These Java programs are made available by the instrument PIs and the SALT team to aid astronomers in the planning of their proposals.

You need Java 6 on your computer to run the applications.

You must use the latest versions of the PIPT and simulator tools to complete your proposals for 2012

• PIPT
  The PIPT can be downloaded here.

• SALT Target Visibility Calculator
  Last update: 30 June 2011

  Download the Visibility Calculator:
  Microsoft Windows (exe)
  Mac OS X (dmg)
  Linux and any other operating system (jar)

  Version 3.52 fixes bugs which render the Visibility Tool non-responsive.

  Version 3.51 adds a warning that the actual track time may be shorter than the value shown.

  Version 3.5 lets you choose an arbitrary year, and it fixes a rare bug in the annual visibility plot.

  Version 3.31 fixes memory leaks.
  
  Version 3.2 fixes a crucial bug.
  
  As of version 3.1 the Visibility Calculator is distributed for Windows and Mac OS X as a standalone application and for Linux as a jar file. (You still need Java on your computer, though.) The installation works in the same way as that for the PIPT Manager; see the PIPT installation instructions.

  Version 3.0 of the Visibility Calculator fixes a bug in the SAST axis of the annual visibility plot. Version 2.9 fixes a serious GUI rendering problem for low screen resolutions. Version 2.8 fixes a more general GUI bug.

  Note that from version 0.63 onwards, the PIPT includes the Visibility Calculator, so that you may check the visibility of a sidereal target from within the PIPT.

  You may calculate the visibilities for a list of targets provided in a file. Each row of that file must contain the following data in the given order:
  
  
  1. the date (as yyyy-mm-dd)
  2. the right ascension (as hh:mm:ss.s)
  3. the declination (as (+/-)dd:mm:ss.s)
  
  The various quantities must be separated by a semicolon. Hence, a simple example file might be:
  
  2007-08-13; 12:13:14; -75:27:26.9
  2007-09-14; 23:49:55.5; -01:13:14
  
  In order to calculate the visibilities, choose the Create Multitarget Visibility Table item from the Targets menu. You will then be asked for the input file, for the time zone to use (Universal Time or South African Standard Time) and for the output file.
  
  Each row of the output file contains the following data, in the given order:
  
  
  1. the data of the corresponding row in the input file
  2. the start time of the east track
  3. the end time of the east track
  4. the length of the east track (in seconds)
  5. the start time of the west track
  6. the end time of the west track
  7. the length of the west track (in seconds)
  8. the moon phase (as a percentage)
  9. the sunset time
  10. the evening twilight time
  11. the morning twilight time
  12. the sunrise time
  
  Due to technical reasons, the File menu has been removed in Version 2.3. It will presumably be back in the next version. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

• RSS (Robert Stobie Spectrograph) Configuration Tool
  Last update: 4 May 2012
  Latest version: 3.6
  
  Download the RSS Configuration Tool:
  Microsoft Windows (exe)
  Mac OS X (dmg)
  Linux and any other operating system (jar)

  IMPORTANT: Due to a technical problem, you might have to install the PIPT before running the RSS Simulator!

  Version 3.6 corrects the throughput curves for the Fabry-Prot filter.

  Version 3.5 uses a slightly improved spectrograph model.

  Version 3.4 fixes a bug in the calculation of the detector saturation.

  Version 3.3 slightly improves the spectrograh model used.

  Version 3.1 fixes bugs related to imaging and FP exposures as well as to importing files. It calculates the maximum ADUs per bin for all (rather than a single) frames. Some of the labels have been made a bit more precise.

  Version 3.0 uses the actual throughput functions for the interference filters. ADUs can be displayed.

  Version 2.7 improves the target spectrum generation and the handling of Fabry-Perot configurations.
  
  Version 2.64 fixes some bugs.
  
  Version 2.63 adds missing long slits.

  Version 2.62 fixes memory leaks.
  
  Version 2.61 fixes a bug which could cause an error when launching the tool. Version 2.6 implements the new detector saturation model. The values calculated by this version should be treated with a grain of salt; use with care and watch this space for updates.
  
  Version 2.5 improves the memory usage, reducing the risk of out-of-memory errors. It also improves the calculation of the airglow background.
  
  Version 2.4 of the RSS Configuration Tool fixes a bug which prevented calculating the throughput function for the PG0300 grating.
  
  As of version 2.3 the RSS Configuration Tool is distributed for Windows and Mac OS X as a standalone application and for Linux as a jar file. (You still need Java on your computer, though. The installation works in the same way as that for the PIPT Manager; see the PIPT installation instructions.
  
  Also note that from version 0.64 onwards, the PIPT Manager includes the functionality of the RSS Configuration Tool, so that you may simulate your exposure from within the PIPT Manager as well.
  
  The RSS Configuration Tool is an interactive application that allows a user to select an RSS instrument configuration for an observation based on a throughput model of the instrument and simulated data. It has the ability to simulate the input spectrum for a target and the sky, propagate them through the instrument in spectroscopic mode for a given choice of slit, grating, camera angle, and order-blocking filter, and to calculate the signal/noise per resolution element at the detector given a choice of detector readout parameters. Future versions of the tool will include imaging, Fabry-Perot, and polarimetric modes. The latest documentation can be found here.

• Salticam Simulator Tool
  Last update: 23 January 2011
  Latest version: 1.2

  Download the Salticam Simulator Tool:
  Microsoft Windows (exe)
  Mac OS X (dmg)
  Linux and any other operating system (jar)

  IMPORTANT: Due to a technical problem, you might have to install the PIPT before running the Salticam Simulator!

  Version 1.2 improves the throughput model used.

  Version 1.1 adds missing throughput curves for the Salticam filters.

  Version 1.02 fixes some bugs.

  Version 1.01 fixes memory leaks.

  Version 1.0 improves the memory usage, reducing the risk of out-of-memory errors. It also improves the calculation of the airglow background.

  As of version 0.9 the Salticam Simulator Tool is distributed for Windows and Mac OS X as a standalone application and for Linux as a jar file. (You still need Java on your computer, though.) The installation works in the same way as that for the PIPT Manager; see the PIPT installation instructions.

  Also note that from version 0.64 onwards, the PIPT Manager includes the functionality of the Salticam Simulator Tool, so that you may simulate your exposure from within the PIPT Manager as well.

  The Salticam Simulator Tool allows a user to simulate a Salticam observation. It calculates the count rate (for both target and sky spectrum), signal-to-noise ratio, pixel saturation and readout time for a chosen target spectrum and detector setup. This calculation can be performed for several filters at once.

• RSS Slitmask Management Tool (RSMT)
  Last update: 3 May 2010

  Download the RSS Slitmask Management Tool:
  Microsoft Windows (exe) (see note below)
  Mac OS X (dmg)
  Linux and any other operating system (jar)

  Version 1.95 fixes a bug which made moving of masks with a positive declination impossible.

  Version 1.94 uses improved plate scale values.

  Important: Due to what seems to be a JSky issue, RSMT versions prior to 1.912 may calculate wrong RA/Dec values. Please use version 1.912 or higher. Also note that a PC matrix is not supported for world coordinate definitions in FITS files.

  Important: JAI (and hence the RSMT) under Windows is running with 32-bit Java only.

  Important: The RSMT might not run under Windows 7.

  Note regarding Position Angles (PA) of the MOS masks: due to the way SALT operates there are restrictions in the available PAs for any given RA,DEC.  We are in the process of making this information available automatically in the Visibility and MOS tools. Until then, you may find the required information in the SALT Position Angle Visibility document.

  Just contact us in case you have any questions about this.

  The RSS Slit Mask Tool is an interactive application to design RSS multi slit masks from preimaging pictures. It has the ability to import catalogs of objects, to add or remove objects, to define reference stars for slit mask alignment, and to check for overlap of spectra within a slit mask. Future versions of psmt will include the possibility to optimize the pointing and rotation of the instrument to maximize the number of spectra per slit mask.
  RSMT is a 100% Java application, and should therefore run on all systems where Java is available.

  Note: RSMT absolutely requires that JAI (Java Advanced Imaging) is installed on your system. JAI can be downloaded from http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/jai/downloads/download-1_1_3.html.

  The Java version on Mac OS X ships with JAI out of the box.

  See http://download.java.net/media/jai/builds/release/1_1_3/INSTALL.html for installation instructions.

  The installation instructions for Linux mention a directory "$JRE" or "$JDK". In order to find out what this directory is, start by executing

  which java

  in a terminal. This should return something like

  /bin/java

  which in all likelihood is a symbolic link. So use

  ls -l /bin/java

  (where /bin/java must be replaced with whatever "which java" returned) to check whether the target of the link is yet another link or an actual file. Repeat this procedure until you get to a link whose target is an actual file.

  Assume that this file is located at

  /some/platform/dependent/path/bin/java

  Then

  /some/platform/dependent/path

  is the directory to use for $JRE or $JDK.

  Chances are that you get an error like

  tail: cannot open `+245' for reading: No such file or directory

  when running the installation script. If so, open a bash shell, execute

  _POSIX2_VERSION=199209; export _POSIX2_VERSION

  and then try again.

  If all else fails, download the CLASSPATH installation, unzip/untar the downloaded file and copy the jar files from the lib directory into

  $JRE/lib/ext

  or

  $JDK/lib/ext

  And if that still doesn't work, consider paying a visit to your local IT gurus. (But also send an email to salthelp(at)saao.ac.za, please.)

You can find SALTICAM specs here.
You can find RSS observing guide here.