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Semester 2013B Call For Proposals

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Gemini Observatory invites its community to propose scientific investigations for the 2013B semester, 1 August 2013 - 31 January 2014. The submission deadline varies with partner and ranges from THURSDAY MARCH 28 TO MONDAY APRIL 1 2013. Multi-partner joint proposals should be submitted by the deadline of the partner country to which the Principal Investigator is affiliated. Proposals for exchange time on Gemini from the Japanese community should be submitted by the Gemini Staff proposal deadline. An overview of the Gemini proposal submission process is available.

The Call is open to all partners and host institutions : Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the US, Chile and the University of Hawaii. US time is open to all astronomers including those at non-US institutions, although in that case the proposal must explain why U.S. national facilities are needed. The distribution of time across the partners is shown in the time distribution Table. Hardcopy of the primary Call pages is available as a pdf document.

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  • Summary of 2013B Gemini Capabilities
  • Instruments and Modes Not Offered in 2013B
  • Important Dates for 2013B
  • Phase I Tool for 2013B
  • Time Available in 2013B
  • Exchange Time in 2013B
  • Additional Information

  • Summary of 2013B Gemini Capabilities

    Gemini North

    Target are limited to 17 < RA hours < 13.5 and -37 < dec degrees < +90. In some cases there are additional constraints as described below and in the target and instrument accessability page.
    Facility instruments offered in 2013B, in queue or classical mode, are:
    Visitor instruments offered in 2013B (subject to demand), in queue mode only, are:
    • DSSI Speckle camera: a dual-channel visual-wavelength camera giving simultaneous diffraction-limited images in two filters over a 2.8 - 5.6 arcsecond field of view. Up to 110 hours are available during July and August bright time, limiting RAs to 15.5h to 3h.
    • TEXES: a high resolution (R ~ 4,000-100,000) mid-infrared (5-25 micron) spectrometer. Up to 110 hours are available during October bright time, limiting RAs to 20h to 7.5h.

    Gemini South

    Target are limited to 16 < RA hours < 12 and -90 < dec degrees < +28. In some cases there are additional constraints as described below and in the target and instrument accessability page.
    Facility instruments offered in 2013B are:


    Instruments and Modes Not Offered in 2013B

    The following instruments are not offered in 2013B (and have been retired or are expected to be retired during 2013B):

    Also, as in past semesters, NIRI is no longer available for spectroscopy.


    Important Dates for 2013B

    The deadline for Phase I submission varies with partner and ranges from THURSDAY MARCH 28 TO MONDAY APRIL 1 2013. Poor weather and Director's Discretionary Time proposals are accepted at any time via the Phase I Tool. For successful proposals, both queue and classical, the Phase II submission deadline is July 15 2013. More information is available in the 2013B schedule.


    Phase I Tool for 2013B

    Proposals for time on Gemini, and for time on Subaru via the Gemini-Subaru exchange program, must use the Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT). The 2013B PIT has been updated to include the Gemini North visitor instruments DSSI/Speckle and TEXES. The requested time for the visitor instruments should include all required calibrations (unlike the facilty instruments where the time required for a specified set of baseline calibrations should not be included). See the PIT page for installation information and the help pages for the PIT for assistance. Latex and Word templates are available to create a pdf attachment which includes the science and technical cases.


    Time Available in 2013B

    The science time available for each partner and host institution in 2013B is shown on the time distribution page. The science time available at each telescope includes a 7% Director's Discretionary Time allocation and 1 night for instrument performance monitoring. The Director's Discretionary Time is divided into a maximum 5% share for use by staff (which is open for joint proposals with the partners), and a minimum 2% share available to all astronomers through the Director's Discretionary Time proposal process. At Gemini North 155.5 nights are expected to be available for science. At Gemini South 138 nights are expected to be available for science, which include 3 nights of guaranteed time for the GSAOI instrument team, and 1.5 nights for GMOS-S CCD upgrade demonstration science.


    Exchange Time in 2013B

    A minimum of 5 classical nights are available on Subaru in Semester 2013B.
  • Proposals should be submitted via the normal Gemini Phase I process. PIs in the Gemini community who intend to use the Subaru telescope are encouraged to apply through the time-exchange program and not through the open use Subaru Call. Subaru Observatory staff request that any PIs with direct access to Gemini not request time on Gemini via the Subaru exchange program.
  • Time must be requested in integer nights, and runs will be evenly distributed across dark, gray and bright nights.
  • See the Subaru Call for Proposals for important information. Notes on capabilities follow:

  • No Gemini-Keck exchange time is offered in Semester 2013B.


    Additional Information

    Please see the page of supporting information for additional general information. Prospective users should also refer to the the target and instrument accessability page, and the instrument pages for detailed and up to date information on instrumentation.



    Questions and Answers

    All questions concerning proposals, or any other subject, should be made using the Gemini HelpDesk. This web-based system will send the request to your National Gemini Office staff in the first instance who will then escalate it to Gemini staff if necessary.

    Comments and suggestions on the format and content of this page and supporting pages are welcome, and should be sent to Sandy Leggett.




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