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Semester 14B Call for Proposals

Gemini Observatory invites its community to propose scientific investigations for the 2014B semester, 1 August 2014 - 31 January 2015.

The submission deadline varies with partner and ranges from MONDAY, MARCH 31, to TUESDAY, APRIL 1. Multi-partner joint proposals should be submitted by the deadline of the partner country to which the Principal Investigator is affiliated. Large and Long Program Proposals, and proposals for exchange time on Gemini from the Japanese community should be submitted by the Gemini Staff proposal deadline, March 31, 2014 at 23:59 HST (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time). 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 available in the time distribution table. The primary 2014B Call for Proposal pages are available as a pdf document.

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What's New in 2014B!

The following capabilities and announcements are new for the 2014B semester. Please see the relevant instrument pages and section of the call for proposals for details.
  • Updated IQ20 image quality constraint: The IQ20 image quality observing condition constraint has been updated to better reflect actual image quality statistics at our observing sites. The integration time calculators have been updated to reflect this change.
  • GPI will be offered for use at Gemini South in 2014B.
  • GMOS-S will feature new Hamamatsu CCD detectors, pending commissioning in July.
  • New Opportunity: Bring one, get one! In 2014B, Gemini Observatory will subsidize, with up to US$2000, the travel expenses of individual under- and graduate students visiting Gemini North or South, when accompanying a senior observer.
  • Large and Long Programs proposals will be accepted for observations beginning in 2014B.


Summary of 2014B Gemini Capabilities

Gemini North

Target are generally 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 accessibility page.
Facility instruments offered in 2014B, in queue or classical mode, are:
Visitor instruments offered in 2014B (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 100 hours, subject to demand, are available during July 17-27, limiting RAs to 15h to 1h.
  • TEXES: a high resolution (R ~4,000-100,000) mid-infrared (5-25 micron) spectrometer. Up to 100 hours, subject to demand, are available during August 7-17, limiting RAs to 15h to 5h (targets near the RA limits are available only for short periods).

Gemini South

Target are generally 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 accessibility page.
Facility instruments offered in 2014B, in queue or classical mode, are:


Large and Long Programs

Large and long Programs (LPs) are Principal Investigator-defined and -driven programs that are expected to require either significantly more time than a partner typically approves for a single program, or extends over two to six semesters, or both. The participating partners (US, Canada, Australia, and Argentina) will make up to 20% of their time at each telescope available for LPs over each of the next 6* semesters from the start of LP execution in 2014B. Principal Investigators of LPs must be based at an institution of one of the participating partner countries. Investigators submitting Proposals for LPs, to begin execution in 2014B, must have already submitted a letter of intent prior to the February 3rd, 2014, deadline. Further information on LPs and the LP proposal process can be found on the Large And Long Program page.

* - Australia agrees to participate in the LP process through 2015, and Australian PIs are eligible for programs that will conclude by the end of 2015.


Instruments and Modes Not Offered in 2014B


Important Dates for 2014B

The deadline for Phase I submission varies with partner and ranges from MONDAY, MARCH 31, to TUESDAY, APRIL 1. 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 15 JULY, 2014. More information is available in the 2014B schedule.


Phase I Tool for 2014B

Proposals for time on Gemini, and for time on Subaru via the Gemini-Subaru exchange program, must use the Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT). Latex and Word templates are available to create a pdf attachment which includes the science and technical cases. The requested time for the visitor instruments should include all required calibrations (unlike the facility instruments where the time required for a specified set of baseline calibrations should not be included). Investigators are strongly encouraged to include the output from the integration time calculators in the proposal. See the PIT page for installation information and the help pages for the PIT for assistance.


Time Available in 2014B

The time available for each partner and host institution in 2014B is shown on the time distribution page. The science time available at each telescope includes a 7% Director's Discretionary Time allocation. Currently, the Director makes 5% available for staff use via the Call for Proposals, while 2% will be available to all astronomers through the Director's Discretionary Time proposal process. At Gemini North, 163 nights are expected to be available for science. At Gemini South, 153 nights are expected to be available for science.


Exchange Time

A minimum of 5 classical nights are available on Subaru in Semester 2014B.
 

No Gemini-Keck exchange time is offered in Semester 2014B.


Bring One, Get One: Student Travel Assistance Program

The Gemini Observatory, at the request of its Users' Committee, would like to strongly encourage the visit of students to observing runs (attending Queue, Classical, or Priority Visiting Observing). In semester 2014B, the Gemini Observatory will subsidize with up to US$2000 the travel expenses of individual under- and graduate students visiting Gemini North or South, when accompanying a senior observer. Please contact the Director or Deputy Director if you would like to make use of this opportunity.


Remote Eavesdropping

Remote Eavesdropping will be available in 2014B for all Band 1 and 2 programs, except for GSAOI programs. Investigators will be invited to eavesdropping via the PI email announcing they have been granted time.


Additional Information

Please see the page of supporting information for additional general information. Prospective users should also refer to the target and instrument accessibility 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 Steve Margheim.



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