The LEGUE high latitude bright survey design for the LAMOST pilot survey

We describe the footprint and input catalog for bright nights in the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began in October 2011. Targets are selected from two stripes in the north and south Galactic Cap regions, centered at δ = 29°, with 10° width in declination, covering right ascensions of 135° to 290° and -30° to 30° re- spectively. We selected spectroscopic targets from a combination of the SDSS and 2MASS point source catalogs. The catalog of stars defining the field centers （as re- quired by the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor at the center of the LAMOST field） consists of all V 〈 8m stars from the Hipparcos catalog. We employ a statistical selection algorithm that assigns priorities to targets based on their positions in mul- tidimensional color/magnitude space. This scheme overemphasizes rare objects and de-emphasizes more populated regions of magnitude and color phase space, while en- suring a smooth, well-understood selection function. A demonstration of plate design is presented based on the Shack-Hartmann star catalog and an input catalog that was generated by our target selection routines.

An algorithm for preferential selection of spectroscopic targets in LEGUE

We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly- varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select cer- tain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate differentpossibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration （LEGUE） survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot sur- vey, which began in October 2011.

The LEGUE input catalog for dark night observing in the LAMOST pilot survey

We outline the design of the dark nights portion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began observations in 2011 October. In particular, we focus on Milky Way stellar candidates that are targeted for the LEGUE （LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration） survey. We discuss the regions of sky in which spectroscopic candidates were selected, and the motivations for selecting each of these sky areas. Some limitations due to the unique design of the telescope are discussed, including the requirement that a bright （V 〈 8） star be placed at the center of each plate for wavefront sensing and active optics corrections. The target selection categories and scientific goals motivating them are briefly discussed, followed by a detailed overview of how these selection functions were implemented. We illustrate the difference between the overall input catalog - Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） photometry - and the final targets selected for LAMOST observations.