal.  The food has evolved over the years to have several choices: salad bar where I can load up as much as I want, a vegetarian option, pasta and/or rice, and typically a few meats (including a fish option).  Plus dessert!!  My favorite spot is the patio where I can watch the sunset.

20:00-21:00 — When I’m on morning shift, I have to make an effort to get my (preferred) 8 hours of sleep.  Otherwise the next day by 4 pm I’ll be dragging.  There’s still some time for Netflix, or reading, or some other little hobby before lights out.

Daniela Soto Martinez - Array Operator at ALMA

1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job

I am Daniela Soto Martinez, I work as Array Operator at ALMA Observatory.

2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?

I am physics Engineer from Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

3- How long have you been working in an observatory?

I started at ALMA in May 2016, it is my first experience in an observatory. Before that I worked for six years in a Chilean Geophysics Company.

4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?

It is a great place to work. Here you find people from different countries and cultures, which makes this place dynamics and the pleasant work environment. But it also hard because of the high geographic elevation and travel to the shifts weekly, leaving family at home.

5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

I think the funniest thing that I have lived at ALMA is participate in the “Corrida” two times, for May 21 and September 18, although it is very hard, it is a very nice moment to share with ALMA people and enjoy together.

6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

I don’t know. Some very personal things for me was naturally produced, like when I felt the first earthquake here, it move a lot the ground… other was the storms and rays in December 2016, very scary I think. But nothing so bad has happened.

7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?

I think at the beginning, the first time I had to operate alone. It happened when I was in training period yet, and nobody else of my group was at the observatory to support me. But at the end I did it successfully and nothing bad happened.

8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? Anything specifically if they are a woman?

My advice is not be afraid about work in an observatory, is maybe a different job, but it is a great opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Also is a very interesting and unique job.

9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?

I try to practise sport when I ‘m here, to spend free time. I usually try to use the gym, but also with other guys we join to play football and volleyball sometimes.

10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?

At home I enjoy to be with my family and work together in our house, we are remodelling, so every moment we have we spend it there.