# Drain campaign: spend 2,638 points, then close the account Decision (2026-07-18): use the full points balance on southern imaging, then cancel the membership. Constraints and policy facts that shape the plan: - Balance 2,638 points; Plan-40 renews 12 Aug 2026 (GBP 32). Cancel BEFORE renewal. - Points cannot be refunded, and cannot be used without an active subscription (support article 142963). So: drain first, cancel last, in that order. - **Cancellation target: 10 Aug 2026**, two days before renewal. Cancellation is submitted via MyAccount/Cancel.aspx and requires explicit user confirmation on the day; Claude must not submit it unprompted. - Rates: see the rate card in state/NOTES.md. Billing is per minute of imaging time. - Moon: bright nights roughly 24 Jul - 2 Aug (full ~29 Jul); dark again 5-12 Aug. Full-moon week includes free access promotions; paid draining focuses on dark and grey nights, narrowband carries the bright week. - Scope availability is volatile (much of Chile offline as of 18 Jul); re-check the status line on go.itelescope.net before every session and substitute freely. ## Session ledger Update after every run: date, scope, target, imaging minutes, points charged (from account/history.aspx), cumulative spend. | Date | Scope | Target | Plan file | Imaging | Est. pts | Actual pts | Notes | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-07-19 | T33 | 47 Tuc | ngc104-test.txt | 17 min | 0 (free) | DID NOT RUN | reservation 749228 expired unused: no images, no logs on T33 (checked 20 Jul); grid shows reschedule=No despite the flag being set at booking | | 2026-07-19 | T59 | NGC 6744 | ngc6744-t59.txt | 180 min | ~240 (0% moon disc. until 21 Jul) | **381** | SUCCESS (txn 851148): ran 00:05:22-03:29:56 SSO, Time Used 3h24m32s, 0% moon disc. Full dataset on scope server: L 15x300s BIN1, RGB 7x300s each BIN2; previews checked, round stars, galaxy clean: no refund case. Effective rate ~112 pts/hr of WALL time (not the 80/hr imaging-time estimate: see NOTES rate correction) | | 2026-07-20 | T33 | NGC 6752 | ngc6752.txt | 17 min | 0 (free) | DID NOT RUN | reservation 749229 expired unused: no images, no logs (checked 20 Jul 20:30 UTC, after window) | | 2026-07-21 | T32 | Centaurus A | cena-t32.txt | 120 min | ~350 (x1.6 model) | **160** | SUCCESS (txn 851344): ran 18:50:24-21:16:19 SSO local (08:50-11:16 UTC), Time Used 2h25m55s, 25% moon discount. Images present: /images/qisback/T32/NGC5128 on t32.itelescope.net:8032. Came in at 0.46x the x1.6 model, i.e. LESS than the original estimate: see the rate correction below | Cumulative spend: 541. Balance after (verified GetAccountStatus 2026-07-21 11:40 UTC): **2,097**. **Rate correction (2026-07-21, supersedes the 2026-07-20 x1.6 warning).** Two paid runs now bracket the question, and both bill EXACTLY the plan's imaging minutes, not wall-clock: | Scope | Plan imaging | Wall (Time Used) | Billed | Points per imaging hour | |---|---|---|---|---| | T59 | 180 min (36x300s) | 3h24m32s | 381 | **127** (0% moon) | | T32 | 120 min (24x300s) | 2h25m55s | 160 | **80** (25% moon) | 381 = 3.00 h x 127 and 160 = 2.00 h x 80, both to the point. So billing is on imaging time as originally documented, and the wall-clock theory is dead. What is wrong is the rate card in NOTES.md: it lists T59 at 80/hr (actual 127) and T32 at 146/hr (actual 80 even after the 25% moon discount, so a base near 107/hr). The two look transposed, but two samples cannot prove that. **Do not apply a blanket multiplier.** Derive each scope's effective rate from its first actual bill, and treat any not-yet-observed scope's card rate as +/-60%. ## Planned allocation (~2,600 points, adapt as scopes/weather allow) **Phase 1, dark nights now - 23 Jul (~1,030 pts):** - T59 NGC 6744 LRGB, 3 h, ~240 (scheduled 19 Jul) - T32 Centaurus A LRGB, 2 h, ~292: early UK-afternoon window while it is high - T8 Corona Australis dust complex LRGB, 2 h, ~260 - T70 (Chile) Scorpius tail / Prawn super-wide LRGB, 2 h, ~238 **Phase 2, bright nights 24 Jul - 2 Aug (~440 pts, narrowband only):** - T59 NGC 6188 in Ha/OIII/SII 5nm, 3 h total, ~240 - T8 Ha on the Cat's Paw / War and Peace field, 1.5 h, ~195 - Plus any full-moon free promotions for clusters (cost 0, not part of the drain) **Phase 3, dark nights 3 - 10 Aug (~1,130 pts):** - T8 SMC + 47 Tucanae in one frame, 3 h LRGB, ~390: the signature shot, SMC well placed in the second half of the SSO night by August - T8 or T59 Large Magellanic Cloud attempt if it clears the elevation limits late in the window; otherwise Tarantula on T32, 2 h, ~292 - Remainder (~450): best-of list: repeat the strongest target for more depth, or Chile scopes (T71 106/hr, T73 224/hr) if they return from maintenance: Tarantula and NGC 1313 preferred. Aim to land the balance under ~50 points. ## Booked reservations (all with plan attached + reschedule flag) | ID | Scope | Night of (SSO/obs local) | Slot | Plan | Est. pts | Status (2026-07-20) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 749227 | T59 | 19 Jul | 00:05-03:45 | ngc6744-t59.txt | ~240 | COMPLETED, billed 381 | | 749228 | T33 | 19 Jul | 00:05-00:50 | ngc104-test.txt | 0 | EXPIRED unused (no run, no auto-reschedule) | | 749229 | T33 | 20 Jul | 00:05-00:50 | ngc6752.txt | 0 | EXPIRED unused (no run, no auto-reschedule) | | 749230 | T8 | 26 Jul | 21:35-23:55 | catspaw-t8.txt | ~146 (25% moon disc.) | still booked | | 749302 | T32 | 21 Jul | 18:50-21:50 | cena-t32.txt | ~350 (x1.6 rate, 25% moon disc.) | COMPLETED, billed 160. EVENING slot: T32 has a 35 deg elevation floor and Cen A culminates ~17:10 before dark, sinking to 11 deg by the old 00:35 slot (which could never have run). Ran 18:50-21:16, finishing 34 min early (plan complete, not a fault); images landed under /images/qisback/T32/NGC5128 | | (id not captured) | T8 | 22 Jul | 21:45-00:45 | cra-t8.txt | ~250 | booked + MySummary-verified 2026-07-21 11:45 UTC. This is queue #2 finally placed: see the resolution note below. Runs 11:45-14:45 UTC 22 Jul | | (id not captured) | T32 | 22 Jul | 18:50-19:50 | hdrcore-t32.txt | ~25 | booked + MySummary-verified 2026-07-21 13:30 UTC. HDR core set for the 21 Jul Cen A data, whose nucleus is saturated: see the note below. Runs 08:50-09:50 UTC 22 Jul, immediately before the T8 run that night | | 749314 | T33 | 21 Jul | 00:05-00:50 | ngc104-test.txt | 0 (free) | booked + grid-verified 2026-07-21 08:55 UTC. 47 Tuc first-light retry, third attempt. Runs 14:05-14:50 UTC 21 Jul. Reschedule flag again No (free scopes never rebook) | The T33 first-light test is now on its THIRD booking (749314); the two prior free reservations expired unused. If this one also fails to run, the problem is not the booking but the auto-start on free scopes: escalate to walk-in (POST plan.asp per plans/README.md) or drop the free-imaging objective. ## Booking queue (blocked by the rolling 8-hour reservation allowance) Book in order as quota frees (a session completing releases its hours). Exact New.aspx parameters; all plans already uploaded and verified on their scopes. Verify every booking via Edit.aspx?id= probing (sequential ids), NOT the grid. | # | Scope id | start | end | start sel | end sel | Plan | Est. pts | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | BOOKED as 749302 (see table above); the original 00:35 slot was an error, Cen A is an EVENING target (35 deg floor on T32) | | | | | cena-t32.txt | ~350 | | 2 | BOOKED 2026-07-21 for the night of 22 Jul, 21:45-00:45 (see table above); the 01:35 slot was blocked by hajo and low anyway | | | | | cra-t8.txt | ~250 | | 3 | GRAS059 | 2026-07-25T20:35:00 | 2026-07-25T23:55:00 | 8:35 PM | 11:55 PM | ngc6188-haoiii-t59.txt | ~120 (disc.) | | 4 | GRAS059 | 2026-07-27T20:35:00 | 2026-07-27T23:05:00 | 8:35 PM | 11:05 PM | ngc6188-sii-t59.txt | ~90 (disc.) | | 5 | GRAS008 | 2026-08-08T02:35:00 | 2026-08-08T06:05:00 | 2:35 AM | 6:05 AM | smc47tuc-t8.txt | ~390 | | 6 | GRAS032 | 2026-08-09T03:05:00 | 2026-08-09T06:05:00 | 3:05 AM | 6:05 AM | tarantula-t32.txt | ~365 | | 7 | (T70, blocked: server unreachable) | night TBD before 5 Aug | ~2.5h | | | scorpius-t70.txt (in scratch, re-upload needed) | ~238 | | 8 | BOOKED 2026-07-21 for 22 Jul 18:50-19:50 (see table above) | | | | | hdrcore-t32.txt | ~25 | ### Short-exposure core sets are now part of the campaign The 21 Jul Cen A data came back with a saturated nucleus: a single 300 s luminance sub reads 65313 ADU in the core, so the deep stack is clipped there and no amount of processing recovers it. plans/hdrcore-t32.txt is the fix, an exposure ladder (L 8x60s, 8x15s, 8x5s, RGB 5x30s, all BIN2 to match) that blends in under the clipped core. It costs about 25 points, roughly a sixth of what the deep run cost, and the same trick applies to any bright target. **Apply this to the rest of the queue.** NGC 6744 (already shot, 19 Jul) has a bright nucleus and probably needs the same treatment; 47 Tuc and the SMC (queue #5) certainly will, since a globular cluster core saturates fast. Before each remaining bright-target run, budget an extra ~25 points and an hour of reservation quota for a matching short set, and cut the ladder from the deep plan's exposure rather than guessing: shortest sub = deep sub / 60 is what was used here. ### Session 2026-07-21 ~08:55 UTC (booking round run early, before Cen A ran) Done this session: free T33 47 Tuc retry booked as 749314 (grid-verified). NOT done, both correctly deferred: - **Cen A verify**: 749302 had not run yet (starts 08:50 UTC, this session ran at 08:48). Verify after 11:50 UTC. - **cra-t8 (#2)**: blocked twice over. (1) Quota: Cen A holds 3h until it completes ~11:50 UTC; with Cat's Paw (2h20m) + Cen A (3h) + T33 (45m) held, under ~1h55m is free, not enough for a 3h slot. (2) Conflict: user hajo holds T8 00:25-02:25 SSO local (res 749207), overlapping our planned 01:35-04:35. **cra-t8 resolution options** (pick with a live grid re-check when quota frees): - (a) Shift to 02:25-05:25 after hajo. Downside: Corona Australis culminates ~22:30 SSO local, so by 02:25-05:25 it is 4-6.5h past meridian and low; poor. - (b) PREFERRED: move cra-t8 to the NEXT night, 2026-07-23T01:35-04:35 (night of 22 Jul SSO), same clock time, avoids hajo, keeps decent altitude. Re-check that night's T8 grid first. One night's slip is fine inside the drain window. - (c) Earlier slot 21:25-00:25 (before hajo) is astronomically best but starts 11:25 UTC, before Cen A releases quota at 11:50; not bookable in time. The scheduled 12:13 UTC job (ae3af497) fires after Cen A completes: it should verify Cen A + bill, then book cra-t8 by option (b) unless the grid has changed (hajo may cancel, opening option (a)/original). At corrected (x1.6) rates the full remaining queue runs ~2,530 vs 2,257 balance (~270 over): once actual bills for Cen A and CrA land, trim Phase 3 (shorten Tarantula #6 or the SMC slot) to land the balance near zero. ### Session 2026-07-21 ~11:40 UTC (Cen A verify + cra-t8 booked) Ran ahead of the 12:13 UTC scheduled job, after Cen A had finished at 11:16 UTC. - **Cen A verified**: completed, billed 160, NGC5128 images on the scope server. Ledger and rate model updated (the x1.6 model is withdrawn: see the rate correction above). - **cra-t8 booked**, but on a better slot than the deferred option (b). Probing New.aspx for the original 01:35-04:35 returned "Conflicting reservation. Start time must be later than 2:25 AM" (hajo, as predicted), confirming that option (a) was all that remained on the night of 21 Jul, and it puts Corona Australis 3.5-6.5 h past the meridian. Instead the run went to the EVENING of the next night: **2026-07-22T21:45 - 2026-07-23T00:45 SSO local**, which brackets the ~22:30 culmination, so the whole 115 min of imaging happens near the zenith. This is option (c)'s geometry on option (b)'s night; the reason (c) was unbookable earlier (quota held by Cen A) had expired by the time Cen A completed. Grid probing showed no conflict on either side of the slot. Verified in Reservation/MySummary.aspx; quota now 6:50 / 8:00. - Moon on the night of 22 Jul is ~57% illuminated, the last usable night before the bright-week narrowband phase. LRGB on a dust complex under a half moon is a compromise, but the alternative is slipping a Phase 1 broadband target into the bright week, which is worse. - Reservation id NOT captured: the confirm response carries only `ModalStatic.result("OK")` and MySummary does not print ids. Nothing depends on the id unless the booking must be edited or deleted, in which case find it by probing Edit.aspx?id= around the current sequence (749314 was issued ~08:55 UTC on 21 Jul). - Budget: 2,097 left, 19 nights to 10 Aug. Remaining queue at card rates is roughly 1,300, which UNDER-spends by ~800. With the x1.6 model withdrawn, the next planning session should add work rather than trim it: candidates are a second narrowband night on T59 (observed 127/hr, the only scope with a trustworthy rate), or extending the Phase 3 SMC and Tarantula runs, both of which have the sky time to absorb longer plans. Substitution rules: if T71 returns to service, move #2 and #7 to T71 (faster f/2.8 optics, cheaper 106 pts/hr; re-cut the plans for 1.55"/px). If T70's server returns, book #7 as-is. Check the go.itelescope.net status line before each booking round. After #6, allocate the remaining balance (~450 pts) to a final deep session on the best-performing scope, sized to land under 50 pts. **10 Aug: verify balance is near zero, download ALL data from data.itelescope.net, then (with explicit user confirmation) cancel via MyAccount/Cancel.aspx.** ## Operational notes - Sessions are now RESERVED, not walk-in: upload the plan to the scope, then book it at reservations.itelescope.net with the plan attached (procedure in plans/README.md); iTelescope auto-starts the plan at reservation start and the reschedule flag retries weather losses. Claude sessions monitor rather than drive. T59 moon discount correction: 0% until 21 Jul, 25% from 22 Jul. - Cron jobs live only in an open Claude session; if a day's session has no live session to fire it, the user prompts "run today's drain session" and any session picks it up from this file plus state/TODO.md. - Bad-data protection: iTelescope refunds points for weather-ruined runs on request; check each session's images before marking the ledger final. - Final data sweep before cancellation: everything on data.itelescope.net AND the per-scope /images/qisback/ folders.