Due to the unpredictable nature of telescope comissioning, deadlines and schedules could change at short notice. These pages will be updated as soon as new information becomes available, so please come back regularly and watch this space!

All of the SALT planning tools have been written in Java.

The Java runtime environment is required to be installed on your computer. You can find installation instructions for all operating systems here.

Last update: 15 October 2009

The SALT Proposal Planning and Submission Tool (PIPT) is required for the preparation and submission of SALT proposals over the internet. Please download the PIPT tutorial from the Web Manager site to help you get started.

The latest version of the PIPT Manager is available via the Web Manager.

For any queries or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us on salthelp(at)saao.ac.za. Your feedback would also be much appreciated.

These Java programs are now being made available by the instrument PIs and the SALT team to aid astronomers in the planning of their Performance Verification (PV) proposals. They will eventually be integrated into the PIPT (Principal Investigator Planning Tool).

• SALT Target Visibility Calculator
  Last update: 26 February 2009

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

  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 werst 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: 20 July 2010
  Latest version: 2.94
  
  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 need to install the PIPT (see http://www.salt.ac.za/wm) before running the RSS Simulator!

  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: 20 July 2010
  Latest version: 1.05

  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 need to install the PIPT (see http://www.salt.ac.za/wm) before running the Salticam Simulator!
  
  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: 20 July 2010

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

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

  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. The latest documentation can be found here.
  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) and Java Web Start are installed on your system. For more details, check the RSMT documentation pages (link above).

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