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Scheduling Blocks

Scheduling Blocks are the key executable units of a project andcontain all information necessary to execute a single observation. Assuch, each SB will be a self-consistent set of observations, includingcalibration information. The SB contains detailed information aboutthe receiver and correlator setup, integration time, telescopepointing parameters, etc., but also scheduling requirements and timeconstraints. A SB can be repeated several times to achieve the desiredsensitivity or to reach the maximum allocated time.

By providing the technical information of the observing programme bycreating Scheduling Blocks, without using a Science Goal, the user hasmore control of the actual observing process and can fine-tune thevarious and many parameters and experiment with complicated setups. Itrequires good knowledge of (sub)mm-interferometry in general and ofthe ALMA system in particular. Hence it is intended for experiencedobservers and for observatory staff for developing and testing newobserving modes.



The ALMA OT Team, 2011 May 20