During the last week the observing schedule was replanned to incorporate an observation of GRB241209A, which was accepted as a Target of Opportunity on Dec 9. Time from a scheduled observation of MKN421 was impacted by the replan and will be rescheduled in a future week.

Real-time procedures were executed on Dec 8 to re-enable SCSs 92, 93, and 134 as needed to allow HRC observations, following the suspension of HRC operation on Nov 27 owing to higher than predicted HRC Central Electronics Assembly temperatures. The HRC will be operated at a reduced planning temperature limit until updated thermal models are verified and implemented.

A Chandra image release was issued on Dec 10 describing the interaction of the jet originating at the supermassive black hole at the center of Centaurus A (Cen A), a galaxy about 12 million light years from Earth, with an unidentified object in its path. Cen A has been extensively studied in part because of its spectacular jets that stretch out across the entire galaxy. Using Chandra to obtain the deepest X-ray image ever made of Cen A, a patch of V-shaped emission connected to a bright source of X-rays was identified, a phenomenon that had not been seen before in this galaxy. For details see: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/cena/

The schedule of targets for the next week is shown below, and includes an observation of GRB240825A, which is a follow-up to a Director's Discretionary Time Target of Opportunity accepted on Oct 8.