Guiding users on the scheduling of EVN observations

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Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations, including the ones conducted with the European VLBI Network (EVN), have been traditionally scheduled using the NRAO SCHED program. Users are requested to prepare their EVN scheduling files ahead of the observations. JIVE provides support to all EVN users in order to help them during the schedule preparation. However, we are aware that the first time astronomers approach these tools can be a bit appalling.

Recently, JIVE has built a new tool, pySCHED, that takes advantage of newer and more-sophisticated tools based on Python, and also simplifies the scheduling of these observations.

As a next step, the EVN webpage now includes a page explaining how to schedule regular EVN observations. A detailed explanation of how to prepare the schedule, including some initial template files, is now in place. We also include a detailed description of the main points to be considered during scheduling. Examples of how the observing scans can be arranged and calibrator sources can be selected are also provided, covering the most common types of EVN observations: continuum, phase-referencing, spectral-line, or polarization observations.

We hope this documentation will make the scheduling of your future EVN observations easier and more intuitive than before. In any case, we are always happy to get feedback from the EVN community and provide support for any observation.