CASA Workshop
University of Oxford, 19-20 July 2010
A two-day CASA workshop will be held just before the conference and summer school, on 19-20 July 2010. The Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) package is a set of C++ tools under an iPython interface aiming to support the data post-processing needs of the next generation of radio astronomical telescopes, such as ALMA, EVLA, eMERLIN and LOFAR.The workshop is organised with the support of the UK ALMA Regional Centre (UK ARC) and RadioNet. It is intended to provide all parties interested an introduction to and practical experience with CASA, through the reduction and analys of interferometric data from a variety of telescopes.
Participation in the conference is not a prerequisite for participation in the workshop. In fact, we encourage students and postdocs, especially from the UK, to come to the workshop even if they have no or a limited interest in the conference.
Because of its hands-on nature, the workshop will be limited to 30 participants, on a first arrived first served basis, but there are still a few places available.
Registration
Please complete this workshop registration form to register for the workshop. There is no registration fee but we must limit the numer of students attending and must be able to identify you accurately.
Essential info
- The workshop will take place in the same location as the conference itself, the Martin Wood Lecture Theatre of the Martin Wood Complex, a modern theatre seating 230 persons, with large screens and the latest projection facilities.
- There is no registration fee, and no financial assistance will be provided to attend the workshop, but the workshop registration form must be filled in for participation.
- Refreshments during coffee breaks will be provided free of charge, but no material will be provided for the workshop itself, so please bring pens, paper and most importantly... your laptop!
- Participants are responsible for finding their own accommodation (possibilities include Oxford City Council's Visit Oxford, BedandBreakfasts.co.uk and Visitus B&B UK for B&Bs, and Oxford Rooms for a college experience).
- Participants should bring their own laptop to Oxford, install the latest version of CASA on it before the workshop (see instructions below), and also download all the data necessary before the workshop (again, see instructions below). Local computers will not be provided and the data are too large to download once at the workshop.
- All of the data and scripts needed for the workshop can be
downloaded from the following weg page, although more specific
information is provided below:
http://www.alma.ac.uk/support/casa/using-casa
Programme
The idea of the workshop is to cover the basic functionalities of CASA in a limited number of lectures, and spend much time in hands-on tutorials reducing real data under the guidance of experienced demonstrators. Topics will include data handling and editing, continuum and spectral-line data calibration, imaging and simulation.
Tutors:
- Anita Richards, UK ALMA Regional Centre, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester
- Martin Zwaan, European Southern Observatory ALMA Regional Centre
- Sandra Etoka, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester
- Ian Heywood, University of Oxford
Timetable
Monday 19 July |
|
| 08:30-10:00: | Registration and refreshments |
| 10:00-10:30: | Talk (Richards): Radio Interferometry and Interferometers |
| 10:30-11:00: | Talk (Zwaan): Introduction to CASA |
| 11:00-11:30: | Break |
| 11:30-13:00: | Demo (Zwaan): Starting CASA, Simple Tutorial (MERLIN 3C277.1) |
| Lunch | |
| 14:00-15:00: | Talk+Demo (Etoka): Data Examination and Flagging (Jupiter) |
| 15:00-16:00: | Demo (Richards): Calibration and Polarization (3C277.1 and/or Jupiter) |
| 16:00-16:30: | Break |
| 16:30-18:00: | Demo (Richards): Imaging and Self-Calibration (3C277.1) |
Tuesday 20 July |
|
| 08:30-09:00: | Registration and refreshments |
| 09:00-10:00: | Talk (Zwaan): Advanced CASA (scripting, image measurements, etc) |
| 10:00-11:00: | Demo (???): Spectral Line Basics (ATCA HI) |
| 11:00-11:30: | Break |
| 11:30-13:00: | Demo (Etoka): mm Tutorial (BIMA NGC4826) |
| Lunch | |
| 14:00-16:00: | Talk+Demo (Heywood): Simulations |
| 16:00-16:30: | Break |
| 16:30-17:30: | Demo: Free Session (completion of old work, CASAGuides and other examples) |
| 17:30-18:00: | Demo (Zwaan): Feedback and Future Events |
Software
Please see the following web page for the CASA 3.0.2 release and
installation instructions. Please install this before coming
to the workshop:
http://casa.nrao.edu/release_notes.shtml
To test your CASA installation, please download the data and follow
the instructions at:
ftp://ftp.jb.man.ac.uk/pub/amsr/CASA/casatest.html
Data
Although all the data and scripts needed for the workshop can be downloaded from http://www.alma.ac.uk/support/casa/using-casa, the workshop will first focus on the specific datasets listed below. These must be downloaded in advance as they are large and will take too long to download via the wireless in the lecture theatre. The basic data volume is about a 1 GB and you should allow the same again for images. Some of the more advanced optional examples are larger and you should allow at least 5 GB, if possible 10 GB or more, if you think you want to try these.
Continuum:
MERLIN: Data for 3C277.1: ftp://ftp.jb.man.ac.uk/pub/amsr/CASA/3C277.1/3C277.1.MULTTB
VLA: Data for Jupiter in full polarization: http://casa.nrao.edu/Data/VLA/Planets6cm/planets_6cm.fits
Spectral line:
ATCA: Data: http://www.merlin.ac.uk/ERIS/ATCA/PAIR12.FIT
Scripting and advanced imaging:
NGC4258: Data: http://www.eso.org/~ehumphre/casa_sittogether1/AH847_1
(VLA export file)
MM-wave mosaicing:
BIMA: NGC4826 CO data and scripts: http://casa.nrao.edu/Data/BIMA/NGC4826/ngc4826.fitsfiles.tgz
MM-wave simulations:
Data: http://www.merlin.ac.uk/ERIS/CO_CLUSTER.FITS.gz
Scripts
Scripts relevant to reduction and analysis of the above datasets are available under similar headings at http://www.alma.ac.uk/support/casa/using-casa. They will likely be updated before the workshop, but all changes will be small. As the scripts are small, they can be downloaded once in the lecture theatre if need be (but make sure you download the data beforehand!).
Optional advanced exercises are available at http://casaguides.nrao.edu.