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 Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT), to the Australian Time Allocation Committee (ATAC) by:
unless the PI is from an institution in another partner country, in which case the deadline of that country applies.
Available Time
A total of 72 hours of time on Gemini North, and 55 hours on Gemini South will be available for ATAC to allocate. 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 2008B?
- The UK participation in Gemini for Semester 2008B and beyond is now confirmed.
- Applicants should note that the ramping-up of NICI campaign science, together with the commissioning of both FLAMINGOS-2 and GSAOI with MCAO, will limit the amount of science time available on Gemini South in Semester 2009A. By contrast, Semester 2008B represents a good opportunity to apply for larger amounts of time on Gemini South, particularly from programs that can use bright time with any of the currently available instruments.
- From Semester 2008B onwards, there are stricter target accessibility limits. Targets for Gemini North must have RA < 13.5 or RA > 17, and -37 < Dec < +79; for Gemini South targets must have RA < 12.5 or RA > 16 and -89 < Dec < +28. Exceptions may be allowed for very short observations, or with relaxed observing constraints. Note however that Laser Guide Star target constraints are even more restrictive than these.
- New features of the PIT include updated filter lists for Phoenix and NIRI; checks on whether your targets will be visible in the new semester; and clearer error messages associated with use of the "Band 3" tab.
- Producing multi-slit masks for GMOS from images obtained elsewhere is available, though pre-imaging with GMOS is still recommended.
- 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 2008B round, and must be used. It can be downloaded from PIT Installation. The Supporting Information page gives further details about proposal submission, Joint Proposals, Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) proposals, etc.
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 read very carefully all the information provided at the Gemini Semester 2008B Information page, plus that available at the web pages of the instrument they want to use.
The electronic submission process built into the Phase I Tool (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, so there is no need to worry about proposal rounds, or getting 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 semester 2008B 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 data
- 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. 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 now 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.
- 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
The Australian Gemini Office (AusGO) is operated by the
Anglo-Australian Observatory (