Call for Proposals on the Gemini, Keck, and Subaru Telescopes

The Gemini Observatory has announced the 2009B Call for Proposals for use of the Gemini North and Gemini South Telescopes, as well as the HIRES instrument on Keck, and SuprimeCam and MOIRCS instruments on Subaru.

The instruments available on Gemini North are:

the GMOS optical imager, multi-object, and integral field spectrograph;
the NIRI near-infrared imager and spectrograph (Note that NIRI may be unavailable in August and November 2009 to allow commissioning and Science Verification with GNIRS);
the NIFS near-infrared integral field unit spectrograph; and
the Michelle mid-infrared imager and spectrograph.

Both NIRI and NIFS can be used in conjunction with the ALTAIR adaptive optics system, using natural or laser guide stars.

The instruments available on Gemini South are:

the GMOS optical imager, multi-object, and integral field spectrograph;
the NICI near-infrared adaptive optics-fed, dual-channel coronagraphic imager (available Oct/Nov 2009 to Jan 2010 only);
the T-ReCS mid-infrared imager and spectrograph (available Aug to Oct 2009 only); and
the Phoenix near-infrared high resolution spectrograph (Note that Phoenix availibility in the second half of 2009B may be limited due to commissioning of FLAMINGOS-2 and MCAO).

This page contains a summary of the Gemini call for proposals, together with Australia-specific information and some hints on how to maximise your chances of getting data. It should be read in conjunction with the Gemini Observatory Call for Proposals web page, which gives more details on the operational modes available.

Proposal Deadline

Australian proposals for Gemini time must be submitted electronically, via use of the 2009B version of the Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT), to the Australian Time Allocation Committee (ATAC) by:

11.59pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday 31st March 2009

unless the PI is from an institution in another partner country, in which case the deadline of that country applies. Note that Daylight Saving time is in effect in all states except WA and QLD until 5 April 2009.

Available Time

A total of 44 hours of time on Gemini North, and 35 hours on Gemini South will be available for ATAC to allocate. This is rather less than in recent semesters, but takes account of Australia's share of the NICI Planet-Finding Campaign nights, as well as reflecting the fact that Australian programs have achieved a much higher completion rate than other partners, and the resulting imbalance in partner share must be rectified. If one telescope is far more oversubscribed than the other, we may arrange a swap of nights with another partner country with an opposite imbalance, so as to even out demand.

What's New in Semester 2009B?

ATAC encourages applications which can tolerate a wide range of observing conditions on Gemini. Note that by being able to relax their observing condition constraints, and avoiding the most sought-after right ascensions, every single ATAC program in Band 3 for Semester 20008B was able to be 100% completed! ATAC would also welcome more ambitious Gemini proposals seeking substantial fractions of Australian time, as well as large programs seeking time jointly with other Gemini partners.
New [O III] and [S II] narrow-band filters for GMOS-N, and He II narrow-band filters for both GMOS-S and GMOS-N, will be available.
Average acquisition times for all instruments have recently been redetermined, and found to be as good as (if not better than) comparable facilities elsewhere. The "Overheads" web page for each instrument has been updated accordingly, and applicants are urged to check and adopt these new acquisition times when calculating overheads.
NICI, the AO-fed Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Imager, is offered for community use in 2009B for on-axis coronagraphic imaging excluding the L and M bands; other modes (non-coronagraphic and off-axis AO guiding) are available on a shared risk basis. There is no longer a restriction on the distance of proposed targets; however targets included in the NICI Planet-Finding Campaign list will not be accepted. NICI targets should also be limited to 22:00 < RA hrs < 12:00, as it will only be available between October/November 2009 and January 2010. Note that the Observing Condition constraints must be at least as good as Cloud Cover = 50% and Image Quality = 70%.
Due to the ramping-up of NICI campaign science, together with the commissioning of both FLAMINGOS-2 and GSAOI with MCAO, Phoenix availability beyond Oct 2009 is likely to be extremely limited.
There are strict target accessibility limits in force. Targets for Gemini North should have 17 < RA < 24 or RA < 13.5, and -37 < Dec < +79; for Gemini South targets should have 16 < RA < 24 or RA < 12, and -89 < Dec < +28. Exceptions may be allowed for very short observations, or with relaxed observing constraints. Note however that NICI, T-ReCS, and Laser Guide Star target constraints are even more restrictive than these.
Applicants will need to download the latest version of the PIT in order to prepare and submit an application. New features of the 2009B PIT include checking target coordinates against the windows of optimum visibility for the semester (except for Demo Science, Director's Time, Poor Weather, or System Verification proposals); updates to the list of institutions; and updates to the GMOS grating and filter lists.
The Phase II deadline for classical programs is now the same as for queue programs, i.e. 13 July 2009 for 2009B programs.
It is anticipated that separate Calls for Science Verification proposals with FLAMINGOS-2 on Gemini South, and the refurbished GNIRS on Gemini North, will be issued during Semester 2009B.
Starting in 2009A, Rapid Targets of Opportunity can interrupt classical-mode nights, unless the classical observation is time-critical. Time will be reimbursed to the interrupted program during queue time with similar conditions to the interrupted time.
Producing multi-slit masks for GMOS from images obtained elsewhere is available, though pre-imaging with GMOS is still recommended for MOS programs using slits narrower than 1.0", and for programs requiring very long observations of faint targets.
All applicants for Keck/HIRES time must also complete a Keck cover sheet (you will need to register for a login name and password first), which should then be e-mailed to the Australian Gemini Office (ausgo -@- aao.gov.au) before the proposal deadline.
An under-utilised instrument is now defined as any instrument that is allocated <6% of the available Band 1+2 time. The Gemini Observatory reserves the right to limit the RA range available to programs using such instruments, or possibly not schedule it at all.

Submitting a Proposal

The Gemini Phase I Proposal Tool (PIT) is a Java program which must be installed on the applicant's own computer (Solaris, Mac OS-X, Linux, or Windows); a new version is available for the 2009B round, and must be used. It can be downloaded from PIT Installation. Please see the Supporting Information web page for further details about:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to ask for a fraction of time in a multi-partner (Joint) proposal proportional to their intellectual involvement in the project, rather than divided up in proportion to the partner share of the proposers from different countries.

Prospective applicants should familiarise themselves with the various modes of observing offered by Gemini, as well as the web pages of the instruments they want to use.

The electronic submission process built into the PIT for Australian proposals will send the proposal XML file and associated attached files to the Australian Gemini Office at the Anglo-Australian Observatory, which is the service organization for ATAC. As part of the submission process, the proposal will be automatically validated and if errors are found, these will be reported via a pop-up window within the PIT. Invalid proposals are not accepted and it is the proposer's responsibility to fix the error(s). If validation is successful, receipt of the proposal XML file and attachment will be acknowledged and the proposal will be assigned a reference number. Again this occurs via a pop-up window within the PIT.

Poor weather proposals can be submitted at any time. These are submitted directly to Gemini and assessed by the Head of Science Operations at each Gemini telescope, so there is no need to worry about proposal rounds (or getting the proposal past ATAC).

ATAC Specific Requirements

If time is being requested on both Gemini North and Gemini South for the one scientific program, then separate proposals need to be submitted for each telescope.
You should enter raw text only (no LaTeX markup commands) into the PIT, and may attach up to three figures individually.
Abstract: should have a maximum of 120 words.
Scientific (and Technical) Justification: These fields within the PIT need to be completed, with a maximum of 1000 words each, including references. Up to three figures can be attached; formats accepted include JPEG, GIF, and PDF but not Postscript. Postscript figures should be converted to PDF first.
Publications: limited to (a) PI and/or Co-I papers relevant to the current proposal, and (b) PI publications resulting from previous allocations of Gemini time, both within the previous two years only.
Previous Time Allocations: limited to the previous 4 semesters, include all Gemini allocations, but only allocations on other telescopes relevant to the current proposal.

Need Help?

All requests for assistance and information regarding new proposals, the available instruments, the PIT, etc, should be handled through the Gemini HelpDesk. This Web-based system will forward the query initially to AusGO staff, who may then escalate it to other National Gemini Office staff, or Gemini Observatory staff, as required.

Some hints on maximising your chances of getting time (and data!)

Due to the very high demand for a limited number of exchange nights on Keck and Subaru, ATAC applicants are strongly encouraged to consider submitting Joint proposals with other Gemini partners in order to improve their chances of getting exchange time.

ATAC proposals have to be read and assessed against a cohort of proposals extending across all of astronomy. ATAC members therefore have a wide range of backgrounds and expertise spanning all areas of astronomy. However, not all committee members may be experts in your area, and familiar with all its acronyms and jargon. Even when all acronyms are defined as they are used, the excessive use of acronyms can quickly exhaust the mental stack of even the most careful and committed reader. Proposals that assume all readers have an intimate knowledge of all the acronyms and jargon used across all of astronomy, and/or an infinite capacity for remembering new acronyms, may therefore put themselves at an unnecessary disadvantage when it comes to being easily read and understood by ATAC members.

Applicants are advised to clearly state (in your technical justification) a realistic minimum total time required for their project to be viable. Please note that there is no penalty involved in quoting a minimum time less than the requested time, as ATAC does not normally allocate less than the requested time. Indeed, allocations in Band 3 will sometimes be for larger amounts of time than originally sought, to partly compensate for the poorer observing conditions under which such programs will need to be executed. Such a statement could help you in two circumstances:

Firstly, if your proposal is ranked near the cut-off, there may not be enough Australian time left to give you your full allocation. Your statement will help ATAC decide whether it is scientifically useful to give you less than your requested time, or whether the time should be given to another smaller proposal. Several proposals that set "minimum time = requested time" have in the past been unsuccessful for exactly this reason.
Secondly, if your proposal asks for time from several partner countries, and Australia ranks it highly but other partners rank it poorly, it will help ATAC decide whether it is worth giving you just the Australian time, or whether this is scientifically useless by itself. This too is a not infrequent occurrence.

Applicants are also advised to state clearly what you would do if your proposal was awarded time in Band 3. There is a special tab in the PIT to do this. Proposals in this Band are very unlikely to be carried out if they require the best (and most requested) weather conditions. If your program is ranked in the highest bands, this will make no difference. But if it is ranked in Band 3, we will ask you (if necessary) to think about shortening it, downgrading the weather constraints, picking brighter targets or a wider range of potential targets, and otherwise increasing the chance that it will actually get done. If ATAC does not feel that these changes can be made in a way that preserves at least some useful science, your proposal may be dropped from the list and replaced by one with a lower scientific ranking, but more chance of being executed in Band 3. Gemini also offer several suggestions for making the most of Band 3 time.

Having a range of targets at different RAs and Decs can help your chance of being executed in the Gemini queue. List as many targets as you like, but insert a note explaining how many you actually are requesting time to observe. Where possible, try to avoid the most-requested RAs.

Due to the requirement that all Laser Guide Star targets receive clearance in advance from US Space Command, it is recommended that all such programs be split into blocks of no more than ~1.5 hrs each in order to be schedulable. Also, the need for Laser Guide Stars when observing calibration targets should be weighed up against the risk of not being able to schedule the calibration observations alongside the science target observations.

Getting your Phase II program completed early (for targets observable early in the semester) can do wonders for the chances of your program being executed. In some cases, programs allocated time in the next semester have been executed before the current semester has even finished!

Australian Gemini Office, ausgo -@- aao.gov.au

Australian Access to the Gemini, Keck, and Subaru Telescopes