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Australian Access to the Gemini, Keck, and Subaru Telescopes

Call for Proposals for Scientific Use of the Gemini, Keck, and Subaru Telescopes in Semester 2009B (1 August 2009 - 31 January 2010)

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:

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:

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?

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

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!)




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