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Semester 2007B Call For Proposals

Gemini Observatory invites its community to propose scientific investigations for the 2007B semester, 1 August 2007 - 31 January 2008. 

The submission deadline is MONDAY APRIL 2nd, 2007 for all partners.   Applications should be submitted via your national Gemini proposal process. Submission times and other details vary by partner; please consult your National Gemini Office pages for more information.  Joint proposals must adhere to the deadline (and other requirements) applicable to the partner country of the institution to which the Principal Investigator is affiliated.

The purpose of this page is to highlight the most relevant information for the 2007B call.  Significant additional information is contained on supporting pages; users are encouraged to follow the links for more detailed information. If hardcopy is preferred, the primary pages are available in a single 14 page pdf document.


Highlights for 2007B


General
The Phase I Tool (PIT) is updated for 2007B; See PIT Help for downloads and important information. New features include a "Band 3" tab in which the proposer must specify how the program can be optimized for execution in Band 3; a new guide star assistant; and improved help pages. Requests for time from multiple telescopes in a single proposal is no longer permitted, and the PIT will not allow resources from multiple telescopes to be selected.
Proposals requesting classical observing time must specify the observing conditions required to achieve the science goals of the program. Alternative observations utilizing poorer observing conditions can also be specified. During a classical observing run, if conditions are worse than those required by the (main or alternate) classical program, the time may be used for eligible queue observations. In this case, the classical time will not be re-scheduled, but the partner responsible for the classical program is not charged for time spent executing the queue.
Relevant milestones for 2007B can be found in the 2007B Phase I/Phase II schedule. The one and only deadline for PI submission of Phase II definitions is 10 July 2007.
Mask making from non-GMOS images for GMOS multi-object spectroscopy (MOS) observations may be available in 2007B, however proposers are currently still required to include time for pre-imaging in their proposals. When other means are available, the PIs will be contacted and any time not used for pre-imaging will be returned to the program (as always).
As in 2007A, both Rapid response and Standard response Target of Opportunity (ToO) programs must be identified as such in the PIT.  Poor weather proposals are again invited on both Gemini North and Gemini South. 
Gemini North
Expect 90% of the semester to be available for science, or 166 nights distributed across the partnership.  A list of offered instruments and capabilities is given below.
The Laser Guide System (LGS) is now fully commissioned for Altair observations with NIRI and NIFS. The target elevation restriction has been lowered to >40 degrees. LGS observations must request good conditions (Cloud Cover = 50%; Image Quality = 70%) and specify "Laser guide star" in the Adaptive Optics resources section in the PIT. Users should consult the LGS web pages for further information. The LGS mode is expected to be available approximately 7-14 nights per month in queue mode only.  Because of the limited availability and the need for good weather, only LGS programs ranked in bands 1 and 2 will be approved by the ITAC.
The visitor instrument TEXES will be offered again in 2007B for a single dedicated observing block in October of up to 16 nights. As before, proposals to use TEXES must include a member of the TEXES instrument team as a collaborator. Contact John Lacy (lacy@astro.as.utexas.edu), Dan Jaffe (dtj@astro.as.utexas.edu) or Matt Richter (richter@physics.ucdavis.edu) for team member information.
Gemini South
Expect 75% of the semester to be available for science, or 138 nights; 114 nights are distributed across the partnership with the remaining nights reserved for system verification (NICI and Flamingos-2) and  NICI campaign science.  A list of offered instruments and capabilities is given below.
Phoenix and bHROS are not offered in 2007B.   See this bHROS announcement concerning future plans for bHROS.
NICI and Flamingos-2 are not being offered for community use at this time.  Flamingos-2 is expected to begin commissioning in 2007B; NICI will complete commissioning and begin campaign science. Separate calls for system verification for one or both instruments may be made at a later date.
Exchange
HIRES: Up to 5 nights of classical time is available with the HIRES optical spectrograph on Keck.  The requested nights must be bright or grey time within the following windows: 19-26 August (1 night); 16-24 October and 24 November - 2 December (2 nights each). Requests must be full nights with a minimum of 1 night.  Proposals should be submitted via the normal process.  [more information]
Subaru: At least 40 hours is available on Subaru for Suprime-Cam (wide field optical imaging) and MOIRCS (near-infrared imaging and multi-object spectroscopy).  All time is offered as service observing except for MOIRCS MOS mode which will be classically scheduled. For all modes, a minimum request of 5 hours is recommended and larger programs are encouraged; for MOIRCS MOS mode, integer night requests are required.  Proposals should be submitted using the Phase I Tool.  There is no restriction on available dates or conditions; service observations will be scheduled to meet demand as much as possible.  [more information]

Additional Information

Details of the capabilities available at each telescope are given below. Please see the page of supporting information for additional general Phase I information.


Gemini North: Facilities

  • All instruments are offered in queue and classical mode, except where noted.
  • Facility instruments:
    • NIRI - near-IR imager and low-resolution spectrograph: imaging and spectroscopy fed with the direct or AO-corrected beam.
    • NIFS - near-IR integral field unit spectrograph: IFU spectroscopy fed with the direct or AO-corrected beam.
    • Altair - facility AO system: for use with NIRI (except M band imaging and L & M band spectroscopy) and NIFS.
      • Natural Guide Star AO: Traditional adaptive optics guiding on a nearby star.
      • Laser Guide Star AO: See web page for important performance information and restrictions
    • GMOS North - optical imager and spectrograph: imaging and long-slit, multi-object and integral field spectroscopy
    • Michelle - mid-IR spectrograph and imager: imaging and R=100-3000 and echelle spectroscopy at 10 and 20um. Imaging (but not spectro-) polarimetry is available.
  • Visitor Instruments:
    • TEXES - high-resolution mid-IR spectrograph, on loan from U. Texas for collaborative use (see above); 16-night queue mode observing block in October.
  • See the target accessibility page for important information regarding instrument availability and a plot of accessible RAs and Declinations. The elevation restriction for Laser Guide Star observations is no greater than 40 degrees elevation.

Gemini South: Facilities

  • All facility instruments are offered in queue and classical mode. 
  • Facility instruments:
    • GMOS South - optical imager and spectrograph: imaging and long-slit, multi-object and integral field spectroscopy
    • T-ReCS - mid-IR imager and spectrograph: imaging and moderate resolution (R=100 and R=1000) spectroscopy
    • GNIRS - near-infrared spectrograph: long-slit, cross-dispersed and integral field spectroscopy with a range of resolutions. 
  • See the target accessibility page for important information regarding instrument availability and a plot of accessible RAs and Declinations.

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 Bernadette Rodgers.


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Last update 27 February, 2007; B. Rodgers