Hi everyone -
Sorry for such a simple question, but I can’t find a consistent answer for the LSST season length. Is there a set length yet, and, if so, how long is an average season?
Thanks!
The season length isn’t constrained in the scheduler - however long a field is available for in a year generally corresponds to how long it will be observed, so the season length for a given field will depend on its declination. There are some factors that influence whether the average season length for a given field will be longer or shorter, in a given simulation: how much emphasis is placed on obtaining images at low HA / low airmass is the biggest factor. As observations are limited to lower HA/airmass, the season will become a bit shorter.
I’ve been thinking this would be a useful bit of information to plot though, so I will work on making a metric that measures the season length each year. All the bits and pieces to do this are there, but need to be put together.
I will add these to the MAF outputs online, but here’s a preview!
kraken_2026_Median_Season_Length_all_bands_HEAL_SkyMap.pdf (198.1 KB)
And then the median value of the season length for all WFD fields, compared across the various WP runs:
These are all runs with a preference for low HA observations, which drives the season length down in general (assuming the same number of visits per night). In comparison, if you don’t have this preference, the season length can extend further. One of the old runs, minion_1016, was an example without this preference:
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